Son of the Sannin
by Ander Arias
Summary: Naruto lost his parents the night of his birth due to the Kyubi escaping, but fortunately Jiraiya and Tsunade are willing to take care of him in their place. Watch how his life unfolds while being raised by the Sannin, and how such actions will change not only Naruto's life, but the lives of those around him. Slight AU
1. An Unconventional Family

**Author's Note: Welcome to "Son of the Sannin" dear reader! You're about to embark on an amazing journey following how Naruto's life would have been if he had been raised by everybody's favorite pervert and his friend the blond gambler. Though then again, there will be changes to the Naruto Universe that have nothing to do with this event. You'll see as the story unfolds. But I promise that said changes won't be too big, and it will be mostly to cover plot holes and make for a better reading experience.  
**

 **Now, as for pairing, as you can see, the main pairings will be Naruto/Hinata and Jiraiya/Tsunade, though there will be more pairings out there, such as Sasuke/Sakura or Shikamaru/Temari. But with the exception of NxH and JxT, nothing's written in stone.**

 **Also, I'd like to thank Hektols, whose amazing story "New Chance" gave me the inspiration to write this work (among other stories) as well as for providing with some ideas to make this story much better. Seriously, if you like Naruhina, go to read his story.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling, let's get this story started!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

An Unconventional Family

or

 _Foxes, Toads and Slugs_

Jiraiya stood in front of the gates of Konoha, contemplating the place that it had been his home for such a long time. That's it, until Orochimaru's betrayal and Tsunade's self-imposed exile made it unbearable for the Toad Sage to continue living there. He never had a permanent home from that moment onwards, hopping from one town to another, doing his "research" and having one night stands with beautiful and easy to charm women. He only returned sporadically to pay a visit to his student and friend, Minato Namikaze.

It has been three months since the latest, and now last, of those visits. They talked about Jiraiya's failed book, _The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja_ , and how Minato wanted to name his firstborn son after the main character of said book, Naruto. In the meantime, Jiraiya wrote his first erotic novel, Icha Icha Paradise, which became a bestseller in no time, engorging his already large bank account. He had been planning to drop by once the kid was born in order to give the newborn some nice gift.

In fact, he was on his way to Konoha when a courier ninja arrived and told him about the tragic news, and that his presence was required in the village . Upon reading the letter with all the details, at first he thought it was some sort of tasteless joke, but the letter he was carrying had the stamp of the Hokage's office.

And now, just as he stood in front of the gates, he realized it wasn't a joke as he had secretly hoped. Even from the outside, Jiraiya could tell that Konoha had been victim of a devastating attack recently, which was confirmed the moment the Toad Sage walked into the village.

The streets were nearly empty. Destroyed buildings left and right. Trails of smoke coming everywhere. The gray sky appeared to reflect the somber and depressing mood the village seemed to be in. Jiraiya hurried towards the Hokage's Tower.

...

 _Hokage's Tower_

Hiruzen Sarutobi was in his former, soon to be his once again, office as he absent-mindedly looked through the window, lamenting the current state Konoha was in. An ANBU appeared behind him.

"Hokage-sama, Jiraiya-sama is here as you requested," the ANBU announced.

The Third turned around, and sighed. "Tell him to come in, please."

"As you say," the ANBU said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

A few second later, the white haired Sannin walked into the office. Hiruzen couldn't help but smile a little upon seeing his old student.

"Hello, Jiraiya, it's good to see you again, even if it's under such awful circumstances. How was your trip here?" Hiruzen said as he sat down on his chair.

"Not to be rude, but that matters very little now. It's that true, sensei? Are Minato and Kushina truly dead?" Jiraiya asked, trying to suppress the anguish of his voice.

"Yes."

Jiraiya averted Sarutobi's gaze, sighed, and whispered a profanity. He looked at his former sensei once again and asked: "May I...see the bodies?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible, Jiraiya?"

"And why not? Can't I even say goodbye to my last surviving student?" Jiraiya exploded as he slammed both hands on Sarutobi's desk.

"It's not possible because there are no bodies," Hiruzen said. Upon sensing his former student's confusion, he continued. "When Minato sealed the Kyubi inside Naruto...well, I don't know exactly what happened, but whatever he did, erased both his and Kushina's body from existence. When we could arrive, all that was left was little Naruto, crying his little eyes out."

"Where is Naruto now? Is he okay?" Jiraiya asked worriedly.

"Naruto is fine. He's possibly one of the few people how came out of this unscratched," Hiruzen said.

"I don't know if I'd call having a demon sealed inside him 'unscratched', sensei," Jiraiya pointed out.

"True. Excuse my lack of tact. And to answer your first question, he's downstairs, on the lower floor. A couple medical ninjas are taking care of him. Now, Naruto was the reason I called you here."

"Because I'm his godfather."

"Exactly. According to Minato and Kushina's will, they left everything to Naruto; all their physical assets, such their house and other properties, as well as all their liquid assets, which will be managed by his legal guardian until Naruto comes of age. And according to their will, this person is you."

"I see."

An uncomfortable silence followed Jiraiya's laconic answer.

"So...do I suppose that you're up to become Naruto's legal guardian and raise him until he's eighteen? Regardless of Minato's will, we can assign another legal guardian if you refuse."

Jiraiya found the offer tempting. He had decided a long time ago that he would never settle down. That he would throw himself to the pleasures of life, to wander the world and enjoy it as much as possible. Taking care of a baby would made such thing impossible. He'd need to stay at a permanent place –more than likely Konoha, since neither sensei nor the elders would allow the Kyubi out of the village for other nations to take it– and had to prioritize Naruto's needs and well being over _everything else_. No, the perspective of becoming a single father was everything but alluring.

But then again, if he didn't take care of Naruto, who will? Almost nobody in the village would want to be near Naruto after the Kyubi's rampage out of fear, and he knew that other people would try to turn him into a weapon, depriving him of a normal childhood. No, he had a moral responsibility towards Naruto. Nobody else would want to take care of Naruto and raise him like a normal child but him.

Jiraiya soon would learn how wrong he was. He was about to give his sensei an answer when shouts from outside the office drew both men's attention.

" _Miss, I'm sorry but Hokage-sama is in a meeting. You can't disturb him now,_ " a male voice said, which Jiraiya vaguely recognized as the ANBU he has been talking to.

" _Do you know who I am? I'm sure that sensei will make time for one of his old students!_ " a female voice angrily replied, a voice Jiraiya knew too well.

"Oh my, I didn't expect her to come here so soon. Or to come at all," Sarutobi said, visibly worried.

"What is she doing here?" Jiraiya asked, equally worried.

" _You see, Hokage-sama's guest is also another one of his old students and-_ "

" _WHAT!? GET OUT OF MY WAY!_ "

 **BOOM!**

Jiraiya and Sarutobi winced, and they both hoped that the poor ANBU wasn't too hurt.

The office's door slammer open, and a big breasted blonde burst in. She fixed her eyes on Jiraiya, and snarled. She then looked at Sarutobi with rage in her eyes.

"Oh Kami, I knew it! You're going to do it!"

"Tsunade, harming my ANBU and breaking into my office like that is not an appropriate thing to do," Hiruzen said calmly.

"Oh can it, sensei! I came here to stop you from making a huge mistake!" Tsunade said angrily.

"And that mistake would be...?"

"Leaving a child under the care of this...this...maniac!" Tsunade said, pointing at Jiraiya.

"I'm fine, Tsunade-hime, thanks for asking," the Toad Sage said in a deadpan tone, earning another glare from his former teammate.

"I see. I suppose that you have a better candidate in mind?" Sarutobi asked, intrigued.

"You are damn right! I myself would make a much better caretaker than this smut writer!"

"That's fine, but you don't have any legal base for claiming Naruto's guardianship. I am his godfather and Minato left Naruto under my care should something happened to him and Kushina," Jiraiya retorted.

"Yes I have. Naruto's my family."

"Yeah, sure. And I am the grandnephew of the Sage of the Six Paths."

"It's true, you moron! Kushina was an Uzumaki, just like Mito, my grandmother. I am Naruto's only family, and thus I have a greater claim to be his guardian."

"While I admit I am no expert when it comes to parenthood, I'm pretty sure that taking care of a baby costs money. Lots and lots of money. And last time I checked, you were hounded by quite a few creditors."

"I'm aware that Minato had quite some money on his bank account. I can use that to cover Naruto's expenses."

"Yeah, if you don't blow up on a casino again!" Jiraiya angrily said, and turned to his former master. "Sensei, you can't seriously leave Naruto under this compulsive gambler!"

"I do have experience raising children! I've been raising Shizune since she was a little girl, and she turned out fine!" Tsunade said before Sarutobi could answer. "Even with my flaws, there's no way I can't be worse than Jiraiya!"

"Alright, I heard enough!" Hiruzen said, raising his voice and slamming his hands on the desk to make his former students to shut up. "Both of you have good points, and I'm sure we can reach a compromise."

"What kind of compromise?" asked Tsunade. "Shared custody?"

"Not exactly. It's obvious that you want what's best for Naruto, so why don't you raise him together? You can cover each other's weaknesses, and I'm sure that Naruto will benefit better if he has both of you taking care of him instead of just one of you."

"But...that means that we'll have to live together..." Jiraiya said. He didn't like where this was going.

"Yes, of course."

"But we're not a couple! What the hell are we supposed to do, pretend that we're a happy marriage for Naruto's sake?" Tsunade protested.

"You don't have to pretend anything. If it put your mind at ease, think of each other as being roommates with a couple common interests. Or teammates fulfilling a long term mission," Hiruzen said, hoping his solution would appease both Sannin.

"I don't know if this little meeting didn't made it obvious enough, but Tsunade-hime and I aren't exactly on friendly terms," Jiraiya mentioned.

"Yeah, I saw. But there was a time in which you'd take a kunai to the gut for the other. I have faith you'll mend your relationship, at least for Naruto's sake," Sarutobi said.

"It's not that easy, sensei," Tsunade said.

Hiruzen sighed heavily. "I never said it was easy. Listen, I've been aware of the lives you have been living after you left Konoha, and frankly you had me worried. From what I could see, all what you did is try to run away from your personal demons, indulging in superficial pleasures for shallow comfort. But I can tell that neither of you have been happy, regardless of how much you might try to deny it.

"We all have lost somebody dear to us. I myself lost my beloved wife and many old friends to the Kyubi a few days ago, yet here I am, taking the mantle of the Hokage once again. I'm not saying that we're all the same or that you shouldn't deal with grief, but...how long has it been since both of you left? Six years? Maybe more? I think it's about time you two start to move on.

"You can think of this as an opportunity. A new, fresh start. A chance to do something great. Don't you think it's about time to stop wandering around the world aimlessly wasting your lives in vain pleasures, and start doing something productive with your lives again? Both of you want to take care of Naruto. If that's the case, show me that you're worth him. Show me that you're able to not let your demons to get in the way of rekindling your friendship. Show me that the great and powerful Sannin, the ninjas I helped to shape are still there, instead of the gambler and the pervert before me."

A deafening silence followed Sarutobi's speech. Both Sannin wanted to reply, but they just were unable to. They couldn't find the right words. Any words. They glanced at each other, hoping that the other would have a clever reply that would get them out of admitting that their sensei was right, but there was none.

Jiraiya sighed in defeat. There was no way out of here. "Okay...I'm...I'm willing to raise Naruto together. What do you say, Hime?"

Tsunade had calmed down a bit, and looked just as pensive as Jiraiya. "Alright, if this is what I have to do so I can be with my only family...but don't dare to get any ideas! Understood!?" Tsunade said, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Jiraiya raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I didn't say anything! And you'll see that I can be a perfect gentleman."

"You better be."

"Then it's settled," Sarutobi said, visibly satisfied, as he stood up from his desk. "Now, would you like to see Naruto?"

They didn't need to answer. Sarutobi guided his two former students to a room in the lower floor, in which a teen girl was being instructed by one of the medic ninjas how to hold baby Naruto. At the girl's feet there was a small pig wearing a maroon jacket and a pearl necklace.

"I see that you're getting to know Naruto, Shizune," Tsunade said when she saw her apprentice.

"Oh, Tsunade-sama! Did you get Naruto's custody?" Shizune said, smiling at her.

"Er...yeah, more or less," Tsunade replied.

"More or less? What does that mean?"

"I got joint custody with Jiraiya over here," Tsunade said as he motioned to her fellow Sanin. "We...we'll be living together from now onwards."

"Oh, you're Jiraiya-sama?" the teen girl asked. "I'm so glad to meet you! Tsunade-sama told me a lot about you!"

"Shizune!" Tsunade shouted.

"Really? That's nice to hear. And exactly what did she say about me?" Jiraiya asked with a perverted grin.

"Wipe that grin from your face, you pervert! The first thing we're going to do once we settle is to establish a series of rules to make sure we have a...tolerable coexistence. You got that?"

"Of course, Hime. You know I'd hate to do something to get on your bad side."

"That's good to hear. So, shall we move to Minato's old house already?"

"Actually, I don't think that's a good idea," Hiruzen intervened.

"Come again?"

"You see, Minato had a lot of enemies that would love to get revenge on him through his son, so I believe that we should keep Naruto's existence, as well as his parentage and his condition as a Jinchuriki a secret outside Konoha's walls. That's why I think we should sell all of Minato and Kushina's properties, and use that money to buy a new house for the four of you to live in. Also, I think that we should give Naruto his mother's last name instead."

"But sensei, Naruto has the right to know who his parents are. We'd make a disservice to Minato and Kushina's memory," Jiraiya calmly protested.

"I guess you got a point there, Jiraiya. Alright, for the time being, you can tell Naruto that his parents were powerful ninja who died the night the Kyubi attacked, but keep their names a secret for the time being. Same goes with the Kyubi."

"Sorry sensei, but I have to disagree there as well. You simply can't keep such a thing a secret from him, especially since the rest of the village knows about it already," Jiraiya protested once again.

"It's for his own protection."

"How being ignorant to the incredibly dangerous being inside him is going to protect him exactly?" Jiraiya didn't bother to hide his skepticism.

"Listen, I want Naruto to have a normal life. That's what his parents would have wanted. Naruto carries a heavy burden on his shoulders, but he shouldn't be aware of it yet. That's why I'm going to enact a law in order to forbid the Kyubi from being even mentioned by either ninja or civilians, under penalty of immediate execution."

"Let me tell you why that's an monumentally stupid idea," Jiraiya replied. Sarutobi couldn't help but feel outraged at Jiraiya's bluntness. "Your solution amounts to ignore the Kyubi. We can ignore it, but that won't make the Kyubi disappear, and everybody else knows that. Forbidding people from talking about the Kyubi might protect Naruto to some extent, but it won't make people forget that the Kyubi is still inside him, nor stopping them from seeing Naruto as a bomb ready to go off at any moment."

"Even if that's true, how can Naruto have a normal life then?"

"Let's face the facts: such thing is impossible. Naruto won't have a normal life," Tsunade interceded. Both Jiraiya and Sarutobi turned at her in surprise. "Not that that's a bad thing, though. _Normal_ doesn't have to mean _happy_. Jiraiya and I will ensure that Naruto's childhood is as fulfilling as possible."

"Thanks for backing me up, Hime," Jiraiya said, smiling at her.

"I'm just stating the truth."

"But if his generation grows up knowing that Naruto carries the Demon Fox, it might alter their perception of him and will judge him unfairly. It will be nearly impossible for him to make friends," Sarutobi interjected once again.

"Tell me, sensei, do you think anybody would let their children near Naruto knowing what he's holding inside? At the very least, with all the facts, the children will be able to judge Naruto by themselves. And if they're unable to differentiate between the prisoner and its jailer, then they aren't worth his time," Jiraiya said.

"You seem very sure of yourself, Jiraiya. Are you sure this won't backfire?"

"I would be lying if I said I was one hundred percent sure, but I do believe that it is the best option. Let's have faith that the new generation will accept Naruto and won't judge him unfairly. You always drilled into our heads the importance of protecting the next generation. If we protect them, then we can place some trust in them, right?"

Sarutobi spent a few moments silent, pondering Jiraiya's words. A smile slowly crept his wrinkled face, and soon the old ninja was laughing, much to his students' bemusement.

"To think that I just had one of my teachings used against me...yeah, guess that you proved your point, Jiraiya. There will be no special laws regarding Naruto. You two will be tasked with his protection and well being, and we'll have faith that Naruto will be accepted among his peers, regardless of his burden," Sarutobi said. "There's one more thing I'd like to talk about. Even if I can guess your answer, it's there a chance that you may rejoin Konoha's ninja ranks again?"

Besides getting back two of the most powerful ninja Konoha ever produced, Hiruzen was hoping that the return of the Sannin would help boost the incredibly low morale of Konoha's citizens.

"Sorry, but no. I came back here to take care of my only blood family left, not to be a killer and relive painful memories," Tsunade firmly stated.

"I'm with her. I left the ninja life behind. I'm a writer now. We will get involved with Naruto's training once he's old enough."

He was about to add "should Naruto choose to become a ninja", but for somebody like Naruto, that wasn't a choice. He'd have to be a ninja for his own sake. Both Sannin hoped they could convince him to take that path.

"But think in all the good you could do! Konoha's in its darkest hour. I'll ask you to reconsider," Sarutobi said, almost begging. He knew that if he passed this opportunity, he'd never had the chance to convince them to go back to being ninjas again.

"Here's my counterproposal: I'll take a job at the Konoha Hospital, and I'm willing to even train future medic nins. But I'm never going back to a battlefield," Tsunade said.

Hiruzen seemed to agree with her terms. He then turned to Jiraiya. Now that Tsunade made a concession, he'll have to do one as well.

"If there's a mission that absolutely nobody else can do, you can call me," was the Toad Sage's offer. "Also, my spy network is at your service."

"Good to see that I can count on both of you, even if it's on such terms. Even if it was tragic circumstances that made you return, I'm glad to have you two back on Konoha," Sarutobi said in a heartfelt manner.

"Then it's all settled. When do we move in?" Tsuande asked, impatient.

 _Three Weeks Later_

Neither Jiraiya nor Tsunade had much luggage, due to both of them being wanderers, and hoped that they could move to a house to begin their new life. However, it took Naruto's new family some time before they could be settled in. With Minato's money, they bought and remodeled a two story house with a yard, that had been damaged during the Kyubi attack. It needed a lot of work before they could live on it, such as giving the front a paint job, replace broken glasses, fix the plumbing and the electricity, and move out the previous occupants' possessions (who had sadly died during the Kyubi attack, and were given to their closest relatives).

While they worked on the house, they were forced to live on an improvised shelter for other people who also lost their homes to the Kyubi.

Still, after weeks of hard work, they were ready to move in. Jiraiya had called dibs on setting up Naruto's bedroom. Despite Tsunade's very loud protests, in the end she had relented, and allowed the Toad Sage to have his way. The fact that he locked the door and didn't allow anybody to enter until he was done was enough to raise an alarm on the blonde's head.

As Jiraiya was getting ready to show Tsunade and Shizune Naruto's room, Tsunade couldn't help but have a feeling of overwhelming regret.

"Alright, here it is!" Jiraiya said as he opened the door. Tsunade braced herself for the worst. "What do you think?"

Tsunade had to admit that it wasn't as bad as she had expected. The originally white walls were decorated with murals of beautiful forests and mountains with smiling toads on them. There was a toad-shaped crib on a corner with a few stuffed toads on it, a desk, and an empty wardrobe with toads carved on its doors.

"While I find the amount of toads excessive, at the very least you had enough taste not to put any poster of a half naked girl," Tsunade said in approval.

"Oh, those will come when he gets older," Jiraiya said, and he was suddenly hit by a wave of killing intent coming from Tsunade and her ward." Err...I mean, of course not! I know I can be a pervert, but I do know that there are some things not appropriated for children."

"Good to hear."

They had to spend the rest of the day buying food, clothes (especially for Naruto), diapers, and other baby items. By the time they were finished, it was nighttime, and the three of them were exhausted. Tsunade placed Naruto on his crib, and went to sleep alongside Jiraiya and Shizune.

While it took no time for Tsunade and Shizune to fall asleep, Jiraiya remained awake. His head asked the same question time after time.

 _Would have been any different if I was in the village when the Kyubi attacked?_

Based on the details Sarutobi had been willing to share of that tragic night, Jiraiya's mind went over and over with the possible scenarios of how that night could have ended if he was there. He spent an hour torturing himself by wondering if he could have been able to save at least one of Naruto's parents.

"Stop doing that, Jiraiya. You couldn't know something like that would happen. The only thing you can do now is take care of Naruto to the best of your ability," the Sannin told himself.

He then got up, and quietly went to Naruto's bedroom, making sure he didn't make any noise that could awake the other three people living under that roof. Jiraiya leaned on the crib, and looked at the infant laying there.

"Hey there little guy, how are you doing?" Jiraiya said in a whisper. Naruto shifted in his sleeping seat. "Don't worry, I know that you had to go through a lot, but the nightmare is already over. Tsunade-hime and I are here to take care of you, and we will make sure that everything will be fine."

Jiraiya continued to look at the sleeping baby.

"Can I tell you a secret? Don't tell Tsunade or Shizune, because they would get really mad if they knew. But I have plans for you. Great plans. Once I'm done with you, you will be the biggest pervert Konoha has ever seen, hahaha! I will teach you everything I know so no girl will be able to resist your charms! You will be a legend only second to yours truly!

"Oh yeah, and you'll be a great ninja too. I guess that's important as well."

* * *

 **Author's note: So here's the first chapter. What do you think? Yeah, I know that nothing too exciting happened, but hey, it's the first chapter! I promise things will get better as the story progresses.**

 **Anyway, don't forget to review if you liked this chapter! Reviews makes me very, very happy!**


	2. Midnight Drinks

**Author's note: When I published this story a couple days ago, I was expecting that it would get 3 or 4 reviews, and a few more follows and favorites. Yet after just ONE CHAPTER this story has 22 reviews, 53 favorites and 107 follows, making it my most followed story (and I have a few fanfics longer than 100K words). I'm simply speechless.**

 **I was planning to release this chapter next week, but due to the overwhelmingly positive reception the first chapter got, I'm going to release it now as way to thank all the people who gave this story so much feedback and support. You guys deserve it :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

Midnight Drinks

Or

 _Uchihas are weird, weird, weird_

 _Six months after the Kyubi attack_

Jiraiya and Tsunade were both exceptional ninja. The kind that they only appear once every few generations. They both graduated the academy at an age most kids still can't tie their shoelaces, made Chunin before hitting puberty and managed to become Jonin before being sixteen.

From that point onwards, the two Sannin, and their fallen teammate Orochimaru took a myriad of dangerous missions. If there was a task with a high chance of dying, they would do it without receiving a single scratch. If there was a mission that appeared to be impossible, they made it look as if it could be done by a mere Genin.

They never stopped to better themselves and improve in their areas of skill. Jiraiya became a Seal Master of renown and one of the few Senjutsu practitioners alive. Tsunade became one of the best medical ninja the world ever knew. And both of them became incredibly powerful ninja, overshadowed by few and admired by many.

Still, despite all the skills they had learned and honed over their lifespans, nothing could prepare them for the horror that it was to take care of a baby. Naruto used to cry a lot, often for no reason, and at completely random times (though he was rather fond of doing it at nighttime). He had to be watched constantly, or else he would somehow disappear, only to mysteriously appear outside the house. He would try to grab anything within his short reach, and more often than not he would try to eat it.

One of the few things that would calm Naruto whenever he had a crying fit was Tsunade holding him against her chest. Jiraiya had joked that Tsunade's knockers would of course have a soothing effect on any men, no matter their age. Yet it turned out to be more than a joke when the Slug Princess breastfed Naruto, and the little Jinchuriki just wouldn't let go of her breast.

The fact that the baby was positively elated whenever Tsunade started to undo her blouse wasn't a good sign at all.

"This is bad...you're not even a year old, yet Jiraiya is already rubbing off on you!" Tsunade said after the first time it happened.

Or then again, it could be something else, since Naruto's stomach was a bottomless pit. He would eat a lot, and would never be satisfied. He always wanted more, and whenever his food was denied, he would go into a crying fit. Everybody wondered where the hell his little body stored all that food.

On the bright side, Naruto was at least easy to feed, if a bit costly.

Today was one of Tsunade's two days off after a rather long shift at the hospital. She would have spend the day sleeping, but neither Jiraiya nor Shizune were there, so she had to watch over Naruto, who just had calmed down from one of his random crying fits. She sighed in relief when she heard the main door opening.

"Tsunade-sama, I'm back!" said Shizune's voice as she entered the house.

Shziune was wearing a green flak vest common among the Konoha Chunin and Jonin over her usual clothes. A forehead protector was wrapped around her head.

Unlike Tsunade and Jiraiya, Shizune showed interest in joining the Konoha ninja. Shikaku Nara, Konoha's current Jonin Commander, alongside other Jonin, tested her abilities to determine her rank, and they decided she was good enough to be a Chunin. Plus she was a good medic, something Konoha was in desperately need of. Everybody hoped that Tsunade's presence in the village would solve the issue.

"Good, because I need you to go buy some baby food. I was about to go myself, but you know how Naruto gets when we go out and he's hungry," the blond woman replied.

"What? And what happened with all the baby food that I bought before I left for my mission?" Shizune asked, incredulous. Tsunade stared at her in a way that said "do you really need to ask?"

Without further ado, the younger woman nodded and went to buy the much needed food.

Tsunade wondered what was Jiraiya doing. Given that the Toad Sage rarely left the house – Tsunade had forbidden him from doing any "research" anymore, meaning that he could only use his imagination to write his erotic novels – she was hoping that he would take care of the baby while she had a much needed nap.

But unfortunately for the Legendary Sucker, an ANBU appeared, claiming that the the Hokage requested Jiraiya's presence. Of course, such a convenient timing. It seemed that fate was conspiring against her.

Meanwhile, in the Hyuga compound, a toddler sneezed.

…

"You know sensei, I wasn't expecting that you would call me into action so soon. Are you sure that this mission is something _no other ninja but me_ can do?" the Toad Sage asked, a bit skeptical.

Once the old Hokage activated all the privacy seals, he answered. "Yes, yes indeed. You're the best information gathered this village has seen. If somebody can unfold this mystery, it's you."

"Let me guess: you think that the Kyubi escaping Kushina wasn't an accident?" Jiraiya ventured to ask. "Because we all knew that it was something that could happen."

"Yes, and we set the proper measures. But no, that's not why we came to the conclusion that there was somebody behind the attack."

"Enlighten me then."

"After the Kyubi had been...contained, we recovered the bodies of my wife, Biwako, who was the midwife during the delivery, as well of the few ANBU that we had stationed to make sure nothing happened. The autopsy revealed wounds inflicted by ninja weapons."

"Shouldn't you have told me this much earlier?" Jiraiya asked.

"Maybe, but I didn't want call you into action so soon. You see, there has been another investigation going on during these past months, carried out by Danzo and his branch of ANBU."

Jiraiya frowned upon hearing that name. Danzo was known for being an extremist, often inducted orphans to bolster his organizations' ranks, was an open critic of Sarutobi's conciliatory efforts with other villages and never bothered to hide that he wanted to be Hokage more than anything. Fortunately, he never had enough support to achieve such ambition.

"I see. Did they find something?" If Jiraiya was asking this, he knew there would be two possible answers: they either found nothing, or they found something that Sarutobi didn't like, and wanted a second opinion. The super pervert prayed for the former, but just like with Tsunade, fate felt like conspiring against the Sannin.

"Yes," Sarutobi said, sighing. "Danzo and I had been discussing the events of that night. According to the many witnesses he interrogated, it's not like the Kyubi simply broke through our walls, it suddenly appeared in the middle of the village, coming out of a cloud of smoke."

"That sounds awfully similar to the Summoning Jutsu," Jiraiya pointed out.

"Indeed it is."

"But then again...summoning the Kyubi? The only person I can think of being able to pull something like that is Madara Uchiha, and he has been dead for decades."

"Maybe he had an apprentice? Someone he trained on how to tame the Tailed Beasts?"

"It sounds rather far-fetched. We all know that Madara left the village alone, and tried to attack it alone. He never married nor had any children that could avenge his death."

"Anyway, Danzo decided that Madara was a good starting point. He made some interesting discoveries. Besides Hashirama-sensei, Madara also had a way to control the Tailed Beasts. We believe it was his Sharingan. You see, Madara's Sharingan wasn't normal. Apparently, he managed to awake a higher level of Sharingan, that granted him extraordinary new powers."

"So? Madara was an unbelievably powerful ninja who had plenty of unique abilities, just like Hashirama. That doesn't mean said abilities can be replicated by his clansmen, just like how Hashirama's descendants did not inherit the Wood Release."

"The thing is, they can be replicated. You see, this new Sharingan, named Mangekyo Sharingan, is an ability every Uchiha can attain, but very few do because of its high price. If what Danzo uncovered is accurate, the prerequisite to awaken this Mangekyo Sharingan is to murder with your own hands someone you're close to or you love. The Uchiha might be a bit too battle eager, but not even them would go so far just for the sake of power."

"But Danzo believes that one of them did."

"Yes."

"Even if that's true...what was the point of throwing the Kyubi into the village? What did this person would have gained? Wait...please tell me Danzo doesn't believe the whole clan was behind the attack!"

"Sadly, he does."

"Stupid one eyed zealot..." Jiraiya muttered. This made the Toad Sannin feel grateful for not having Danzo as the Hokage, or else the situation could have been much worse. "That's stupid on every level."

"I know. That's why he ordered the Uchiha to stay in the rear and help the civilian evacuation. He didn't want any Uchiha to be near the Kyubi."

"Of course, a thief believes everybody steals," Jiraiya said. He had no doubt that that's what Danzo would do if he had the power to tame the beast. "You have to stop Danzo. The Uchiha are already cranky as they are without him poking them with a stick."

"That's why I called you, Jiraiya. The only way I can stop Danzo is with enough tangible evidence to discredit his own investigation. And I can't think in anybody better than you to gather said evidence."

"While I'm flattered that you think so highly of my skills, I'm not omniscient. This will take quite some time."

"I know. While you're working, I'll make sure to keep Danzo on a tight leash."

"Alright then," Jiraiya said as he headed for the door. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Hmm?"

"Do you realize that if I work on this, it will cut into my writing time, meaning that I will take much longer to finish the next Icha Icha book, right?"

Sarutobi gasped in shock, his eyes opened wide in horror. But said horror was short lived, and his face soon relaxed. A sad smile formed in his mouth. "Sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the greater good, Jiraiya, regardless of how painful they may be."

…

Shizune was in a mart close to her home, carrying out Tsunade's requests. After finding Naruto's favorite brand of baby food, she decided to buy all of it in one go to save further trips. Thoguh she couldn't help but wonder how long it would last. He needed to teach that kid the meaning of the word "moderation."

"Err...excuse me miss," a voice behind Shizune said.

The black haired kunoichi turned around, and saw a boy looking at her. The boy would be about five or six years old. He had dull black hair long enough to be styled in a ponytail, deep black eyes, and wore a black shirt, black pants and blue sandals. He appeared to be an Uchiha.

"Yes? Can I help you?" Shizune said, putting up her best smile.

"Do you really need all that baby food? I'd like some too, if it's not asking much."

"There is more baby food left here."

"Yes, but that's the only brand my brother will eat without throwing a tantrum," the black haired boy said.

"Oh, I can totally relate to that," Shizune said, giggling. "Guess that I wasn't too nice of me to take all of it like that. How many would you want?"

"Two would be enough."

Shizune complied, and gave two jars of baby food to the boy.

"There you go."

"Thank you, miss."

"My name's Shizune, by the way."

"Itachi. Itachi Uchiha," the boy said, confirming Shizune's guess.

"Nice to meet you, Itachi-kun. Your brother is lucky to have such a nice and caring big brother like you taking care of him."

Itachi blushed a little. "Thanks."

Both of them headed to the cashier. Itachi decided to keep talking.

"You know...that baby of yours must be really big if he eats that much," Itachi commented, looking at Shizune's basket, loaded with jars of baby food.

"That's the funny thing, he's so little! Tsunade-sama said that one day she's going to find where all the food he eats goes, because he's always hungry, and never gets fat!"

"Tsunade-sama?" Itachi repeated. Then a realization suddenly dawned on him. "Wait a minute, that baby of yours...is the kid with the Demon Fox sealed inside?"

Shizune's bright mood suddenly darkened, and pondered if he should answer him. But then again, most of the village already knew her as one of Naruto's caretakers, so lying would be pointless.

"Yes, he is."

"And...how is he?" Itachi asked with genuine curiosity.

"What do you mean?"

"Does he have something that makes him different from other babies?"

"Nothing that I have noticed. Trust me, deep down he's like everybody else."

"My parents didn't say anything, but I heard many grownups saying that he's dangerous, and that we should stay away from him."

"That's nonsense! Naruto's a normal kid like any other! Just because he has a demon sealed inside him doesn't make him dangerous! The seal the Fourth placed on him will make sure the Kyubi won't see daylight in a long, long time. "

"Then why did they bring Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama taking care of him?"

Shizune didn't like the course the conversation was taking.

"What do you mean by 'bring'?"

"They say that the Hokage had to recall the two legendary Sannin to keep the Demon Fox under watch and make sure he doesn't try to destroy Konoha again."

Shizune was livid. Where did that rumors come from? Wasn't people aware of Jiraiya being the kid's godfather and Tsunade-sama being his only blood relative alive? It was obvious that neither Tsunade-sama nor Jiraiya-sama had heard of this rumors, or else they would have done something.

She remembered the first time she decided to take a walk while carrying Naruto on a stroller. People shouted at her to get away from them, that she was putting them in danger by taking that 'thing' out of his 'cage'. At first she tried to ignore them and go somewhere else, but whenever he went, the treatment she got was the same. How could they be afraid of such an innocent creature?

The next time she went on a walk with Naruto, Tsunade went with them as well. And they got the same treatment the moment they placed a foot on another street.

That was a fatal mistake.

Only Shizune's pleas stopped Tsunade from leveling the entire district. Still, quite a few people had to be hospitalized.

From that day onwards, the verbal abuse stopped. But things didn't change that much. Whenever Shizune would walk with Naruto, people would simply return to their homes or leave the street until she and her ward where far enough. Some people muttered under their breath words the medic in training couldn't hear but could guess. They also shot her cold stares.

She feared that Naruto would have a hard time making friends.

But then again, this was a new scenario for her. While she already knew what most adults thought about Naruto, she was now talking to a child with no visible parent present. It was a golden opportunity not only to learn what any children would think of Naruto, but to erase whatever prejudices were implanted inside his young mind.

"Let me tell you that's a lie. Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are taking care of Naruto because both of them had strong ties with their parents. If that wasn't the case, then Naruto would be on an orphanage or under the care of any foster family. He doesn't _need_ to be under watch. Like I told you before, the Fourth's seal will make sure the Kyubi never returns."

Itachi's expression didn't change.

"I see. Then if you live with him,you're not afraid that the Kyubi won't be back...then I shouldn't be afraid either."

"Exactly! I'm so glad that you understand it," Shizune said, elated. Maybe there was hope at all!

After paying for the baby food, Shizune and Itachi went their separate ways.

"Goodbye, Shizune-san. It was nice to meet you."

"Feeling's mutual, Itachi-kun. I hope we meet again sometime soon!"

Shizune was in a considerably better mood now. That Itachi looked like a really nice and smart kid. Too bad he was too old to be Naruto's playmate. If only Naruto could meet some kids like him, then maybe she won't have to worry about him growing up without friends. Nevertheless, that possibility felt more plausible now.

Maybe Jiraiya-sama was right about trusting the next generation.

…

Tsunade was already regretting spending the afternoon napping, since once night arrived, she was too rested to fall asleep. She constantly shifted in her bed trying to get into a comfortable position, fluffed her pillow multiple times, opened the window in order to allow some fresh breeze in, closed the window once the room got too cold, opened the window _again_ , until she punched the pillow in frustration.

Maybe her best friend since she became an adult would be of some help. She got up from the bed, put on a robe and went to the living room. Turned out that Jiraiya was there, also awake, as well as her and Jiraiya's best friend: a bottle of sake.

"What are you doing up so late?" Jiraiya asked.

"I could ask you the same," Tsunade retorted.

"True, but I did ask first."

Tsunade groaned. "Okay, fine, I couldn't sleep and thought that some sake could help. So you may pour me a cup now. What about you?"

"Sarutobi-sensei tasked me with a big-ass mission that's going to take years to complete, and if I fail Konoha's relationship with the Uchiha Clan may go down the drain," Jiraiya said as he carefully poured some sake on Tsunade's cup. "I thought that you'd sleep like a log, given how overworked you've been this week."

"I spent all the day sleeping, so yeah, guess that I messed my sleeping cycle," Tsunade said as she emptied her sake cup in one go. Jiraiya refilled it without a single word from the blonde.

"Do you hear that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hear what?" Tsunade said, taken aback. Was somebody trying to break into their home? "I hear nothing."

"Exactly. Naruto hasn't cried a single time since sunset. I think that's a first."

"I didn't realize of that. And here we are, unable to sleep in our first silent night since we took care of that noisy brat."

"You've never been someone who appreciated irony."

"Oh, I do appreciate irony. When it happens to somebody else."

"Hehe, you're quite the smart girl, aren't you?" Jiraiya chuckled. "By the way Hime, can I ask you something?"

"I'm not drunk enough for that."

"Wow, shot down before I even asked. But I didn't mean that. Did you ever imagine your life turning out like this?"

Tsunade wondered about the question. The answer was a definitive "no". Since she was young, her picture of the future was her being married to her boyfriend Dan Kato, who would be Hokage, with her little brother Nawaki on his way to succeed him in the future. They would have at least two children. Tsunade would be retired from active duty and would work at the hospital, either treating the sick and wounded, or helping to shape the minds of the future generation of medics.

Yet fate had different plans for her. Dan and Nawaki's lives were brutally cut short before her very eyes. Unable to deal with so much death around her, she decided to flee Konoha and wander aimlessly around the world. She stopped thinking about the future and focused on the present. But the few times she did think in the future, she could only picture herself either dying alone on an alleyway after drinking way too much.

But...being back in Konoha, and raising a kid alongside Jiraiya? No, that never entered her mind. Hearing about the fate of Naruto's parents awoke a spark of determination within Tsunade that the Sannin thought it was long extinct. Maybe she failed to save Dan and Nawaki, but she swore that she'll do her best to ensure Naruto's safety.

Yet something that at first appeared some sort of self-imposed atonement task turned out to be rather...pleasant. Taking care of Naruto was a taxing job, but Tsunade considered it as much rewarding. And while living with Jiraiya didn't appeal to her one bit, the Toad Sage was a much nicer housemate than she had expected. In all these moths, he had never broke once the rules she had set. It almost felt like the old times.

"No," Tsunade finally answered. "Not that I complain. I didn't achieve much after leaving the village. I feel that I'm doing something with my life again. Guess that that old monkey was right, huh? What about you?"

Like Tsunade, Jiraiya also had dreams. He dreamed of marrying Tsunade and maybe have a couple brats with her. They'd live in a huge mansion. His reputation as a writer would even surpass his reputation as a ninja. People would fawn over him, gush about his talents and ask him to sign their books. He'd convince Orochimaru to drop his evil ways and return back to Konoha.

Like Tsunade, Jiraiya didn't think in the future, not even once, since he was too afraid to think about it. His life was plagued by failures and very little accomplishments. So far, his life was a cycle of doing his "research" to write his books to earn money, then blow up that money on alcohol and women, then start to work on his next book.

Yet here he was, living under the same roof as Tsunade without even being in a relationship with her and taking care of a kid that wasn't his –nor Tsunade's–. It was a good thing that Jiraiya did appreciate irony. But then again, now he suddenly didn't feel so afraid of thinking about the future. The thought that Tsunade and Naruto were part of it brought some comfort to his tortured mind.

"No, but even if being a swinging bachelor unchained by responsibilities such as fatherhood was something I greatly enjoyed...being here with you and taking care of Minato's brat is a nice change of pace."

"By the way, how's that new book coming along?"

"Slower than usual, between being back on duty and you not letting me to do more research..."

"Not gonna happen. At least as long as you want to continue living in this house and raising Naruto."

"I didn't say anything!"

"No, but you were thinking it!"

"It was you who asked about the book. And I didn't know you read minds now. Are you part Yamanaka as well, besides being Senju and Uzumaki?"

"I don't need mind reading powers to know what you're thinking. You've always been like an open book."

"I see. Do I make for an interesting read then?" Jiraiya said with wide grin on his face.

"When you behave properly, you certainly do."

Jiraiya chuckled, but didn't say anything in return. They both continue drinking until Tsunade thought about something worth talking again.

"What do you think Orochimaru is doing right now?"

Jiraiya almost choked on his sake. "Oh come on Hime! We were having a moment here, and you ruin it by bringing up that treacherous snake?"

"I believe that you an I don't share the same definition of 'having a moment'. And given that we're reflecting on our lives and future, I thought it would be fitting to talk about him. He used to be our teammate."

"Don't remind me. Well, from what I knew, the snake's probably cutting up the corpse of some poor bastard in a vain effort to understand 'the natural order of the universe' or bullshit like that."

"You know, it's kinda sad that he's the only one of us whose life is turning out the way he planned it. He doesn't seem to have any regrets over anything. Maybe if we decided to go rogue instead of legally retiring we would have been happy."

"Trust me, Orochimaru is everything but happy. He wanted to become Hokage, yet he got that denied. And he's embarked on a foolish quest for immortality that will end in disaster, simply because the guy is too afraid to die. The only thing that stop me from enjoying his eventual demise is all the innocent lives he's going to take with him."

"You know, you don't have to say that to make me feel better. Or to make you feel better about yourself."

"I'm not saying it because of that! Well, maybe a little. When you're down, seeing other people down, especially hated enemies, can be a bit of a consolation. But I know that everything I said is true."

"Do you think...we'll see him again?"

"I'm afraid so. I don't think he'll ever let go of the grudge against Konoha and sensei. He'll come back for revenge. Maybe not now, but sometime in the future. I'm certain of it."

"Well, that's an uplifting thought."

"Once again, it was you who asked."

"Yeah, bringing up Orochimaru might not have been a very good idea."

"Eh, it's okay. Alcohol can do that to you. Speaking of which, more sake?"

"I think I'll pass," Tsunade said with a wave of her hand. Jiraiya gave her a look. "Don't stare me like that! I might like to drink, but even I know when I had enough. I think I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," Jiraiya said. He was expecting Tsunade misinterpreting his words and loudly say how she didn't invite him into her bed, but said comment never came.

"You know...I think that maybe we should do this more often. Or at the very least whenever we can't sleep."

"I'll have to buy more sake then. Good night, Tsunade-hime."

"Good night, Jiraiya."

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the heart-to-heart, but both Tsunade and Jiraiya were feeling a little better about themselves, and managed to fall asleep rather quickly. And would have remained asleep until the next morning if it wasn't for certain somebody waking up all of sudden.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Naruto's cries could be heard across the whole neighborhood.

"I hate that kid so much..." Tsunade grumbled as she lazily got out of her bed.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And with this chapter, the seeds of the first two subplots have been planted! Oh, and since some people didn't realize that Jiraiya's line about turning Naruto into a pervert was meant to be a joke, I'm going to clarify now that Tsunade's line about hating Naruto is also a joke and not meant to be taken seriously (she's simply cranky due to lack of sleep).**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to review! Reviews make me ver, very happy!**


	3. When a Toad loves a Slug

**Author's note: Hello, my cute little readers, and welcome to a new chapter of "Son of the Sannin"! As you can see, this one is a bit longer than the other two. But before we begin, I'd like to recommend you some really good Naruhina fanfics. That way, you will have something to read while you wait for this story to get updated!**

 **War of the Biju** : An AU set just after Pain's invasion, in which Naruto becomes Hokage instead of Danzo. Lots of action, the Konoha 12 (especially Hinata) are way more badass than in canon without becoming Mary Sues.

 **The Hat Hangs Heavy** : Naruto becomes the Fifth Hokage instead of Tsunade.

 **The Tale of Nagato Uzumaki** : An AU in which the Rain Orphans follow Jiraiya to Konoha and decide to stay there. While it doesn't have much romance yet, the author mentioned it will have Naruhina. Very well written and enjoyable.

 **Because I Love You - Chasing After** **You** : AU in which the Third Hokage realizes that there's somebody more powerful than mere bandits going after Tazuna, and thus he decides to send Team 8 alongside Team 7 to protect him. Very slow paced, but very well written nontheless.

 **Himawari, Hokage for a day** : Oneshot. Self explanatory. Hilarious as hell.

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

When a Toad loves a Slug

Or

 _Why prophecies are always so damn cryptic?_

 _Two years after the Kyubi attack_

If an outsider traveled to Konoha, he or she wouldn't be able to tell of the catastrophe that hit the village two years ago, caused so much property damage and took away many lives.

The reconstruction efforts were already over. Most people had already stopped mourning their lost ones and continued with their lives. Unfortunately, that didn't mean that Konoha's inhabitants were more accepting of little Naruto. People would often scatter whenever one of his three caretakers would take him on a walk through the village, often between murmurs.

While nobody was stupid enough to risk the wrath of the Sannin by speaking their opinions of the blond toddler out loud, they couldn't be forced to show sympathy to him either. While the Toad Sage and the Slug Princess were outraged upon learning through Shizune that they're seen as Naruto's jailers rather than his foster parents, they had to admit it wasn't something illogical or stupid to think. Both Sannin spend many of their late night drinking sessions discussing ways on how to make the population stop fearing Naruto.

Speaking of Naruto, taking care of him became an even harder task once the little Jinchuriki learned how to walk. Despite his short, chubby legs, the kid was _insanely_ fast, always running from one room to another, never taking a moment to stop. They tried to keep him at bay with a baby fence, but he somehow ended up escaping. The only way to make him stay still for a prolonged time was for somebody to play with him. And said person would end up utterly exhausted after an hour or so.

Despite this, there was always somebody willing to play with Naruto. The kid had a talent to bright the mood of anybody who spend more than a few minutes with him, and the few times in which the three adults were present at the same time were always the most fun and pleasant, and the only ones in which Naruto would be the one to fall asleep first.

And today was going to be one of those days. After ending her shift at the hospital, Tsunade headed home with a smile on her lips. Shizune had recently returned from a mission outside the village, and Jiraiya wasn't scheduled to meet one of his spies until tomorrow. The whole family would be together.

She then stopped in her tracks after realizing the implications of what she was thinking.

" _Wait...I am actually happy to think that Jiraiya will be at home waiting for me? And I'm thinking of him as family?_ "

During the time they lived together, the two Sannin not only managed to repair their broken relationship, but they became even closer than when they were teammates. The nights they spend drinking and talking about their issues not only was a good way to vent some steam, but to get better acquitted with one another. She was starting to grow fond of the white haired pervert. Hell, he had been good on his word and hardly did anything perverted anymore. At least in her presence.

But that didn't mean that she was developing feelings for Jiraiya, right?

Tsunade pushed those thoughts aside the moment her house came into view. It was time for a fun afternoon with Naruto!

"Hey everybody, I'm home!" Tsunade said as she entered the house and walked into the living room.

"Oh, good. We were waiting for you," said Jiraiya's voice.

Tsunade was surprised to see that Jiraiya wasn't with Shizune and Naruto as she had expected –the young kunoichi and the blond baby were playing with some toys at the other side of the living room. Jiraiya, meanwhile, was alongside two small toads wearing black cloaks: one was green, had gray bushy eyebrows and a goatee of the same color, while the other was greenish yellow, had a bulbous purple head, and thick purple lips.

"I believe you already know Fukasaku and Shima, the Two Great Sage Toads," Jiraiya said as he motioned to the toads.

"It's good to see you again after so many years, Tsunade-chan," Fukasaku said.

"You turned into a quite lovely lady, don't you?" Shima added.

"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, it's an honor to meet you again," Tsunade said solemnly as she bowed her head. "May I ask what is the reason for your visit?"

"The Great Toad Sage had requested to see both you and Jiraiya-chan. Now that you finally came, we must head to Mount Myoboku immediately," Shima answered.

"We'll travel there via reverse summoning," Fukasaku added.

"Wait a minute, I don't have a Toad Summoning Contract! How are you going to bring me there?" the Slug Sannin asked.

"Don't worry, we have a solution for that. Please give me your hand," Fukasaku said.

Tsunade walked towards the old toad, and did as she was told. Fukasaku placed his hand on Tsunade's hand, closed his eyes, and focused his chakra.

"Sage Art: Seal of the Toads!" Fukasaku said as his hand glowed blue.

Tsunade felt something tingling the palm of her hand. When the toad's jutsu was over, the kanji for "Oil", which represented Mount Myoboku –and was the kanji on Jiriaya's forehead protector–, was engraved on her hand.

"That's a special seal that will allow you to be reverse summoned by the toads, as well as to summon any toad you want. It will only last one day before it fades, but for our current endeavor it will be more than enough," Fukasaku explained.

"Okay, we're ready to go!" Shima said as she and her husband started the reverse summoning process.

In less than a second, Jiraiya and Tsunade were no longer inside their house's living room, and found themselves in the middle of Mount Myoboku. While Jiraiya had been there quite a few times, Tsunade spend some minutes exploring the immediate surroundings, marveling at the natural beauty of the toads' home.

The place was filled with gigantic plants and mushrooms. Beautiful flowers that she had never seen before, nor knew they existed. Multiple rivers and streams flowed through the mountains. There were also many statues of toads scattered around the place. Yet for some reason, Tsunade found the place oddly familiar.

The Slug Sannin then realized what was Jiraiya's inspiration to decorate Naruto's bedroom.

"So, what do you think of our home, Tsunade-chan?" Shima asked.

"It's...amazing. The natural energy from this place is simply overwhelming. There's so much life..."

"Would you say it's better than Shikkotsu Forest?"

"Ma, don't ask her such a thing! Don't you see you're putting her in a predicament?" Fukasaku said angrily.

"Oh can it, Pa! It's not that we invite a non-Toad Summoner to our place that often, and I just want to compare!"

"Err...'better' or 'worse' aren't words that I'd use to compare both places. Guess that the word would be...'different'," Tsunade said, hoping that her answer wouldn't upset the Toads. However, she wasn't going to badmouth the Slugs behind their backs just to appease their current hosts.

"So...you said that the Great Toad Sage wanted to see us?" Jiraiya said, trying to get back to their current business.

"Oh, yes you're right. Come on, let's not make Gamamaru-sama wait any longer," Fukasaku said as he lead the way.

"Like that senile old geezer won't forget that he wanted to speak with the kids in the first place!" Shima scoffed.

While they headed to see the spiritual leader of the Toads, Fukasaku thought it was a good chance to bring up certain topic regarding their only summoner. He hopped onto the white haired man's shoulder.

"Jiraiya-chan, since you're here again, have you thought that it might be a good chance to complete your Senjutsu training?"

"Eh...maybe another time," Jiraiya replied uneasily. "I'm kind of busy right now."

"Always with that excuse..."

"Hey, I am taking care of a baby right now, so cut me some slack!"

"Were you taking care of a baby during the past ten years as well?"

"I don't need it. I already mastered Senjutsu."

Fukasaku scoffed in return. "Then you and I have a very different idea of what 'mastering Senjutsu' means. You need both Ma and I to enter and maintain Sage Mode. Plus your control of nature chakra has plenty of room for improvement."

"Listen, I will finish my training, okay? Just...just not now. I need to focus on Naruto first and foremost."

"I understand, Jiraiya-chan. But try not to delay it for much longer. The difference between incomplete and complete Sage Mode could mean the difference between life and death."

After a short trip, the two small toads and the two Sannin were in front of Gamamaru, the Great Toad Sage, who was sitting on a shallow pool. Tsunade eyed at the large red toad in front of her. Judging by the amount of wrinkles, warts, and near closed eyes, it was obvious that Gamamaru was very old. Some said that he was so old, he even had met and advised the Sage of the Six Paths himself, thought they were mostly rumors.

"Gamamaru-sama, Jiraiya-chan and Tsunade-chan are here, just like you requested," Fukasaku announced.

"Honorable Sage," both Sannin said at the same time as they bowed before him.

"Ahhh, I see. Good. There is much we need to talk," Gamamaru said, each word coming out of his mouth at a rather slow pace.

Jiraiya and Tsunade waited expectantly about what was what the Gamamaru wanted to tell them. They waited for a few minutes, but the old, large toad didn't say anything else.

"Gamamaru-sama?" Fugakasu asked.

"Zzzzzzzz..."

Jiraiya and Tsunade sweatdropped.

"WAKE UP YOU OLD GEEZER!" Shima screeched, startling Jiraiya, Tsunade and Fukasaku, but apparently waking up Gamamaru.

"Uh? It's lunchtime already?" Gamamaru asked, disoriented as he slowly looked around.

"Gamamaru-sama, you wanted to talk with Jiraiya-chan and Tsunade-chan, remember?" Fukasaku said once again, hoping to get everything back on track.

"Ahhhhh, yes. Listen up young ones, because there is a turbulent future ahead, both for of you, and the little tadpole under your care," Gamamaru said.

Tsunade's worry spiked upon hearing those words. "I don't care what happens to me, is something bad going to happen to Naruto?"

"Young Naruto will have a hard road ahead of him. He will do great things...and will meet terrible enemies. You will need to protect him from said enemies as long as he can't take care of himself."

"We will, Great Sage," Jiraiya stated with determination. Tsunade nodded as well.

"I have seen...Konoha on fire. Divided against itself. Friends will turn into enemies. Sons will fight their fathers. And behind the fire...a one-eyed demon. Be aware of him, said demon will go after Naruto. You must protect him at all costs.

"I have nothing more to say. Return now to your home, and meditate on my words," Gammaru said, before falling asleep once again.

Jiraiya and Tsunade looked at each other, as their brains processed Gamamaru's ominous predictions., and what they could do to make sure everything was alright.

…

Half an hour later, Jiraiya and Tsunade were send back to their home. Much to their surprise, they found Naruto crying his eyes out while Shizune tried to comfort him in vain.

"What's going on here? Naruto, why are you crying?" Jiraiya asked, and frowned.

Upon hearing his voice, Naruto turned his head around, and looked at him. He stopped crying, and his sad grimace turned into the brightest smile they ever saw. He wiped his tears, jumped from Shizune's lap, and rushed to hug them.

"You back!" Naruto said as he was scooped by Jiraiya.

"What's going on, Shizune?" Tsunade asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"He saw you disappearing in a cloud of smoke, and thought that you were gone for good. I've been trying to explain him that you would be back soon, but he didn't believe me," the young kunoichi replied.

"Oh, my poor kid! Of course he thought that, we left without even telling him goodbye!" Tsunade said as she took Naruto from Jiraiya's arms. "Forgive me, sweetheart, I promise we will never do that again, okay?"

"Okay!" Naruto said, wrapping his little arms around Tsunade's neck.

"Alright, enough of that, who's up for our Game Night?" Jiraiya said, and everybody cheered in return.

…

After a fun and lively game night, Shizune and Naruto went to sleep. Jiraiya and Tsunade tried to, but they couldn't. Both of them couldn't stop thinking about Gamamaru's warnings regarding not just Naruto, but the world in general. Like usual, they were in the living room, with a couple bottles of sake.

"So, Naruto is in danger from a 'one-eyed demon'. Does that mean that we should be aware of any one-eyed people we run into? Because losing eyes is quite common in our line of work," Jiraiya commented as he emptied his cup of sake. "My first choice would be Danzo, the leader or ROOT."

"The only person with one eye that I know is Kakashi. Maybe he was talking about him?" Tsunade said.

"Kakashi has two eyes, even if he only uses one most of the time. Plus he's a nice kid, he wouldn't harm Naruto. He was Minato's student, after all."

"And a huge fan of your books."

"And a huge fan of my books, yes. But I'm not defending him because of that, Hime."

"I know, I was just teasing you. Couldn't that old frog could have been a bit more specific about this one-eyed demon? Some more hints could have been useful besides lacking an eye."

"First, Gamamaru is a toad, not a frog. Never call frog a toad, they don't take it very good. And second, Gamamaru doesn't have the context of the visions he gets, so all he can do is interpret them to the best of his ability."

"Well, that vision of his got me on the edge. He told us that Naruto is in danger, but didn't specify about what kind of danger, and we can't protect him from everything. I mean, it's not that we can lock him down in his room or something."

"Even if you did, he'll find a way out. He always does," Jiraiya mentioned, causing Tsunade to chuckle. "But then again, that's nothing new. His parents, especially Minato, had a lot of enemies that would love to get revenge through Naruto. And he already has yet another bullseye on his back due to being the Kyubi Jinchuriki."

"Even worse then."

"What also worried me was the part about Konoha being on fire. Do you think that somebody is planning to attack us?"

"I wouldn't rule that out. We're still recovering from the Kyubi attack, which made a number on our forces. I'm hoping our presence here serves as a deterrent for any village who might want to invade Konoha."

"I hope so. We may not be the Yellow Flash, but the name of the Sannin still can inspire fear among our enemies."

"And that part about 'friend turning enemies'...do you think that we may be betrayed by one of our allies?"

"From what I know, our current allied village is Suna, but even with our recent losses, they still lack the numbers and power to wage war against us. At least on their own. Maybe they can ally with one of the other three great villages, but I find that unlikely."

"Even then, maybe it would be a good idea to try to strengthen our ties with them. Pay them a visit, mail some sake to the Kazekage, stuff like that."

"Sake seems to be your answer to everything."

"Because it works! I mean, remember when we returned here, how we couldn't spend five minutes without yelling at each other?"

"Actually, it was you who did most of the yelling," Jiraiya said with a cheeky grin as he poured more sake on his empty cup.

"Yet when we started to have this late night drinks, everything became far smoother. Now I'm even happy to see that you're home when I get back from work! If that's not enough proof of sake's miraculous conciliatory powers...Oh! Oh! OHHHH! Of course!" Tsunade said in realization as a huge smile formed in her face.

"What?"

"That's how we can make everybody accept Naruto! He only needs to go drinking with every villager here!"

"Wow, even in my wasted state, I still can see how much that idea sucks."

Tsunade's smile disappeared, and was replaced by an angry frown. "And why is that, smartass?"

"Well, I might not know much about babies, but isn't alcohol like, very toxic to them? We still have to wait about sixteen years until he can do that. And even then...he'll have to drink a lot in order to befriend the entire village."

"Dammit, I haven't thought that," Tsunade said, as she slumped on her chair, and drank from her cup again. "Oh well, I'm sure I can think something. I just need more...inspiration, hehe."

"Hey, Hime...don't you think we had enough? Maybe we should go to bed!"

"I will decide when I had enough! Now come on, keep the sake going! I have to forget that damned prediction from that damned frog! "

"Toad."

"Whatever!"

…

"Tsunade-sama! Are you awake? Come on you need to get up, you're going to be late for the hospital!"

Shizune's voice awakened the blonde Sannin. The sunlight coming through the window felt into her eyes like being stabbed with burning hot daggers. Which didn't do any good to alleviate the massive hangover she was starting to notice. She could swear her head would explode at any moment.

"Yes, I'm awake," Tsunade said in a barely audible grumble. "And stop yelling so much!"

The Slug Princess tried to get out of the bed, but she couldn't. There was _something_ that was keeping her from moving. Further inspection revealed that it was a rather large, and definitely male looking arm. She followed the arm with her eyes, and just as she feared said arm was attached to a man. A _naked_ man. A man with white hair she knew very well. While asleep, there was a very wide grin on his face.

Taking into account the fact that Tsunade was also naked, it didn't take a genius to realize what happened last night, even if she didn't remember it. Nor she wanted to remember, anyway.

She wanted to scream, but her extremely dried throat could only produce a cough.

 _Just how much did I drink last night?_ The blonde Sannin asked herself in horror.

Covering her naked body with the blanket, Tsunade tried to push the Toad Sage awake.

"Jiraiya. Jiraiya. Jiraiya!" Tsunade said as she rocked the white haired man, each time with more force.

Jiraiya opened his eyes slowly, blinking several times until they accustomed to the current light. He groaned, rubbing his head with one hand, effectively being victim of a hangover just as bad as his drinking buddy. He then looked at Tsunade, and his mouth formed a smile.

"Good morning, Hime," Jiraiya said absentmindedly. Then, slowly but surely, the more aggravating elements of the situation started to sink in. Upon realizing what was going on, he looked at Tsunade's barely naked form with his eyes wide opened as his face turned red. "WHOA! What the hell!? What happened-"

"Trust me, I feel the same. We can talk about that later –and make no mistake, we _will_ talk about it, – now get out of here before somebody sees us!" Tsunade said, panicked.

"R-right!" Jiraiya babbled as he hastily started to pick his clothes from the bedroom's floor and got dressed. Tsunade proceeded to do the same.

"Tsunade-sama, get out of the bed already!" Shizune's voice said from the other side of the door. "Even back in Konoha, I still have to be the responsible one."

"I'm awake! I still need a few minutes to get ready! Just don't come in!"

"And what is taking you so long...?" Shizune asked as she opened the door and came into the room, only to be greeted with an image of her mentor and Jiraiya half naked, trying to get dressed as half as possible. Both Sannin smiled at her sheepishly. Shizune let out an "EEP!" and quickly left, slamming the door shut. "It's okay, it's okay! I didn't see anything! Just...take all the time you need!"

…

To say that breakfast time that morning was awkward would be a massive understatement. They all ate their breakfast without uttering a word, Shizune feeding Naruto while she actively avoided looking at the two Sannin in front of her. Tsunade, however, couldn't bear the silence anymore, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Shizune, what you just saw-"

"None of my business," Shizune said matter-o-factly. "We're all adults here. Just...tell me beforehand so we don't run into more...unfortunate situations," the young kunoichi said, without turning her head to look at her mentor.

This time it was Jiraiya who tried to speak.

"Listen Shizune, Tsunade-hime and I aren't-"

"Do you think we should talk about that in front of Naruto?" Shizune interrupted again.

Both Sannin looked at the blonde toddler, happily enjoying his food and ignoring the conversation that was going on in front of him. They could pretty much be talking about Minato and Kushina and he'd pay as much attention. But then again, they had to admit Shizune had a point, that wasn't something to discuss in front of a little kid.

"Now, if you excuse me, today I have gate duty," Shizune said once she had finished feeding Naruto and eating her own breakfast, and left.

"Err...I think that I'll get going too. I don't want to keep my contact waiting. Hopefully I'll get some more hints on the Kyubi attack," Jiraiya said, clearly dying to get out of that house. "Will you take care of Naruto?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll leave him in the hospital's daycare," Tsunade replied. "So...see you later?"

"Alright then...goodbye."

…

Shizune was hoping that if she focused on work, maybe she'll remove the image of Tsunade and Jiraiya naked sharing the same bed, but gate duty was so boring and uneventful that she couldn't distract her mind with something else.

Over the two years that Tsunade and her had been living under the same roof as Jiraiya, Shizune had noticed that their relationship became smoother little by little. During the first few weeks they used to argue a lot, and tried to avoid each other as much as possible. If Jiraiya was in the living room, Tsunade wouldn't go there until the Toad Sage left first. If Tsunade and her were having dinner in the dinning room, Jiraiya would wait until they were finished before he would have dinner himself. The only time the two of them were together was when they spent time with Naruto.

Then, the arguments became less and less frequent until they disappeared completely. Tsunade and Jiraiya were able to have civilized conversations, and seemed to tolerate each other enough so they stopped avoiding each other, as if they were finally getting used to each other's constant presence, and even enjoying it.

One day that the medic ninja apprentice couldn't sleep, she heard voices coming from the living room, which she instantly recognized as the two Sannin. She then learned that whenever the two of them couldn't sleep, they would get up, have a drink and talk. Then this became a tradition, with both staying awake until late in the night regardless if they were suffering from insomnia or not, drinking and talking with each other.

But even with how much their relationship improved, Shizune could never guessed in a million years that they would end up...sleeping together.

After her uncle Dan had died, Shizune never saw her master showing the barest of interest in the opposite gender again. Due to her beauty and...generous pair of assets, Tsunade attracted many men, which she ended up rebuffing sometimes without even looking at them first. Those who took her rejection badly ended up in the hospital.

"Alright, your papers seem to be in order. I hope you enjoy your stay at Konoha!" Shizune said to a merchant who had just crossed the gates. She then returned to her initial track of thoughts.

Shizune had ambivalent feeling towards this morning's...shocking developments. On one side, she wanted to shake that image from her mind. Tsunade was the closest thing she had to a mother, and nobody wants to think about their parents having sex. But on the other hand...she was feeling happy that apparently somebody was able to tear down the emotional barriers the blonde Sannin erected around her heart for years. She deserved to be happy.

"Ahem, excuse me," a voice said that snapped Shizune out of her trance. She blinked, and saw a Konoha Jonin looking at her. He had dark brown hair tied into a ponytail, and a goatee.

"Oh, sorry, what I can I do for you?" Shizune asked the Jonin.

"My name is Yuki Minazuki, Jonin-sensei of Team 2. My team is about to take its first mission out of the village," the Jonin explained.

"Alright," Shizune said as she wrote down everything Yuki said. "I'll need the names of your Genin, please."

"Sure. They're Shinko Inari, Tenma Izumo and Itachi Uchiha."

Shizune was taken aback when she heard the last name. She then looked at the Genin that were waiting a few meters behind their sensei. She saw a boy that was about ten or eleven years old with gray, spiky hair, wearing a dull blue shirt and black pants. Besides him was a girl of a similar age with the same hair color, styled into two pigtails that curved upwards, and was wearing a maroon t-shirt that exposed her belly, dark blue shorts, and a cap on her head. And lastly, there was another kid, much younger than the other two, whom Shizune identified at the kid she first met on a grocery store a year ago, and saw a few more times whenever she went on a walk.

"Itachi-kun? Is that you?" Shizune asked.

"Oh, hi, Shizune-san," Itachi said as he waved at her.

"Are you a genin already?" Shizune asked, her eyes wide open. Itachi just nodded. "But...how old are you?"

"Seven and a half."

"But...you're so young!"

"Well, Itachi is quite talented," Yuki spoke up. "I was quite surprised when they told me he was the Rookie of the Year of his promotion."

Shizune was left speechless. Not only this kid graduated five years before the average Genin, but doing so as the best of his class was something beyond amazing. Granted, she knew that both Tsunade and Jiraiya had graduated academy when they were just six, but she never expected to meet another prodigy of the same caliber.

"We're going on our first C-rank mission, it isn't great?" Itachi said, beaming.

"Now, if everything is in order, I'd like to continue with our mission, please," Yuki said.

"Oh, yes, of course. Good luck out there. You'll tell me how it went when you get back, Itachi-kun." Shizune said as she waved at Itachi and his team.

"Thank you, Shizune-san. And yeah, I will," Itachi said, waving back.

"Guess that they weren't exaggerating when they talked about the prowess of the Uchiha. Hmmm...wonder if under the tutelage of Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama Naruto-kun will be able to become a Genin that soon..." Shizune mused to herself.

…

Night fell over Konoha once again. While Shizune and Naruto were asleep once again, Jiraiya and Tsunade were having their usual late night drinking session. Except there were two key differences: the first one was that they were sitting at the opposite ends of the living room's couch, in an awkward attempt to put as much space between each other as possible. And second, there was no sake. Despite both Sannin undying adoration of the burning brew, they weren't going to take any chances after what happened the previous night.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "So...how was your day, hime?"

"...good. Today came a pregnant woman who gave birth to triplets," Tsunade answered, without looking at him.

"Oh, triplets. You don't see that every day," Jiraiya replied. "And...how's your hemophobia going?"

"Good too. Therapy is working fine. I'm making some progress, even if it's at a slow pace. My therapist says I will be able to perform surgery again in two years."

"That's...that's something great to hear."

"And...what about you? How was your meeting with that spy?"

"Good I guess. He shared with me some information about a new mercenary group that seems to be interested in the Tailed Beasts. I'll have to investigate that in the future."

"It's good to know that we're getting closer to-OH SCREW THIS!" Tsunade shouted, throwing her hands in the air. Fortunately, she didn't wake up the two youths sleeping upstairs.

"...it is something I said?"

"No. It's...this! I mean, we're in our forties and here we are, acting like a couple of emotionally disabled teenagers! Having some small talk in a pathetic attempt at ignoring what we did last night!"

"You wanna talk about it?"

"Like hell I do. But before we talk," Tsunade said as she walked towards the drinks cabinet and grabbed two cups and a few sake bottles. "Let's have a drink."

Tsuande poured the sake on the two cups, and both Sannin drank them in one go.

"So, do you feel better?" Tsunade asked.

"Yeah, I guess, but I could do with another cup," Jiraiya said. Tsunade obliged and poured him more sake.

"Alright Jiraiya, now I want you to answer me this honestly, no lies. Do you still like me?"

Jiraiya sighed as he gulped down the second cup of sake. Tsunade would expect a yes/no answer, but not even the Toad Sannin knew the extent of his feelings towards his former teammate.

"I...I don't know...I guess."

"You _guess_? Come on Jiraiya, try a bit harder. Take another drink if you need it."

"I know I used to like you, and I tried to get over my feelings for you since I knew we weren't mean to be together, and I thought that I moved on. Then...plenty of shit happened, and suddenly I'm raising a kid with you. I thought that taking care of Naruto would be like doing a mission, but seeing you every day, our late night talks, being Naruto's parents...I think they rekindled those feelings."

"I see..."

"What about you, Tsunade? Did you find yourself attracted to me all of sudden? Because I know that there's no man on this world who can trick you, much less force you, to share a bed with him."

"I...I'm not sure. But guess that I'd be an hypocrite if I didn't give you a specific answer after I forced you to give me one. I don't know when it happened, but suddenly I started growing more fond of you with each passing day. I didn't know if it was just fondness or if it was...something more? To be honest, I've been an emotional mess since I left Konoha."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Heh, I can relate to that."

"Jiraiya, the rules I established when we started living together..."

"What about them? Did I break any?"

"No, and that's what surprised me the most. You didn't do any of your 'research' or any other perverted stuff I was expecting you to do. Were you hoping to win some points with me by sticking to my rules?"

"No. Listen, Tsunade, what happened yesterday surprised me as much as it did surprise you."

"Then why did you decide to follow those rules then?"

"I might not had been trying to woo you anymore, but I never stopped caring about you. I know I'm not the easiest person to live with, that's why I had been trying to suppress my least admirable traits in order to give you an easy time. You deserved as much as that."

"I...well, thank you for that. I know I hadn't been the easiest housemate either. Looking back, I was a total bitch to you when we first moved here. You know, you could have set some rules for me as well."

"Eh, it's okay. I didn't find it necessary."

"Really? Wasn't there anything I did but you wanted for me to stop?"

"A couple things, but minor enough not to warrant something like a rule. Plus those offenses aren't hard to ignore when the offender is so easy to the eyes," Jiraiya said with a wide grin, as he shot Tsunade a devious look.

Tsunade scowled and punched him in the shoulder. "See? That's what I was talking about. You were doing so good, and you had to ruin it."

"Come on, you wouldn't like me if I changed everything about me, right?"

"I like you better when you're not a pervert."

"AHA! You admitted to like me at last!"

Tsunade opened her eyes wide, stunned. "I did...?" after a few seconds of silence she let a small smile to from on her face "I guess I do. There's no point in denying it."

"So...what do we do now? Do we go on a date or something...?"

"Actually...let's take this slow, okay? I might have admitted that I have some feelings for you, but still need to put my thoughts in order before we can take this any further."

"It's okay. I've been dreaming for this moment for decades. I can wait a little more."

"Good to know that. As for now, we might not go on a date, but there are a couple bottles of sake that have on a date with our livers," Tsunade said as she poured more sake on her and Jiraiya's cups.

They spent the rest of the night casually chatting while drinking, resembling what they usually did during the previous nights.

…

Shizune woke up next morning as usual. After getting dressed, she walked towards Tsunade's bedroom.

"Tsunade-sama, are you awake? It's time to get up," Shizune said after knocking the door, but there was no answer. She knocked the door again. "Tsunade-sama?"

Fearing for the worst, the young Chunin opened the door slowly, and after working up some courage, she dared to peek inside. But much to her surprise, the room was empty, and the bed was made. Weird. Tsunade never wakes up earlier than her.

"Oh well, guess that there's a first time for everything," Shizune said as she went downstairs.

However, upon reaching the living room, she saw something way worse than the image of the previous morning, which also made her realize why the bed was made. Tsunade didn't sleep in her room at all.

"OH DEAR KAMI!" Shizune shouted in horror as she rushed back upstairs. "THAT'S THE ONLY COUCH WE HAVE!"

* * *

 **Author's note: Aw, poor Shizune. Guess that it's pretty easy to imagine what she saw when she entered the living room, right?**

 **So yeah, Jiraiya and Tsunade are an item now. You may think I rushed their relationship much, but keep in mind that they've been living 2 years together. Still, I did my best to make sure that it didn't feel unnatural, it will be up to you to decide if I succeeded or not. The reason is that I don't want to dedicate too many chapters to cover the era in which Naruto is still a baby.**

 **The next chapter, which will be uploaded the next week, we will cover the Hyuga Affair! Meanwhile, take a couple minutes to leave a review if you liked this chapter. Reviews makes me very, very, very happy!**


	4. The Hyuga Affair

**Authro's Note: And after three measly chapters, this story has also become my most favorited story as well. Let's see how long it takes to become the most reviewed.**

 **Anyway, as each week, here you have a new chapter of this story you like so much. See you again at the end of the chapter ;)**

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

The Hyuga Affair

Or

 _Bloodline Limits are not a substitute for anger management_

 _Three years after the Kyubi attack_

It took them some time, but Jiraiya and Tsunade were able to sort out their issues, and decided to give themselves a chance. Things were slow at first, just as Tsunade wanted, but they soon became comfortable with each other and their relationship moved way faster than anyone would had anticipated, and a year after they made their relationship official to Shizune and Naruto, they agreed to marry.

For Shizune's sanity's sake, they also decided to limit any activity remotely linked to sexual intercourse to their bedroom. The girl had an innate talent for finding them doing it, if you could call that a talent.

While Tsunade and Jiraiya wanted a small, intimate ceremony with their closest family members and friends, in the end it became a huge event due to how many people wanted to witness their union. After the wedding was over, there were two consecutive days of partying across all of Konoha, and it would have been more if Sarutobi didn't use the ANBU to force everybody (especially other ninja) to return to their usual duties.

Jiraiya and Tsunade traveled to a village in Land of the Hot Springs, which used to be a ninja village like Konoha, but failed due to the lack of quality of the ninjas trained there, and was converted into a tourist resort, which was far more successful.

That had been a week and a half ago. Naruto was elated, since today was the day their beloved parental figures would return from their trip. He had begged and cried to take him with them. It took nearly three hours until they convinced him to stop begging.

The moment the door opened, Naruto immediately bolted from the couch –Shizune had it washed four times since "the incident"– and dashed towards the door.

"Mom! Dad! You're back!" Naruto cheered as she hugged Tsunade's legs.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you missed us, but guess that there's no need to," Tsunade chuckled as she bended down to hug Naruto.

"Welcome back, you two! How was your trip?" Shizune asked.

"Couldn't have been better! The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, the service pretty nice...but all of it pales in comparison to the wonderful company," Jiraiya said as he pulled Tsunade near him and kissed her.

"Ugh, didn't you guys get enough 'fun time' already? I don't need more mental scars."

"Shizune is right, Jiraiya. At least, wait until tonight," Tsunade replied as she gently pushed Jiraiya back.

"I make no promises," Jiraiya said with one of his trademark perverted grins.

"What amazed me the most is how that place seems to be always summer. One day I'll find out why did they do to have a micro-climate like that."

"You buy me a present?" Naruto asked.

"It was your birthday not even two months ago! You already had presents," Tsunade said, hands on her hips. Naruto's eyes then watered as his mouth curved down. Tsunade sighed, rolled her eyes and produced a wrapped box from under her jacket. "There you go brat."

Naruto quickly snatched the box and unwrapped it, revealing to be a set of toy shurikens and kunais made of plastic.

"Yay! My first ninja stuff!" Naruto cheered as he opened the box.

"We thought that maybe you could start training with the basics. You'll be enrolled in the academy in a couple years after all," Jiraiya mentioned, ruffling Naruto's hair.

Naruto didn't say anything, he simply took his present and rushed towards his room upstairs in order to enjoy his new toy.

"Boy, I wish everybody else could be so happy with so little," Jiraiya said as he saw his adoptive son disappearing upstairs. Then he turned his eyes to the young kunoichi. "So, did something interesting happened while we were out, Shizune?"

"Actually, yes. I've been promoted to Special Jonin!" the black haired girl announced, even jumping in joy.

"Congratulations! You really deserved it!" Jiraiya said, patting her in the back.

"Hell, she deserves to be an actual Jonin!" Tsunade added, a bit upset. "Tomorrow I'm going to have a talk with that old monkey and make sure that-"

"Please, don't. I don't want everybody else to think that I got my promotion because of you. Besides, Hokage-sama said that if I keep working hard, I can be an actual Jonin within the next year."

"That's awesome! Come on, we need to have dinner out to celebrate your promotion," Jiraiya suggested.

"It's not necessary. Besides, aren't you tired from the trip back? Shouldn't you try to rest a bit first?"

Tsunade frowned. "Seriously Shizune, do I look THAT old? Isn't my transformation working properly?"

"Okay, okay, let's go have dinner outside! I'll get Naruto ready while you two unpack," Shizune conceded as she walked upstairs.

"And show more enthusiasm, dammit! We're going to celebrate YOUR promotion!"

…

The next day, Jiraiya was summoned by an ANBU to the Hokage's office. The white haired Sannin already expected what his old mentor would ask, and he wouldn't like the answer. After waiting some minutes, an ANBU told the Toad Sage that he could enter the office. Hiruzen was already waiting for him.

"Welcome back, Jiraiya. Take a seat. So, tell me, how was your honeymoon?"

Well, that definitely _wasn't_ what he was expecting him to ask.

"Eh, it was good, we had a great time there. We might go there again on one of our anniversaries," Jiraiya replied.

"Good to know. Though I'm glad that at least two of my students found happiness with each other, you'll probably guessed that that wasn't the reason I called you here. How is your investigation going?"

Yeah, that was more like it.

"Truth be told, I hadn't found anything that might exonerate the Uchiha from the Kyubi attack. What I did found, however, was that there's a group that has been gathering information about the Tailed Beasts. They call themselves Akatsuki," Jiraiya explained.

"Hmmmm, that's something worrisome. What did you learn about this group?"

"Nothing much, other than they're a recently formed mercenary group. They managed to become well known in the past year due to their high rate of success and absurdly low prices. Many villages, both major and minor, are losing quite some customers to this group."

Hirzuen frowned, and crossed his hands under his chin. "We'll have to keep this group under close watch. Have they tried something like abducting a Jinchuriki from another village?"

"From what I heard, no."

"That's good. We'll inform other villages about our discoveries. Maybe this isn't anything, but you can't never be too cautious."

"Uh, I don't think they'll believe anything we might say, and think we are trying to trick them. With the exception of Suna, our relationship with the rest of the villages, both major and minor, isn't exactly good. And Suna doesn't give me good vibes either."

"Actually, that may change soon. We're making preparatives for an alliance with Kumogakure."

Jiraoya couldn't help but open his eyes wide in shock. "Are you serious!?" Jiraiya almost shouted as he leaned towards Sarutobi.

"Indeed I am. The Raikage sent a few days ago a small retinue, leaded by Kumo's Head Ninja. They want us to sign an alliance treaty."

"This doesn't smell good. Did you read the treaty?"

"I did, and I found their terms to be reasonable. Neither me nor the council think there's a reason for not to sign that treaty."

"I see."

"...but you don't think I should sign it. Right, Jiraiya?"

"Exactly. I mean, I can't give you an specific reason. It's more like a...gut feeling. I mean, don't you find a bit weird that that rageaholic jackass that is the Raikage would want an alliance with us all of sudden? This smells fishy."

"I did think the same, Jiraiya, but if never learn to forget past transgressions and make an effort to create bonds with our former enemies, we will never attain true peace. Maybe the Raikage finally saw reason. Besides, this can be beneficial for your ward."

"Beneficial for Naruto? Explain."

"I know that Kumogakure has two Jinchuriki. Both of them had tamed their Tailed Beasts, and can use their power without any risk. If this goes well, maybe in the future Kumogakure will share with us what kind of training they did in order to achieve such feat. I know that Minato would have wanted Naruto to learn to use the power of the Kyubi, if that wasn't the case he would have used a different seal."

"If that's the case, I hope that I'm wrong. Naruto needs to be as strong as possible, and such training would prove invaluable."

"Besides, we will need other alliances besides Suna if this Akatsuki group is the threat you fear it is. And with Kumo and Suna on our side, maybe we can pressure Iwa and Kiri to join us. Can you imagine that, Jiraiya? All five villages, finally united?" Sarutobi looked visibly excited at the prospect, as if seeing the culmination of the work of a lifetime.

"It's a pretty good picture, sensei. But with Kiri's ninja being more unhinged than ever and how much Iwa hates us, it's unlikely."

"Unlikely doesn't mean impossible, my former student. Anybody would have said that you marrying Tsunade was also 'unlikely', yet look what happened. As long as there's a chance for something wonderful, we should fight for it with all our strength, don' t you think?"

"I guess you're right."

"Keep up with the Akatsuki. I have a feeling that the mysterious attacker who unleashed the Kyubi was part of that group. With enough luck, we might gather enough evidence to exonerate the Uchiha."

"Speaking of which, how are the Uchiha doing?"

Sarutobi's expression soured. "Sadly, not good. There seems to be an information leak, and the Uchiha learned that they're being held suspect for the Kyubi attack, and my ANBU are hearing murmurs and rumors about the Uchihas being potential traitors among the population. As you can imagine, Fugaku-san was far from amused."

"This is not good. The Uchiha will grow restless, and that will only make them to look more suspicious on Danzo's eyes."

"That's why your investigation is so important, Jiraiya. I decided to be lenient and let you enjoy some time alone with Tsunade, but now it's time to get back to work. We need information on the attack, and we need it as soon as possible," Sarutobi sternly said.

"The Akatsuki lead seems to be the best one. I'll continue with that."

"Good. You're dismissed. Now, I have a treaty to sign."

…

Unfortunately for the Third, his hopes for peace would be cruelly crushed. The very same night the treaty was signed, a masked ninja attempted to kidnap Hiashi Hyuga's three year old daughter, Hinata. Hiashi killed the man before he could even get out of the Hyuga Compound. The kidnapper turned out to be Kumogakure's head ninja.

Now it was obvious that the whole treaty was just a ruse to infiltrate a Kumo ninja on Konoha who could abduct an Hyuga. The Raikage's answer came quickly in the form of a rather scathing letter demanding for the killer, Hiashi Hyuga, to be extradited to Kumo to be judged for attacking a diplomat, while at the same time vehemently denying any kidnapping attempt on their part. Refusing the demands would result in war.

There was an emergency meeting at the Hyuga Compound. Besides the highest ranking memebers within the clan hierarchy, such as Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Main Family, his brother Hizashi, head of the Branch Family, and their father, a clan elder and former head of the Main Family, there were also the Hokage, Jiraiya, Koharu, Homura and Danzo.

"Our main priority is avoiding a war with Kumo. We haven't recovered yet from the Kyubi attack, we can't afford going to war so soon, especially not after a village that strong," the Hokage declared.

"We all read that letter. The only viable solution is for me to be handed to Kumogakure. It was me who killed the Head Ninja, so it should be me who shoulders this responsibility," Hiashi declared solemnly.

"Hiashi, don't. We can't let the Byakugan to fall into those bastards' hands," the Hyuga Elder said.

"I agree. If we hand the Byakugan to the enemy, we will give them a weapon to use against us. What guarantee we have that they won't declare war on us once they forced you to produce enough Byakugan bearers?" Danzo asked.

"That's why we already have devised a solution. Hizashi will go in your place. We shall execute him in front of the Raikage, and hand the corpse to him. That way, Kumo won't get the Byakugan and we'll avert the war," the Elder said. Upon seeing Hiashi's reaction, he added: "Hizashi already agreed with the plan."

"Are you really thinking in surrender to their demands? So one of them commits a crime against one of our clans on our own village, and WE are the ones who have to compensate THEM? What kind of message would be sending to the rest of the villages, that we let everybody to trample over us with impunity?" Koharu angrily shouted.

"I agree with Councilor Utatane. Konoha must never kneel before potential enemies," Danzo added.

"I can't believe what I'm going to say, but I agree with Danzo," Jiraiya added. Danzo shot him a neutral look. "This may set a dangerous precedent. When other villages hear out of this, what will stop them of making unreasonable demands under threat of war?"

"But we can't afford going into a war!" Homura interceded. "Even if we win, we would be so weakened afterwards that we'd be an easy prey for even the minor villages!"

"Actually, I believe that the Raikage's threat of war is just a bluff," Jiraiya stated.

"What make you be so sure of that, Jiraiya-sama?" Hiashi asked.

"We just killed one of their higher ranked ninjas on a diplomatic mission. That's a pretty valid excuse to wage a war, and at least one of the previous wars was waged over even less than that. If they really wanted war, the Fourth Ninja War would have already been declared."

"Do you have any ideas, Jiraiya?" the Hokage asked.

"As a matter of fact, I do sensei. Let's reply their bluff with one of our own. I believe that since neither Tsunade nor I officially went back to active duty, they probably don't know that we're back in Konoha. Let him show that two of the Legendary Sannin are back in business, and see if he's so eager to wage war against us then."

"That's a dangerous gamble, Jiraiya. While you and your teammates built quite the reputation during the Second War, it isn't a guarantee that might intimidate the Raikage."

"Guess that after living with Tsunade so much time something of her rubbed off on me, hehe," Jiraiya said with a chuckle. "Fortunately, my luck will be better than hers."

"I like your plan, Jiraiya. It's good to see that after all the pacifistic ideas Hiruzen surely filled your head with, you're still capable of some ruthlessness," Danzo told him.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, then shuddered. A compliment from Danzo. He never felt so dirty.

"Hokage-sama, what is your decision then?" Homura asked.

Sarutobi closed his eyes, and pondered his options for a few minutes. He finally reached a decision.

"We will follow Jiraiya's plan. I'll send a letter to the Raikage asking him to meet me on neutral ground. Once there, we'll attempt our bluff."

…

The next week, the Hokage and a group composed of Jiraiya, Tsunade, Hiashi Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, Kakashi Hatake and Shibi Aburame were heading towards the Land of Hot Springs, which would serve as the neutral ground where the meeting would take place. Several Chunin were carrying the corpse of the Head Ninja on a stretcher, as well as the other two Kumo ninja that came with him.

"Ugh, they didn't have women my size in mind when they made these goddamned flak jackets!" Tsunade grumbled, trying to close her jacket over her massive rack, before finally giving up.

"If it was a man who did, I can guarantee he did. All men have women your size in mind at some point in their lives," Jiraiya said with a perverted grin. Tsunade shot him a cold glare. " Don't give me that look, I'm just stating facts."

Both of them were wearing a green flak jacket over a blue long sleeved shirt, blue pants, and a Konoha forehead protector.

"I can't believe I let you make me agree to do this. We had left this shit behind," Tsunade protested.

"Relax, Hime," Jiraiya whispered as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "We aren't going to fight, just to instill some fear into their bones. This will be over before you realize it."

He decided not to tell her that Sarutobi was wearing his battle armor under the Hokage robes. Sarutobi also hoped that the meeting wouldn't end in a fight, but you could never be too cautious, especially with somebody so rage-prone as A.

"That better be right," Tsunade replied in a threatening tone.

Hiashi's Byakugan located the Raikage and his entourage, who were already in the meeting point, a clearing between a forest and a river. Everybody instinctively checked on their weapons, even if they weren't mean to fight.. After a few minutes more of walking, everybody else saw them.

"He brought more people than us," Tsunade noted upon glancing at the group of Kumo ninjas.

"Focus not on quantity, but quality. Do you see the man with sunglasses and a scarf, and that blond woman with a ponytail? Besides the Raikage, you should worry about those two the most."

"Let me guess, they're the Kumo Jinchuriki?"

"Correct."

"The Raikage brought the heavy hitters. I don't like it."

"Hey, so did we. Besides, this confirms my early theories. The Raikage wants to intimidate us as well. Now it all depends on who gives into fear first, sensei or the Raikage."

Upon noticing the Hokage's group approaching, the Kumo ninja walked towards them. Both groups stopped at a safe distance from each other.

"So, you finally came, Hokage, and you brought the murderer with you. Good. Hand him to us, and we can get over this already," the Raikage said, his voice dripping with impatience.

"Not so fast, Raikage-dono. Yes we are aware of your terms to settle this dispute. I discussed them with my councilors, and we decided to reject them."

"WHAT!?" The Raikage roared. "Do you realize this means war, right!?"

"I haven't finished yet. Now you will hear _my_ terms: Not only you will cease your demands, but you will apologize to Hiashi-san, the Hyuga Clan Head, for attempting to kidnap his daughter, right here, and right now. As a gesture of good will, we will give you back the corpse of the Head Ninja of Kumo so he can receive a proper burial, as well as the two ninja who came with him. As you can see, they received no harm during the time they were under our custody."

A looked livid. He was releasing so much killing intent that the Konoha ninja instinctively reached for their weapons. The Hokage, however, remained impassible. Then, the Raikage appeared to calm down, and chuckled.

"I know what you're trying to do, Hokage. You got me there for a second, but I saw through your trap. Still, gotta give credit to you for the effort."

"Excuse me?" Sarutobi titled his head, genuinely puzzled.

"Tell those two subordinates of yours to dispel the transformation. They are not the real Jiraiya and Tsunade. They're only embarrassing all of you."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. Those are the real Jiraiya and Tsunade."

"Oh please. The guy posing as Jiraiya is putting some effort, but the Tsunade poser looks in her twenties, while she should look much older than that!"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD, YOU STEROID MONSTER!" Tsunade bellowed as she tried to attack the Raikage. Fortunately Jiraiya managed to restrain her.

"Calm down, Hime. Ignore him, he's not worth your time," Jiraiya whispered to Tsunade's ear.

"Well, if you believe I'm bluffing, why don't you check their identities yourself?" Hiruzen asked.

"I see your bluff, Hokage, and I'll take it. Darui, come here!" A shouted.

A dark skinned man with shaggy blond hair that covered his left eye, looking no older than eighteen, who was carrying a rather large sword on his back, stepped forward.

"Yes, boss?"

"Check if those two are the real Jiraiya and Tsunade, or if they're two other people posing as them as I suspect."

"Alright," the young man calmly said, and walked towards Jiraiya. He placed his hand on the white haired man's shoulder, and send a pulse of chakra through his body. Said pulse should have dispelled any transformation, as well as any genjutsu in case Jiraiya was under one. Yet the Toad Sage remained the same. Darui looked at the Raikage uncomfortably. "Uh, sorry boss, but this man isn't under any transformation jutsu."

The Raikage was trembling with fury. "Now the woman!"

Darui moved towards Tsunade, and hesitated a bit before placing his hand on her shoulder. Besides shooting him a murderous glare, the blonde Sannin was projecting an immeasurable amount of killing intent, as if saying "go ahead, put a hand of me, I dare you".

Still, Darui was a dutiful ninja, and didn't let Tsunade's anger to get in the way of following his boss' orders. He repeated the process, and Tsunade started to change into a visibly older woman.

"HA! I KNEW IT!" The Raikage yelled in triumph. But said triumph proved to be short lived when Tsunade didn't change any further. She was still Tsunade, only with a few wrinkles.

"Well, are you happy now!?" Tsunade barked at Darui, who jumped back, startled.

"Uh, boss, this woman seems to be Tsunade as well," Darui said. Then he turned towards Tsunade again. "Sorry for dispelling your...beauty transformation, Tsunade-san."

Tsunade just growled in return as she quickly reapplied the transformation. Darui quickly returned at his boss' side before the Sanin could lash out at him.

"Since when did those two rejoined Konoha!?" the Raikage shouted. His anger was an all time high.

"Three years ago, shortly after the Kyubi attack. The village needed help, and they heeded our call. In fact, they even married not long ago, and have an adoptive son," Hiruzen calmly replied.

"I even have pictures of him here! Wanna see them? He looks so cute when he tries to ride our pet pig!" Jiraiya mentioned.

"Jiraiya, please. Naruto _always_ looks cute," Tsunade corrected.

"Anyway, now that the identities of my students is no longer an issue, can we go back to the matter at hand?" Hiruzen asked, not bothering to a hide a smile.

Gritting his teeth, the Raikage pondered his options. His ploy to get the Byakugan was falling apart, and he couldn't see any way to save it. His intimidation tactics weren't working, and it appeared that the Hokage had realized that the threats of war were just that, threats.

Now, if Kumo went to a war against Konoha, the Raikage was sure that they could win. But it would be a very costly win, now that two of the Sannin were back among Konoha's ranks. And he didn't want to start a war in the first place. As much as it pained him, there was no other way out other than quit now.

"Alright Hokage...I...I agree with your terms," the Raikage said, almost spitting those words.

Hiruzen's smile widened. "I'm glad you could see reason, Raikage-dono. Hiashi-san, please step forward."

The Hyuga Clan Head moved towards them. He had his chin up, and his face was sporting a smile of superiority.

"Well, Raikage-dono? I'm waiting," the Hyuga said, in an almost mocking tone.

"On my and the entirety of Kumogakure's behalf, I'm sorry for the actions of my representative on your village. Please accept our apologies."

A looked as if he was in pain. Darui wondered why his boss, and everybody else for that matter, had such a hard time apologizing. After all, was really saying two short words that hard?

"Apologies accepted, Raikage-dono. I hope this incident never happens again."

"Well, now that everything's settled, we should head back to our respective villages, and try to forget that this unfortunate incident ever happened," Sarutobi said.

"Wait a minute!" Jiraiya said as he moved towards the Kumo ninja. "It would be a shame if you guys went home empty handed after getting here, so you can have this!"

Jiraiya handed the Raikage a book.

"Icha Icha...Violence?" The Raikage asked, puzzled as he glanced inside the book.

All other Konoha ninja sweatdropped.

"That's right! The second installment of my successful series will hit the bookstores next month, but you can have now a copy of that book, completely free, and signed by yours truly!"

"What is this...smut!? You pretend to appease me with this badly written porn!?" the Raikage roared.

"Hey, the proper term is adult literature with erotic scenes, and as for poorly written-"

"Look what I do with your stupid book!" the Raikage said as he angrily tossed the book into the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Time suddenly slowed for Jiraiya as his beloved book fell to the ground with enough force to shatter upon impact. But then a miracle happened, and a pair of dark skinned hands caught the book before it could touch the ground.

"Yes! Saved!"

"B! What the hell are you doing!?"

The one who saved Jiraiya's book was the ninja with the sunglasses and the scarf, one of the Jinchuriki.

"Come on bro, don't be such a fool, this book you just threw is pretty cool!"

Now it was the Kumo ninja's turn to sweatdrop. The Raikage, however, wasn't in the mood to get in an argument with his brother.

"Well, if you like it so much, you can have it then!" the Raikage said, then he turned towards the rest of his ninja. "Everybody else, gather your stuff, we're going back to the village!"

Jiraiya then walked towards the Raikage's brother.

"Nice to see that there are fans of my books outside the Land of Fire," Jiraiya said as he stretched his hand. "Name's Jiraiya, though you probably heard it already."

"Killer B is the name, and being awesome is my game!" Killer B replied. "Your book is sublime, but it misses some cool rhymes!"

"Uh, that's nice, I'll keep it in mind for the next book. By the way, I wonder if I could ask you a favor," Jiraiya said. Killer B nodded. This was a risky move since it meant sharing sensitive information with a foreign village, but the chance was just too good to pass. "Konoha has a Jinchuriki too. Do you think that once he's old enough you could train him in order to control his Tailed Beast?"

"I'd love to, pal, but I don't know if shall, because you see, my bro has to agree!"

"I see...well anyway, I had to try. Enjoy the book then."

Killer B couldn't be happier. Not only he had gotten an exclusive Icha Icha book for free, weeks before it would be for sale, but that blonde Sannin didn't notice that he had been staring at her boobs during the whole ordeal.

Thank Kami for whoever invented the sunglasses.

…

A few days later, the Hokage's group returned to Konoha, relieved that they had averted a war and they didn't have to surrender one of their Bloodline Limits to an enemy village. And despite his face remained as stoic as usual, Hiashi Hyuga was the one who felt the most relieved. His brother was already waiting for him at the compound entrance.

"Welcome back, brother. I believe the trip was successful?" Hizashi ventured to ask.

"Indeed it was. Thanks to Jiraiya's plans and Hokage-sama's resolve, I believe we averted a potential disaster," Hiashi replied.

"I'm glad to hear that. Come on, I'm sure Hikari-sama and Hinata-sama are dying to see you again."

They walked through the front courtyard, when some young Main House boys and girls were practicing the Gentle Fist, under the watch of a Clan Elder.

"Hizashi, during the whole time I've been out there has been something in my mind that I couldn't shake off. Were you really willing to die in my place?"

"You were willing to die too in order to prevent a war," Hizashi replied.

"But it was me who killed that Kumo Ninja. And it was me who Kumo wanted. Besides, you didn't answer my question," the older twin said.

"Yes. Yes I was."

"But...why? I thought you hated the Main House!"

"And I do, make no mistake. But that doesn't mean I hate _you_. You're my brother and I love you, Main House or not. And I'd be willing to die for you, just like how you'd die for Hikari or Hinata. Isn't that enough?"

"I'd die for you too, you know, Branch House or not."

"I prefer if you wouldn't. I don't want to have your death on my conscience," Hizashi replied. "Come on, let's stop talking about death, we averted a war, the Byakugan is safe and none of us had to die."

"Yeah, guess you're right. Did something interesting happen while I was out of the village?"

…

At the same time the Raikage and his ninja had also returned to the village, through their mood was considerably less cheerful, for obvious reasons. While A wasn't a man who indulged often in alcohol, now he could use some sake, at least to forget the past few days. He remembered he still had a few bottles of sake the Lightning Lord gave him as a gift for his appointment as Raikage.

Opening the door of his office, he saw that there was a man already there. More precisely, the man who started all this mess to begin with. A young man with shaggy white hair, pale skin, and had his eyes closed for some reason. Though maybe "man" was stretching it, since he couldn't be older than sixteen.

"Back already, Raikage-dono?" the young man's lips formed a half smile. "And I guess that your contingency plan failed."

The Raikage slammed the door closed, and walked towards the intruder, trembling with fury. "What are you doing here!?"

"I wanted to check the progress of the mission, that's all. But even if you didn't say anything, I can guess that it ended in failure. So, you failed to capture the Byakugan Princess, and failed to procure me a pair of pure Byakugan. Disappointing."

The Raikage's face contorted in fury, and grabbed the man by his robe's collar. "Watch your mouth, brat! Or you will find that my rage is all but disappointing!"

"Is this how Kumo treats their clients?" the man replied, not losing his cool.

"This is the way Kumo treats those who pissed the Raikage! And look at me in the eyes when I talk to you!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, due to some...impairments," the man said, opening his eyes, revealing two empty eye sockets. Even the Raikage was startled by such an horrible visage, and released the white haired man on instinct. "Even if you failed the mission in every possible way, you can keep the payment if you wish. Let's hope I can find somebody who can actually help me in my endeavors."

And with that, the man suddenly vanished, as if he was never there to begin with.

"Now I _really_ need a drink..."

...

Later that night, Tsunade and Jiraiya were in their bed, on each other's arms, trying to sleep. The Slug Princess then started to giggle, which evolved into a laughing fit.

"May I know what do you find so funny all of sudden, Hime?" Jiraiya asked.

"It's just...I can't believe you tried to promote your book back then!" Tsunade said between laughs. "I mean, we were trying to stop a war, and you tried to sell them porn! It was so surreal!"

"It's not porn, it's adult literature with erotic scenes! How many times I have to repeat that?" Jiraiya complained. "Besides, that Jinchuriki was a fan of my book, and I almost convinced him to train Naruto."

Tsunade suddenly turned at Jiraiya, and looked at him with her eyes wide open. "Really? Because if Naruto learned how to use the Kyubi's chakra then-"

"Unfortunately, he has his hands tied. He needs the Raikage's permission first, and I doubt that such thing will happen anytime soon. Though I do plan to train Naruto to use the Kyubi's chakra myself."

"Really? Do you know how to do such thing?"

"Yes, I've collected some scrolls about Tailed Beasts and Jinchuriki, and have some hints that might be useful."

"I hope you can teach him. Naruto's going to need all the help we can bring him."

"Naruto will grow up into a strong ninja, just like his parents. You'll see that when he grows up."

They both kissed, and within minutes they fell asleep.

If they only remained awake for a couple more minutes, they would have noticed that the crystal on Tsunade's necklace started to glow with a dim, teal light...

* * *

 **Author's Note: It's pretty obvious that the whole Hyuga Affair only existed to build Neji's characterization, despìte all the potential it had for future plotlines, specially once Kumo became relevant to the story. Then again, I just realized that I was making the same mistake, writing this chapter so I didn't have to do Neji's character arc all over again (if there's something I hate, is stories that copy-paste canon). So I decided to add that little scene at the Raikage's office at the end to tie it with a larger, future subplot.**

 **Anyway, next week, the last of the four main characters makes her grand debut! Meanwhile, leave your thoughts on this chapter in a review! Reviews makes me very, very, very happy!**


	5. The White-Eyed Girl

**Author's note: Hello once again, my cute little readers! Like every week, here you have a new chapter of this story you love so much. While I had fun writing about Tsunade and Jiraiya...well, I believe it's about time for this story to move onto the stuff you are REALLY looking for, right?**

 **It seems that that little scene I added the last minute completely stole the chapter. The reception to that scene has been...mixed, and many people rightfully had some questions. But hear me out: it's possible that you may see something that ddoesn't make sense or that it's out of place in any chapter, but trust me, everything will be explained in the future.**

 **And after just four chapters, this story reached 100 reviews already! Thank you guys, you rock! I wonder how long it will take to reach 1000 reviews...BTW, shout out to "CandoresMal", who left the review #100!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5**

The White-Eyed Girl

Or

 _Hey, Naruto made a friend!_

 _Six years after the Kyubi attack_

Three years had passed after the incident with Kumogakure, known as the "Hyuga Affair", in which fortunately, there was nothing that threatened Konoha's stability, and it could continue its recovery from the Kyubi attack. That doesn't mean that nothing eventful happened in Konoha. Plenty of things, actually. Among those worth mentioning was the new members of the Senju Family.

Shortly before the meeting with the Raikage, Tsunade became even moodier than usual, had morning sickness, and her hunger skyrocketed. After performing a few tests, it was confirmed that Tsunade was indeed pregnant.

Though not everybody reacted to the news with joy and jubilation.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Shizune, where the hell is my sake!?" Tsunade roared as she furiously inspected all the house's cabinets, looking for her best friend.

"I...I hid it away!" the young kunoichi replied between stutters.

"YOU DID WHAT!?"

"I did it for your own good!"

"Shizune, we already talked about this! I'm old enough to-"

"I don't mean that! Tsunade-sama, you're pregnant now, you can't drink alcohol, or else it may damage the baby!"

Tsunade was rendered silent as Shizune's words started to sink in. Nine months without her best friend to help her go through the pains of pregnancy? She fell on her knees.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Her anguished yell was heard across all the elemental nations.

 **END FLASHBACK**

Coincidentally, the crystal on Tsunade's necklace, who used to belong to the First Hokage and it is said to bear his chakra, started to glow. Very dimly at first, but progressively brighter as the pregnancy went on. It also glowed brighter when closer to Tsunade's growing belly.

And the surprises didn't end there. Turn out Tsunade gave birth to twins.

 **FLASHBACK**

Tsunade was in a hospital bed, with holding newborn babies with blankets wrapped around them, on each arm. At her sides were Jiraiya, Shizune and Naruto.

"So, have you thought how are you going to name them?" Shizune asked.

"Yes. The girl is Kaida," Jiraiya said.

"And the boy 's name is Hagane," Tsunade said.

"Can I hold a baby? Can I? Please? Please? Please!?" Naruto said, jumping up and down.

"Okay, but be careful, and hold him tight, okay?" Tsunade said as she handed Hagane to Naruto.

"I know, I'm not stupid!" Naruto said as she held the baby, which weighed more than he had expected. "Hey there, I'm Naruto, your big bro!"

Shizune, meanwhile, was holding Kaida. "They are perfect, aren't they?"

"Indeed. I've been waiting nine months for this moment," Tsunade said as she looked at her children, smiling sweetly. Then she looked at Shizune. "Shizune, bring me my damn sake."

 **END FLASHBACK**

Turned out, the necklace also reacted whenever it was near the twins. Nobody could figure out why, but they knew it meant something.

Soon after the twins' birth, Naruto turned four, and the two Sannin decided that it was time to start his ninja training, at least the basics. He would join the Academy in two years, and they wanted him to be as prepared as possible. The little blond kid couldn't be happier. However, said happiness didn't last long when instead of cool jutsus or at least taijutsu combos, all what Jiraiya and Tsunade taught him was chakra control exercises, hand seals and basic taijutsu forms.

Naruto's training routine consisted in mostly practicing simple punches and kicks against a small cushioned training dummy, practicing hand seals, and chakra control exercises that consisted mostly in keeping a leaf stuck to his forehead using chakra. Whenever he completed that exercise, they simply told him that the next time he would have to keep it longer.

Unfortunately for Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto's attention span was nonexistent, and he could barely focus on a task that he deemed too boring and uncool, regardless of how many times the two Sannin told him that he had to master the basics first before they could teach him the "cooler" stuff.

It wasn't until a year and a half (though to Naruto it felt much longer) than the blond Jinchuriki would learn his first jutsu.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Alright Naruto, your mother and I decided that your chakra control is good enough to teach you your first jutsu," Jiraiya said.

"YAY! Finally!" Naruto said, starry-eyed, as he pumped his fist while leaping in the air.

"To show you how this jutsu works, I need you to attack me first, so give me your worst hit."

"Alright!" Naruto said as he took some steps back. He then charged at Jiraiya and leaped in order to hit him with a flying kick. "DRAGON KICK OF AWESOME FURY!"

Naruto barely noticed his adoptive father going through a series of hand seals, and a second after Naruto's foot landed on Jiraiya's chest, the white haired Sannin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a log in its place.

"What?"

"I believe this is something you'd call 'cool', right?" Jiraiya said from behind him.

Naruto turned around, startled. "How did you do that?"

"This is a technique called Body Replacement Jutsu. You replace your body with some other object the moment you're hit. Not only is very useful to avoid fatal blows, but it's also perfect to set an ambush to an unsuspecting enemy."

"WHOA! Please, teach me how to do it!"

"First, you must learn to do the hand seals quickly. The sequence is Tiger, Boar, Ox, Dog and Snake. We will repeat it until you can do it fast enough. Then..."

 **END FLASHBACK**

After practicing the technique for a few months, Naruto hadn't mastered the Body Replacement yet. He still had some trouble with the hand seals. But that didn't let him down. After all, most kids didn't learn that technique until they were in the Academy, so he'd have that advantage over them.

Besides, today was a good day. It was the first time he ever saw snow in Konoha, and he had a really fun snowball fight with his family. Then, after lunch, he went to enroll the Academy, and now was on his way home to tell his parents. He was so excited to finally become a real ninja!

"Your eyes are so creepy!"

"Huh?" Naruto said, looking around for the source of the voice. He could tell it was the voice of a boy his age

"I'm sure you're a monster!" another voice said.

Naruto felt a chill going up his spine. Monster. He remembered the talk he had with his parents a couple weeks before his sixth birthday.

 **FLASHBACK**

"Naruto, listen up, you will be six soon, and your mother and I decided it was time for you to know some important things," Jiraiya stated, as he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. He was rather serious, as opposed to his usual carefree demeanor.

"We want you to learn these things from us rather than somebody else," Tsunade's mood mirrored her husband's.

"It is something bad I did?" Naruto asked, genuinely worried.

"No, no, of course not," Tsunade reassured in a sweet tone. "It's just...well, it's that we...you..."

"We are not your real parents," Jiraiya stated. Naruto gasped in shock.

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade shouted at the white haired man, who flinched.

"What? You were taking too damn long!"

"Nevermind. Listen Naruto, you know what happened almost six years ago?"

"Yes. A demon fox named the Kyubi attacked Konoha, and the Fourth Hokage killed it, but he died in the process."

"You see, Naruto, that's not entirely true," Jiraiya said, looking Naruto in the eyes. "Turns out the Kyubi is far too powerful to be killed like that. Not even by somebody as strong as the Fourth. The best he could do was seal the demon inside somebody else. And that somebody else...it was you, Naruto."

"WHAT? And why would the Fourth Hokage do that? And who are my real parents then? Wait, does that means that the Demon Fox is going to hurt me!?"

"Of course not! The seal that keeps the demon imprisoned inside you is very strong and will protect everybody, yourself included. Besides, you didn't even suspect that there was a demon inside you until we told you, right? You didn't feel that there was something wrong going on?" Tsunade told him in a reassuring tone.

"No..."

"As to answer your questions...the reason the Fourth choose you was because you have a special kind of chakra that will help keep the Kyubi imprisoned. If he choose somebody else, the Demon Fox would have escaped and continued its rampage. He also believed that in the future, you could use the Kyubi's power for good."

"I-I see..." Naruto said, feeling that he was about to cry. "So that's why when we I go out, people avoid me, and grownups tell kids not to stay near me? Because they're afraid of the Kyubi?"

Both Sannin nodded sadly.

"And to answer your second question...your father was the Fourth Hokage himself, Minato Namikaze," Jiraiya said. Naruto was now speechless. Tears started to come from his eyes. "Your mother was Kushina Uzumaki, the last known member of the Uzumaki clan. That's why your father decided you should inherit her last name instead of his, since he was born to a no-name civilian family of fishers," Jiraiya explained.

"So my father died fighting the Kyubi...and my mother?"

"She died during the attack too. Many people died. And people who lost somebody precious that day will mistakenly blame you for the Kyubi's actions. But don't let them affect you, Naruto."

Naruto broke down crying. It was too much for his little heart to take. Jiraiya and Tsunade did the only thing they could and hugged their adopted son. Naruto cried his eyes out for nearly twenty minutes.

"Listen Naruto, we understand you may be angry with us for not telling you this sooner," Jiraiya whispered, without breaking the hug.

"But we will always love you, and we will always be here whenever you need us," Tsunade added.

After wiping the tears from his face and the snots from his nose, Naruto opened his mouth to speak again.

"D-don't worry guys...I-I'm not angry...a-and...I don't care what other people said. You guys don't consider me a monster, and that's what matters. And if they still think I am...I will prove them wrong! I'll become the greatest ninja who ever lived! I will become Hokage, just like my father!"

Naruto suddenly felt guilty for calling his father to a practical stranger in front of the people who raised him, but they didn't seem to mind.

For a second, when Naruto declared his bold dream, Tsunade saw his little brother Nawaki and his former lover Dan in Naruto. She felt worried that Naruto's path would lead him to the same doom as them, but part of her reassured her that it wouldn't be the case. That Naruto would succeed where others had failed. That she should have faith in him.

"Of course you will, kiddo," Tsunade cheered softly.

"Yeah, you'll show him who's the boss," Jiraiya added.

"Thank you, err...even if you're not my real parents...can I still call you Mom and Dad?"

This time, it was the two Sannin's turn to break down in tears.

 **END FLASHBACK**

Tracking the voice, Naruto found a trio of boys surrounding a girl his age. The girl had short dark blue hair and very pale eyes. She was on the verge of tears.

"Yes, the Byakugan monster, right?" one of the boys said.

The girl couldn't take it anymore, and fell on her knees, crying. Such shameful display made Naruto's blood boil with anger.

"Hey, stop it!" Naruto yelled as he rushed towards them.

"Uh, what do you want, dork?" one of the boys asked.

"Hey, I know this guy! He's the Demon Fox!" another kid said.

"Of course, the Demon Boy would defend the Demon Girl, right?" teased the first kid.

"I'm not a demon, and neither is she! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the future Hokage!"

"Future Hokage? Ha!" the third kid laughed.

"You know, my parents said to stay away of you, that you're dangerous. But now that I see you, you don't look that dangerous. In fact, you look like a wimp!"

"Come on, let's teach this demon brat not to mess with much stronger people!" the first kid said as he reared his fist back.

The blue haired girl gasped when the kid's fist connected with Naruto's face. Naruto didn't flinch.

"You call that a punch? My mom punches way harder than that."

With a quick movement, Naruto pushed the first kid's fist out of his face as he punched him in the face as well. The punch knocked the first kid on his butt.

"Ha! Take that!" Naruto cheered.

However, the blond Jinchuriki didn't see the other two bullies coming at him. One of them punched him in the guts, while the other pushed him back into the snow. Naruto gasped for air as he grabbed his pained stomach. He could hear the other two kids coming at him. Suddenly, he remembered something Jiraiya had told him during their trainings.

 _Look around you and try to use your surroundings to your advantage._

There were lots of snow, so he could use that.

"Hey, he's getting up, I think he wants to be beaten more!" one of the bullies laughed.

As fast as he could, Naruto turned around and tossed some snow at the bullies' faces. His throw was accurate enough to hit the intended targets.

"My eyes!" both of them screamed in unison, as they threw their hands to their eyes.

Taking advantage of their momentary blindness, Naruto grabbed the larger of the two bullies and pushed him against the smaller one, and both of them ended on the ground. One of them got up quickier than Naruto had anticipated, and landed a punch on Naruto's face. Naruto replied with a punch to the gut, and quickly kicked that kid onto his fallen friend.

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Naruto turned around and saw the bully he punched first charging at him, holding a rather large tree branch. His instinct screamed at him to dodge, but instead he decided to try something else, and his hands formed five seals.

When the first bully hit Naruto in the face with the branch, Naruto disappeared in cloud of smoke, leaving a pile of snow instead.

" _Yes! It worked!"_

"What the hell!? Can he use ninjutsu!?" the bully said, angry but now also shocked. He looked around. "Where did he go?"

"DRAGON KICK OF AWESOME FURY!" Naruto yelled as he leaped at the bully from the branch he had just teleported, kicking him in the face, knocking him backwards. "Did you have enough already, or you want more? Because I can go for longer if you want!"

Deciding that they had enough, the three bullies got up and ran away.

"And pray I don't catch you again making a girl cry!" Naruto yelled as he saw the three bullies disappearing from his sight. "Especially a blind girl!"

Naruto walked towards said girl, who didn't move from her spot since the fight broke out.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Y-yes...thank you..." the blue haired girl said. "But...umm...I-I am not blind."

"You're not?" Naruto asked, a bit shocked. He moved closer to her, making the girl blush. "I saw your eyes and I thought...oh sorry then!" Naruto said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"And you? You have an eye swollen and a bloody nose," the girl pointed out, a bit worried.

"This? Ah, this is nothing! Mom is a medic and will heal it in an instant, hehe!"

The girl stared at Naruto without uttering a word.

"Well, I gotta go! As you just saw, I'm a ninja! I just enrolled in the Academy and I have to tell my parents! See ya!" Naruto said as he left the scene at a quick pace.

…

"W-wait...!" Hinata said, but the boy, named Naruto, was already too far away and he didn't hear her.

Hinata cursed her indecisiveness. There were so many things she wanted to talk about with him. She didn't ask him his name –even if she heard it–, and she didn't give him hers. But he had said he was a ninja, and that he had enrolled the academy. He looked to be the same age as hers, so maybe they would be in the same class.

Those kids called him the "Demon Fox". Does that mean that he was the kid with the Kyubi sealed inside him? She remembered some of the clan grownups telling her that if she ever crossed paths with him, to avoid him at all costs, that he was dangerous, and a monster.

But he defended her from not one but three bullies, and fought them all at once. How can somebody so kind and selfless could be dangerous or a monster?

A certain feeling that Hinata's young mind couldn't identify formed inside her. For some reason, she felt she needed to see this boy again.

…

 _A couple months later_

At the Dango Shop, Shizune was having lunch with Itachi Uchiha, and two of his clansmen. The first one was Shisui, a teen a few years older than Itachi and a couple years younger than Shizune, who had short, dark gray hair and black eyes, which were so common among the Uchiha. The other one was a kid of about the same age as Naruto, who also had dark hair with two bangs falling over his face, and the same black eyes. This kid was Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke.

While Shizune felt out of place, being the only one not being an Uchiha, Itachi insisted on her joining them. She couldn't pinpoint when it happened exactly, but she and Itachi had become friends during the past few years. They even sparred quite a few times, and Shizune even helped him and his team prepare the Chunin Exam.

Itachi was treating them at one of his favorite spots to celebrate his first successful mission as a team leader. Shizune felt hard to believe that this kid, who was barely eleven, could have ascended to the rank of Chunin so quick, when most kids his age didn't even had graduated the Academy yet.

"So, tell us, Itachi –and be honest–, were you afraid during the mission?" Shizune asked.

"Well, I'd lie if I said I wasn't. Maybe a little," Itachi replied.

"Only a little? Man, when I led my first mission, I was such a nervous wreck I couldn't sleep the night before. But then again it wasn't as bad as it appeared," Shisui said with a laugh.

"But Itachi-niisan completed lots of dangerous missions, while he should be scared?" Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, when you're the leader of a team, everything changes. Not only you're responsible of the mission being a success, but you have to make sure that all your teammates come back home alive and, if possible, without any missing limb," Shisui explained.

"But if you have to take care of your teammates...that doesn't mean they're a burden to you? Then why didn't Itachi go to the mission alone?"

"Because some missions can't be done by one ninja," Shizune explained. "If you need to break down a door reinforced with protective seals, you need a seal master to disable them. If you're in a search and rescue mission, you'll need a sensor and most likely a medic. And sometimes is also a matter of numbers, since there will be times in which two or more people will need to be at two or more different places at the same time. Do you understand, Sasuke-kun?"

The youngest Uchiha nodded.

"Shizune-san is right. Being a powerful ninja on your own is fine, but there will be times in which your power won't be enough and you'll need the help of others," Shisui added.

"By the way Sasuke, how is the Academy?" Itachi asked.

"Eh, it's okay, I guess. They teach me mostly stuff I already know, so it's kind of boring. At the very least, the shuriken and kunai toss practice and taijutsu practice are nice," Sasuke said with a shrug.

"You know, my...little brother also goes to the academy," Shizune mentioned. "His name is Naruto. Did you see him?"

"Naruto? Does he have spiky blond hair, is super loud and claims every five seconds that he's going to be Hokage?"

Shizune chuckled. "Well, that's an accurate description of him. I presume that you met him then."

"I did. For some reason he likes to sit besides me. And no offense to Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama, but given who their parents are, I expected him to be stronger."

"Well, you could say that Naruto-kun has some trouble focusing. His body moves way faster than his brain does. But we're working on it," Shizune said, and laughed.

"He looks like an interesting fellow. Maybe you should befriend him," Shisui suggested.

"In fact, I was about to take him to the park. Do you want to join us, Sasuke-kun?" Shizune asked.

"Eh, pass. Itachi promised to train me when he came back. Maybe another day," Sasuke replied with a dismissive hand wave.

"Come on kid, I'm sure you'll have fun. There's more to life than training," Shusui insisted.

"Eh, it's okay. I don't want him to come against his will. Like he said, maybe another day. I'll better get going. Itachi-kun, congratulations again for your first mission as team leader. Shisui-san, Sasuke-kun, it was nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Shizune-san," Shisui replied. Then, once the young woman was gone, he leaned towards Itachi, and whispered: "Man, that friend of yours is really cute. Do you know if she has a boyfriend?"

...

Just like how Hinata had predicted, she and Naruto were in the same class. However, the terribly shy girl couldn't gather the confidence to talk to him again. And much to her dismay, Naruto never noticed her. Not only did he forget about her, it was almost as if she didn't exist to him!

But deep down she knew there was nobody to blame but herself. She followed him many times after class. He usually went to that ramen restaurant named Icharaku's, sometimes he went directly to his home, while other times went to one of Konoha's training grounds where one of his parents was already waiting for him for a training session. Hinata's surprise was major when she found out that his parents were Jiraiya and Tsunade, two of the Legendary Sannin and the heroes of the Second War that appeared in the history books.

Hinata also noticed that, whenever Naruto went to a park to play with other kids, their parents would pick them up and take them somewhere else, leaving poor Naruto playing alone. Did they seriously believe that he was a monster? Couldn't they see that he was a kid like any other?

Today one of those days. Naruto arrived at a park with a small pig and his...older sister? And the kids who didn't left on their own were taken out of there by their parents.

Hinata really wanted to go there and play with Naruto. She really did. But the moment she took a step forward, her chronic shyness manifested in full force and left her frozen in place. She needed somebody to give her a little push.

Fortunately for her, she was now seeing that somebody.

…

Shizune sighed as she watched all the kids leaving the playground, not before some of the parents shot angry glares at her and her almost-little brother, while Naruto slumped sadly. This happened way too often.

"Don't worry Naruto, we don't need them. What do you want to do?" the black haired kunoichi asked, trying to hide her annoyance and remaining optimist.

"The swings!" he said as he rushed towards them.

She didn't need to ask if she wanted her to push him.

Shizune was expecting that now that he finally started the Academy, Naruto could make some friends his age, but such thing didn't happen.

In fact, both her and the two Sannin were a bit worried with Naruto's current performance at the Academy. The boy would more often than not ignore the teacher when explaining something he wasn't interested in, loudly complained about how "boring" their lessons were and demanding them to teach him "some cool jutsus".

He would also boast about how strong he was for his age and how he was going to become Hokage –fortunately he never revealed who his biological parents were– and often challenged the other boys, especially Sasuke Uchiha, to one on one duels, and was rather fond of pulling pranks, to both the teachers and his classmates.

It was obvious that the kid desperately needed a friend his age, that way he wouldn't be victim of a constant need to prove how "awesome" he was to everybody.

Suddenly, Shizune heard something. A noise coming from the trees near the park. While she wasn't a sensor, her senses were sharp enough to perceive that somebody was watching them hidden behind those trees.

"Naruto-kun, I need to find a restroom. I'll leave you alone with Tonton for some minutes, okay?"

"Sure, take your time, neechan!" Naruto happily replied. Shizune then disappeared in a cloud of smoke, puzzling the blonde. "She used the Body Flicker? Guess that she _really_ needed to go."

…

Hinata was a bit startled when Naruto's older sister disappeared like that. She didn't quite catch what she told him. Naruto was there, all alone, by himself. The perfect opportunity to go an talk to him. But even then, Hinata still couldn't muster the courage to go and talk to him like that. No, she needed to find a way to draw his attention, to make him take the first step.

"Ahem," a voice behind her said.

"EEEP!" Hinata squealed in shock as she turned around and saw Naruto's older sister staring down at her, arms crossed over her chest.

"Didn't your parents teach you that spying on people is rude?" Shizune asked.

"Sorry! Err, I...uhmm...I didn't mean to...ehh..." Hinata babbled, her words tumbling into an unintelligible stuttering mess.

Shizune took a better look at the panicking girl. "Hey, Naruto said that he saved a girl with weird looking eyes from a bunch of bullies the day he enrolled in the Academy. It was you?"

"N-Naruto-kun said my eyes are weird looking...?" Hinata said, disheartened.

Shizune cursed inwardly for using Naruto's choice of words instead of something far less insensitive.

"Uh...I'm sure he didn't mean it as an insult," Shizune assured. "You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"I...well...I-I wanted to...to thank Naruto-kun again for h-helping me against t-those three bullies..."

Shizune couldn't repress a smile. _"Three? Weren't they ten, Naruto? And as big as Jiraiya-sama?"_

"Then why aren't you doing that instead of stalking him from here?" Hinata blushed, and averted her gaze.

" _Oh, I see, this girl is way too shy to talk to him directly. Let's see if I can do something about it."_

"What's your name, girl? I'm Shizune Kato."

"H-Hinata Hyuga. Pleased to meet you, Shizune-san."

"Just Shizune is okay," the medic-nin said, smiling. "Say, Hinata, would you like to do something for Naruto as a way to thank him?"

"Y-yes, of course!" the Hyuga replied.

"Take a look at Naruto. What do you think he'd like the most this moment?"

Hinata saw Naruto swinging sadly in the empty park. The answer was obvious.

"H-he'd like for a f-friend to play with him..." Hinata stuttered.

"Correct. Now you know what you must do."

"W-WHAT?"

Was this woman expecting to just walk over Naruto and play with him? Just like that? Was she mad?

Shizune smiled at her. "Come on, I can see in your eyes that you want to play with him more than anything."

"Y-yes...b-but..."

"Or I can tell Naruto that not only were you spying on him and didn't even bother to say him hello."

"PLEASE NO! O-Okay, okay, I'll do it!" the Hyuga almost shouted, extremely flustered.

"Then you better hurry. I don't think Naruto will be there for much longer until he gets bored."

Hinata nodded, and gulped. The shy Hyuga started her walk towards the blond, silent enough not to reveal her presence too soon, she didn't want him to think she was some creepy stalker. After reaching what she deemed a safe distance, she dropped the stealth and walked normally. Or as normal as she could. Still, the boy was too enraptured in his own thoughts to notice her.

"H-Hello!" Hinata timidly waved her hand at him.

Hinata's sudden salute snapped Naruto from his thoughts, and turned his head at her, and smiled. "Oh, hi!"

Hinata blushed furiously. There was something about that smile that was so damn _dreamy_. Forcing herself to calm down, she proceed to introduce herself. "Hinata!"

Naruto titled his head and looked at her puzzled. "What?"

Hinata was so angry at herself. Did she just shouted her name like that? She was aware that she wasn't the most social or eloquent person out there, but that was just too much.

"I mean...m-my name is Hinata Hyuga...what is y-yours?" the shy girl asked, even if she knew the answer.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage!" Naruto proudly proclaimed. "Say, your face looks kind of familiar, did we meet before?"

"A-actually we're c-classmates...didn't you s-see me before?"

"Nope, sorry. Then again, there's a lot of people at class. I only remember the people that sit near me."

Hinata was a bit hurt that Naruto wasn't even aware that she was in the same class as him, but deep down she knew that it was also her fault for not talking to him first. If she always sat far away from him and never opened her mouth except when the teacher asked her something, how she could expect him to know her?

"Y-you also helped m-me against s-some bullies t-that w-were insulting m-me some months ago..." Hinata said as she started twiddling her forefingers.

"Oh, you're THAT girl!" Naruto said in realization. "Did they harass you again? Because if they did then I'm going to beat them even harder!" Naruto loudly said as he punched his palm.

"N-no, it's fine, n-nobody bullied me since t-then...by the way- w-what are y-you doing?"

"Well, I came here to play with other kids, but nobody wants to play with me, and playing alone gets boring rather quickly. So I'm waiting for Shizune-neechan to come back from the bathroom so we can go home and maybe train a bit with mom and dad."

The Hyuga decided it was time to make her move. Hinata's heart was beating so hard she could swear it would come out of her mouth at any time.

"Oh...err...c-can I p-play with y-you u-until she c-comes b-back?" Hinata asked, blushing harder than ever. She couldn't believe she was doing this.

Naruto's eyes opened widely, gleaming with joy, as his mouth curved into a wide smile. "You want to play with me!? Really!? But I am-"

"Y-yes, I know, t-the Nine Tails...b-but I don't think that having a demon s-sealed inside you m-makes you a d-demon...a demon w-wouldn't have defended m-me against those b-bullies..."

"So you want to be my friend? Like, for real?" Naruto asked, still in disbelief. Hinata nodded. Naruto's smile grew even wider. He finally had a friend! For a moment he thought that if this girl wanted to be his friend and was one of his classmates, then why she never talked to him before. But he was too happy to care about that.

"So...w-what are you playing?"

"The swings! Don't you know how do you play on a swing?" Hinata shook her head. "Then we'll have to fix that! Come on, sit over there!" Hinata did what Naruto said, and sat on the vacant swing besides him. "Now you need to move your body forwards in order to move the swing. Use your legs to help."

Hinata tried several times, but she was unable to make the swing budge.

"I-It doesn't work...I'm sorry Naruto-kun..." Hinata said, a bit saddened.

"It's okay, I can push you!"

Before Hinata could say anything, Naruto got down from his swing and started to push Hinata. The shy Hyuga felt a knot forming in her stomach upon seeing how high the swing went –Naruto was pushing her with all his strength– but at the same time, she couldn't help but enjoy the excitement of that simple game. She was having so much _fun..._ and she didn't remember the last time she had such a great time until now.

"Alright, now that you have enough momentum, try to keep it going yourself! Remember, use your legs to make more force!" Naruto said as he quickly returned to his swing and joined her.

Shizune choose that moment to return.

"Hey Naruto-kun, I'm back!" the young kunoichi said.

"Shizune-neechan!" Naruto said as he jumped from the swing, still mid air, and landed on his feet in front of her. His joy was so big that he didn't realize that Shizune's "bathroom break" had lasted almost an hour. "You're not going to believe this! I made a friend! Hinata, come here!"

Hinata got down from the swing and walked towards Naruto and Shizune.

"Really? That's so great, Naruto-kun!" Shizune said with fake surprise. Fortunately for her, Naruto was naive enough to buy. Her joy, however, was very real.

"Hello, Shizune-san, I mean, Shizune. I'm Hinata Hyuga," Hinata said, bowing respectfully.

"And she even goes to my class at the Academy! That means we can see each other every day!" Naruto said, bouncing in joy.

"I'm so glad for you, Naruto-kun," Shizune said, ruffling Naruto's hair. "Say, it's getting a bit late, shall we go back home?"

"So soon? But I want to play with Hinata more!" Naruto pouted.

"I-It's okay, Naruto-kun, we can see each other tomorrow again. In fact, I s-should be going b-back home too, I d-don't want to w-worry my parents," Hinata said, twiddling her fingers.

"Bummer. Okay then, see you tomorrow, Hinata!" Naruto said as he left with Shizune.

"See you tomorrow, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied as she headed back to the Hyuga compound.

Hinata would always remember this day as one of the best of her life. Not only she had made her first friend and had a great time playing with him, but she could tell that she made Naruto so happy as well. In fact, Hinata even managed to forget her worries about her mother's declining health after the birth of Hanabi. She couldn't wait to get back home and tell her parents about Naruto.

Then she stopped on her tracks. Almost the entire village avoided Naruto because of the Kyubi. Would her parents disprove of her friendship with him? The thought filled her with dread. She didn't want to lose him. But on the other hand...she was sure that once they meet Naruto, they would see how kind and funny he was –not to mention strong–, and they wouldn't have any reason to object.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, Hinata joins the main cast! What do you think about her introduction? From now onwards, the good stuff begins, hehe! This episode also introduced Sasuke, but he won't be important to the story until much later (and he will be behind Hinata in terms of plot relevance).**

 **So yeah, if you liked this chapter, please leave your opinion on a review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	6. The Butterfly Effect

**Author's notes: Hello once again, my cute little readers. This chapter is a bit shorter than usual, mostly because it will set up future events, but there are also a couple plot developments. Still, I hope you like it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6**

The Butterfly Effect

Or

 _Do you believe in fate?_

Jiraiya was as timely as usual to his meetings with the Hokage regarding the Kyubi attack investigation. However, there was something different this time. The first, less noticeable difference is that Jiraiya had a look of excitement on his face. That was good, as it meant that Jiraiya had made some important breakthrough in his research. Which might explain the second, more noticeable difference, Inoichi Yamanaka and Anko Mitarashi walking behind him.

"I got it, sensei!" Jiraiya claimed enthusiastically. "I got the definitive proof that will exonerate the Uchihas, and expose the real culprit behind the Kyubi attack!"

"Those are indeed excellent news, Jiraiya. Not only we will finally be able to put an end to Danzo's suspicions of the clan, but we will close Konoha's darkest chapter," Sarutobi replied as he gave a puff to his pipe.

"Anko, show him the report," Jiraiya instructed. Anko nodded, and handed the Hokage a folder with several files inside.

Hiruzen inspected the files, and as he did, his good mood slowly vanished while his expression grew somber. He looked at Jiraiya with a grave expression. "So you think that the perpetrator of the Kyubi attack was...Orochimaru?"

"Listen Hokage-sama, I know it sounds far-fetched, but when you put all the evidence together, it makes perfect sense," Anko hurried to explain.

"Enlighten me then."

Jiraiya cleared his throat and began his explanation. "I've been investigating that shady mercenary group, Akatsuki, for the past four years. Like I told you before, they were interested in the Tailed Beasts, and often incorporated missin-nin to their ranks. And guess who was among them? The snake bastard himself!"

"Jiraiya-sama brought a no-name missing-nin to Torture & Interrogation a couple months ago. My team and I have been scanning his mind, and made some interesting discoveries," Inoichi interceded. "The first one, as Jiraiya said, was that Orochimaru is part of the Akatsuki. I could see many memories of Orochimaru not only wearing the organization's uniform, a black cloak with red clouds, but having meetings with other members. Though he never met more than one member at once."

"The second one was that Orochimaru is creating his own ninja village somewhere, called 'Otogakure' or something," Anko added. "I think we should find and deal with that village as soon as possible before it snowballs into a bigger problem."

"While this discoveries are indeed worrying, I fail to see the connection between Orochimaru and the Kyubi," Sarutobi pointed out.

"Don't you see it, sensei? It's obvious that Orochimaru was a member of Akatsuki before he defected from Konoha. Besides his own ambitions, he wanted to be Hokage in order to increase Akatsuki's resources and had access to the Kyubi. But things didn't go as he planned, he defected, and a year later, when the seal on Kushina was at its weakest, returns, sneaks his way to the place she was being kept, kills the guards, takes her away and releases the Kyubi."

Anko decided to intercede. "Think about it, Hokage-sama. Orochimaru was the perfect man for the job. He's a really good infiltrator, knows Konoha ins-and-outs better than anybody else, and is strong enough to deal with even the strongest of our ANBU."

"After destroying Konoha, he would have handed the Kyubi to Akatsuki, and thus killing two birds with one stone. But once again, he didn't count on Minato's interference, who more than likely defeated him and then sealed the Kyubi inside Naruto, foiling his plans. And now he's building his own village in order to raise an army to try to destroy Konoha and reclaim the Kyubi again!"

"While those are believable motives, there's still the mystery on how Orochimaru managed to place the Kyubi under his control. It's well known that normal genjutsus, no matter how powerful, hardly work on Tailed Beasts, and the only two men being able to control them were Hashirama-sensei and Madara, ninjas on a league way above Orochimaru's."

"It is well known that Orochimaru was experimenting with Hashirama-sama's cells, and we know he produced at least one success in the form of Tenzo. What if that asshole finally perfected the process and gained the First Hokage's power?" Anko suggested.

"A terrifying thought, but unlikely. If Orochimaru had Hashirama-sensei's power for so long, he would have used it against us already," the Third stated. "While all of you made an commendable effort, I'm afraid that this won't be enough to publicly place the Uchiha Clan above suspicion."

Anko muttered a curse under her breath, while Jiriaya looked downwards, upset. Inoichi remained neutral.

"But you made a good job with this investigation. This 'Otogakure' is something that deserves further investigation. Inoichi, you and the rest of T&I should continue extracting all the information you can regarding this issue from the captive. I want daily updates on this."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Inoichi and Anko said in unison, and they left the office.

"Jiraiya, we only need one more piece to finish the puzzle: the means used to control the Kyubi. If you can uncover that, then the investigation will be complete and we can pin Orochimaru as the main culprit of the attack."

"I will, sensei. I'm not going to stop now that we're so close to end this," Jiraiya stated.

"Meanwhile, I'll use the information you've gathered to dissuade Danzo from stopping bothering the Uchiha clan. You are dismissed."

"One more thing, sensei," Jiraiya mentioned.

"Hmm?"

"My investigation of the Akatsuki and Jinchuriki had me find some...interesting discovery tangential to the investigation."

"And that would be...?"

"Suna had created a Jinchuriki."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Do you have any information...?"

"Yes. His name is Gaara. He's the youngest son of the current Kazekage. It seems that he's doing his best to keep Gaara's status a secret, but the boy is having a lot of trouble keeping the Tailed Beast under control, and such thing can't be concealed easily. My guess, the result of a shoddy sealing process. Plus there's the fact that we're only learning about this now. Only Kami knows how long that kid has been a Jinchuriki."

"More worrying news. I knew that Suna had the One Tail in their power, but it wasn't sealed on a person. If they decided to create a Jinchuriki now...I don't want to think about the implications."

"We know that Sunagakure is the weakest of the Five Great Ninja Villages. Maybe they decided to put their Tailed Beast to use in order to appear strong, to both potential enemies and clients."

"Even then, that's something we can't afford to overlook. Jiraiya, I'm going to prepare a trip for you to Suna. Once everything is settled, you'll inspect the Jinchuriki and uncover the reasons behind his creation. Suna is our ally and I'd hate to think that they're plotting against us, but you can't never be too cautious."

"Understood, sensei."

…

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Shizune jumped in time to avoid the incoming fireball, which exploded against the ground a couple meters in front of her. Her opponent was an eleven year old boy of average height with dull black hair tied in a ponytail and black eyes, wearing the Konoha Chunin Flak Jacket over his usual black shirt. Said opponent took advantage of the dust raised by his fireball and dashed at her at an ungodly speed. Two kunai clashed against each other multiple times, filling the air with sharp, metallic noises.

Shizune leaped backwards, and while she was mid air, fired a barrage of senbons at her opponent from her wrist-mounted needle launcher. Said opponent also jumped backwards to avoid them, and used a kunai to expertly deflect the ones he couldn't dodge. Once Shizune touched the ground, she was alerted by the sound of spinning shuriken flying at her. The shuriken hit the target, but the young medic-nin vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a log behind.

Upon quickly retrieving his weapons from the log, Shizune's much younger opponent looked around, trying to locate his enemy. His ears picked a sharp whistle that signaled an incoming barrage of senbons. Activating his Sharingan, the male ninja threw a few kunai in the air, which clashed against the senbons, stopping their momentum and making them falling to the ground.

Shizune suddenly appeared behind the Uchiha, quickly forming a series of seals.

"Water Release: Water Wall!" Shizune's cheeks puffed, and she expelled from her mouth a large amount of water at the Uchiha, who suddenly burst into a murder of crows, flying in different directions.

Shizune quickly formed a hand seal and shouted "Release!" making the crows disappear. Knowing where her opponent was, she quickly turned around while delivering a high kick, which was parried by her opponent's arms. From there, the medic-nin and the Uchiha traded punches and kicks, until Shizune made the Uchiha trip. The black haired woman quickly pinned the boy to the ground, carefully avoiding eye contact.

"I think this is over," Shizune declared, placing a kunai on the Uchiha's throat.

"I guess it is," her opponent conceded.

Shizune put the kunai back on her pouch, and helped her opponent to stand up. "Nice spar, Itachi-kun."

"Thanks, Shizune-san. This time I managed to stay five minutes without using the Sharingan!" Itachi said proudly.

"I'm sure it will be ten minutes next time," the medic-nin said, smiling.

"Eh, I'm not so sure. I still can't beat you even with the Sharingan."

"No, but you will. You're improving at a really fast pace, which shouldn't be s surprise, given how you quickly you managed to earn a promotion! I'm sure you'll become a Jonin way before I do, haha!"

"Yeah..." Itachi sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Plus I can tell that today you weren't entirely focused."

"Really? Because I thought I was as focused as ever..."

"Itachi-kun, you cannot lie to me. I can see that there's something troubling you. Care to tell me what it is?" Shizune's question was met with silence as the Uchiha prodigy looked at the grass below, and sat down. Shizune started to feel bad for pressuring him to talk about something he clearly wasn't comfortable with. She sat besides him. "Sorry Itachi-kun, it was not my place to ask. If it's something of personal nature..."

"Shizune-san...did somebody you love ever forced you to do something you don't want to?" Itachi asked.

Shizune was taken aback by such question, and wondered if Itachi had some problems with his parents. "Well...no. I'm lucky such thing never happened to me."

"Well, it's t-that..." Itachi stuttered a bit. He never talked about this with anybody else, not even Shisui, his cousin and closest friend. But then again, there was something about Shizune and her generally friendly demeanor that made him more comfortable to talk about personal matters. "My parents...they want me to join ANBU."

"And you don't want to," Shizune reasoned.

"Exactly. I know the kind of missions the ANBU do, and I don't want to do that, at least not yet," while that was technically true, Itachi purposely left out the _other_ , much more meaningful reason for him not wanting to become an ANBU.

"Well, I'd say that the ANBU would greatly benefit from somebody of your talent, Itachi-kun. I'm sure you'll be promoted to squad captain in no time," Shizune replied, making Itachi sigh. "Then again, if that's not what you want to do...do you have any other idea?"

"Well, I was planning that, after being promoted to Jonin, I'd ask for a squad of Genin to train. I always liked the idea of being a teacher. Well, not an Academy teacher, but a ...field teacher, you know what I mean?"

"Yes, of course. In fact, I think I might do the same once I'm promoted."

"I'm sure you'll be an amazing teacher, Shizune-san."

"And about your problem...well, I don't know what else I could tell you other than talk to your parents, and make sure they know how you feel. If they really love you –and I'm sure they do– they'll understand you and let you choose your own path."

They spend a couple minutes there, silently sitting besides each other. A gentle breeze started to blow.

"Well...I don't know if it will work, but I'll try talking to them. Thanks for your advice, Shizune-san," Itachi said as he stood up.

"You're welcome, Itachi-kun. Same hour tomorrow?"

"I'm afraid not. I've been assigned for a mission outside the village."

"Aw, nuts! Now where I'm going to find a worthy sparring opponent that doesn't leave me all sore? Seriously, never spar with Tsunade-sama. That woman never holds back, not even with her children."

Itachi chuckled. "Well, she's the best medic in the world, right? She doesn't hold back because she will patch you up afterwards. Anyway, I better get going. See ya!" Itachi said as he headed back to the Uchiha compound.

…

Meanwhile, the firstborn of another clan head returned to her home as well. Hinata Hyuga was still smiling upon remembering the heated argument between Naruto and the history teacher regarding the Second Ninja War. Naruto insisted that the information on their textbook was wrong, since he claimed his parents were veterans from said war, and their version of a certain battle clashed with the textbook's description.

Hinata had the feeling that the Sannin, while undoubtedly skilled and powerful, had exaggerated their contributions during said war. Still, there was something heartwarming of seeing Naruto defending her parents' reputation so vehemently.

Hinata was now regretting not talking to Naruto sooner. After that afternoon in the park, Naruto sat besides her instead of his usual seat near Sasuke Uchiha. Though while she enjoyed his company most of the time, Naruto had an habit to loudly disrupt the class when the lesson failed to catch his interest, which could be kind of annoying.

One day, Hinata politely asked Naruto to stop interrupting the teacher when he was explaining the basics of chakra control. Apparently, Naruto already knew that already, and wanted to do something else. She was afraid that Naruto would take her request as some sort of betrayal and would cease their friendship, but his reaction surprised her.

"What? Oh sorry Hinata, I didn't know you were so interested in this, I'll shut up now!" he had happily replied.

Everybody was stunned at the Hyuga's amazing feat of convincing the hyperactive blond to remain silent. The teacher called it a miracle.

Now whenever Naruto didn't feel like listening the teacher, he often followed Shikamaru's example and took a nap instead. Unlike Shikamaru, there was times in which Naruto would snore loudly, prompting the teacher to throw the board rubber at him.

After class, Naruto and Hinata often went to the park to play together. People would murmur upon seeing the "Demon Boy" playing with the Hyuga Heiress, but neither paid any heed to those people. They were too busy having fun.

Other times Naruto would invite Hinata to his house. Whenever she went, they usually played with Naruto's two year old siblings, Hagane and Kaida. Hinata thought that maybe one day she could bring Hanabi to play with them given that they were only a year older than her.

Usually, the four of them were under Jiraiya or Shizune's watch. Tsunade would arrive much later, once her shift at the hospital was over. The three of them were always really kind and polite to her, and made their best to make her feel welcomed.

However, today was none of those days. Naruto had to meet his mother for some training at Training Ground Three, their usual training spot, so finding herself with nothing better to do, Hinata decided to head back home and maybe spend some quality time with Hanabi until her father called her for Gentle Fist training.

Hinata realized that, for all the times she has been in Naruto's house, she never asked him to visit hers. Then again, her friendship with Naruto was a secret to pretty much all of her clan. She was still thinking how to tell her father that she had befriended the "Demon Boy" everybody feared and avoided.

A nasty surprise awaited the little Hyuga, though. Upon entering the compound, she found it oddly deserted. No Hyuga youths training, no Branch House patrolling the place...she had a bad feeling about that.

After dropping her backpack and removing her shoes at the entrance, she started calling for her parents, or anybody else. Finally, she found another clansman: Ko Hyuga, a Main House member who was his usual caretaker whenever her parents were busy.

"Oh, Hinata-sama, I see you're back," Ko somberly greeted the Hyuga heiress.

"What's going on, Ko-san? Where's everybody?" Hinata asked, worried.

"Hinata-sama...something bad has happened...your mother..." Ko began. Hinata's skin turned even paler.

"Mother? W-What happened to Mother!?" Hinata panicked.

Ko grabbed her hand, and lead her towards her parents' bedroom, where most of the Hyuga, both Main and Branch house, were waiting outside.

After giving birth to Hanabi, Hinata's mother wasn't the same again. Her body was often in pain, ate very little –and more often than not would end up throwing up– and felt perpetually exhausted. They had called a doctor before which prescribed her some medicaments. They appeared to work at first, but after that the symptoms returned, and became worse each day. Hinata was afraid that something like this would happen anytime soon.

"You know Hikari-sama has felt really bad these past months. It appears that she got even worse. Hiashi-sama called the family medic in order to check her. We can only wait to see what he can do."

They didn't have to wait much until they heard Hiashi's angry and desperate yells.

" _What do you mean that you did all what you could!? There has to be something you can do to save her!"_

" _I already told you Hiashi-sama, the symptoms are too advanced! You should have called me earlier than this!"_

" _We already called you once! Your medicine didn't do anything to get her better!"_

" _I'm sorry, Hiashi-sama, but I did all what I could. I can prescribe you some painkillers to make your wife's last days more bearable."_

" _GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!"_ Hiashi bellowed.

The medic left, and the gathering of Hyugas started to murmur among themselves. Hinata was on the verge of tears.

"You must remain strong, Hinata-sama. Is what Hikari-sama would have wanted," Ko said, who was also fighting tears.

Hinata felt her world falling apart. No, this was too cruel. Now that things were finally going better for her, she had to lose her mother? All because that doctor couldn't see that her state of health was way worse than he initially thought. If Tsunade had treated her mother, then...

Wait, that was it!

"What about Tsunade-sama? Can we call her to check Mother?" Hinata asked.

"We already looked for her. She wasn't at the hospital, and there was nobody in her residence. We don't know where she is right now."

Hinata's face saddened upon seeing her mother's last hope disappear. Until she remembered why Tsunade wasn't on the hospital nor her house.

"Ko-san, I know where Tsunade-sama is!" Hinata exclaimed in realization.

"You...do?"

"Yes! Come on, let's hurry!"

...

On Training Ground Three, Naruto was lying on the grass, panting heavily, with bruises all over his body. Every centimeter of his body was in horrible pain.

"Come on brat, get up! We haven't finished the warm up!" Tsunade vigorously shouted as she lightly kicked him on the sides.

"Can you please...tone down...the brutality...a little bit...please?" Naruto said between gasps.

"When you become a ninja and go out of the village, you will find enemies that will try to kill you, and won't hold back. So answer me, why should I hold back then? I would be a bad teacher if I don't prepare you properly," Tsunade explained, hands on her hips as she stared down at Naruto.

"I'd like to stand up...but I can't..feel my legs...or my...anything..."

Naruto swore that he would never call Jiraiya's meditation and chakra control exercises boring again.

Tsunade sighed, and rolled her eyes. She crouched before Naruto, and placed a hand on his chest, which started to glow with a green light. Soon, a pleasant feeling started to cross his body, slowly but surely erasing the pain. While the pain didn't disappear completely, it diminished enough to be bearable.

"You're such a wimp, you know? What would the Fourth think if he saw you complaining like that over a little rough training? You won't become Hokage anytime soon if you don't build some pain tolerance," Tsunade scolded as she healed him. "Better now, kid?"

"Yeah, thanks mom!"

"Don't expect me to go this easy on you all the time. Okay, let's continue. Get in the taijutsu basic stance, and try to dodge my-"

"NARUTO-KUN!" a high pitched voice yelled.

Both Naruto and Tsunade turned towards the source of the voice, and saw Hinata and an adult Hyuga running towards them.

"Oh, hey Hinata! Nice to see you! Did you come here to spar with mom and me?" Naruto asked, grinning at the idea.

Both Hinata and the unknown Hyuga stopped to gasp for air. They were both completely red and sweating, as if they have been running non-stop for quite some time.

"Tsunade-sama, you have to come with us, it's an emergency!" the adult Hyuga pleaded.

"Hey, hey, calm down! What's going on?" Tsunade asked.

"I-It's my mother, s-she's very sick, and our usual doctor c-can't do anything to m-make her get better!" Hinata explained, almost in the verge of tears.

Naruto gasped in horror, and turned to Tsunade. "Mom, you have to help Hinata! Please!"

"Alright, alright! Just let me go to my house first to get my medical instruments and medicines," Tsunade said.

…

Soon it became nighttime. Upon arriving, Tsunade pretty much kicked Hiashi out of the bedroom (since she didn't want an audience when treating patients in critical condition), and spent there the following hours. That didn't stop the Hyuga Clan Head as well as many other clansmen to gather in front of the closed doors.

Hinata was sitting in the hallway near the bedroom, with Naruto sat at her side, trying to comfort her to the best of his ability.

"Mom is the best medic there is! She'll heal your mom in no time, you'll see!"

Hinata didn't say anything, just nodded, and prayed to whatever deity is out there for her mom to get out of this alive.

Hinata then realized something: this was the first time Naruto was in her house. Besides that, now all the Hyuga clan, her father included, knew that she was friends with Naruto. But none of that mattered to her anymore. Her mother was the only thing in her mind right now.

Finally, after several hours that felt like days, an exhausted Tsunade exited the bedroom. She was immediately swarmed by nervous Hyugas. A glare was enough to make them to keep some space.

"Alright, I have good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?" Tsunade asked.

"The...good news," Hiashi replied, trying his best to conceal his desperation.

"Your wife is out of danger now, she'll live," a chorus of relieved sighs filled the place, Hiashi's being the most audible.

"See Hinata? Your mom is going to be okay!" Naruto said to an equally relieved Hinata.

"She's very weak right now, but if you follow my instructions, she'll be fine in a few months," Tsunade added.

"And the bad news...?" Hiashi asked.

"Her uterus was beyond repair. She won't have anymore children again," Tsunade announced. Her statement was followed by several murmurs.

"If she's going to be okay, then that doesn't matter."

"Hiashi, your wife was afflicted by an infectious disease that I traced back to her uterus. It was in a very advanced state. Two days later, and she would had been beyond saving. Was there any complications when she gave birth to your youngest daughter?"

"Yes, there were, but the doctors said that she would be fine!" Hiashi protested.

"Evidently, those doctors missed something. Anyway, there's no point in fretting over that. I'll come here every week to check her progress. If I can't come for whatever reason, Shizune will come in my place. Now this is what your wife must do if she wants to recover..."

After Tsunade finished her explanations, she and Naruto were escorted to the compound's main gate. It was late and treating Hikari for so long had left Tsunade utterly exhausted. She prayed Jiraiya wasn't in the mood for sex. Oh, who was she kidding, that horny bastard was ALWAYS in the mood for sex. Oh well, at least she had a very good excuse to put him down.

"In the name of the entire Hyuga clan, thank you, Tsunade-sama. What you just did today will never be forgotten," Hiashi solemnly said as he bowed before Tsunade.

"Yes, thank you, Tsunade-sama," Hinata echoed as she bowed as well.

"Eh, it's okay, I was just doing my job. Besides, our kids are friends, right?" Tsunade said with a chuckle. Then she yawned. "Boy, after that, I feel like I could sleep for a whole week. Let's hope there are no emergencies tomorrow at the hospital. Come on brat, it's way past your bedtime."

"Coming! See you tomorrow, Hinata!" Naruto chimed as he waved at her.

"Come on Hinata, you should be in bed already too," Hiashi stated as he led his daughter inside.

"Can I see Mother first?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata, your mother needs to rest now. You can see her tomorrow morning."

"...alright then," Hinata conceded, a bit disappointed. After all that had happened, she wanted to see that her mother was okay with her own eyes. But she knew that her father was right.

"By the way, you didn't tell me you were friends with that kid," Hiashi noted in an oddly neutral tone.

"Err...s-sorry father, i-it's t-that..." Hinata stuttered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Were you afraid that I wouldn't let you be friends with the boy holding the Nine Tails within him?" Hiashi asked.

Hinata nodded. "O-Other parents t-tell their k-kids to stay away from N-naruto, and I thought t-that you..."

"I only would have forbidden such a thing if the boy proved to be a bad influence on you, and for the time being, it doesn't seem to be the case."

"So you're okay with him being my friend?"

"As long as he doesn't give me any reason to mistrust him and behaves properly, yes. And I'll let this time pass, but I don't want you to keep any secret from me again, understood?" Hiashi stated sternly. Hinata nodded.

The little Hyuga sighed in relief. Not only she didn't lose her mother, but her friendship with Naruto was safe for the time being. She wouldn't have any problem sleeping tonight.

Meanwhile, Hiashi couldn't stop thinking about Naruto and how his presence had affected his family. If it wasn't for him, neither Jiriaya nor Tsunade would have come back to Konoha, and thus the Hokage would have never attempted to intimidate the Raikage, and Hizashi would have ended up killing himself to placate Kumogakure.

And then there was his wife, would have been dead right now if it wasn't for Tsunade, as well as the fact that her daughter had recently befriended her adoptive son.

Then again, he wondered if he would really have allowed Hinata to befriend that boy before. Now he couldn't make an unbiased opinion on Naruto given that he owed him his wife's life. He never thought much about that boy, and the idea of Hinata becoming his friend never crossed his mind not even once.

While the Hyuga was one of the most traditionalists clans of Konoha, Hiashi wasn't a superstitious man. He had heard many people say, even those among his clan, that Naruto would only bring bad luck and misfortune to whoever was near him. Sure, the risk of the Nine Tails coming out was very real, regardless of how small it was, but Naruto being a bringer of bad luck was just ridiculous.

But now, it seemed that the opposite was true. Naruto's presence had saved the lives of two of his closest and most beloved people, on top of becoming his daughter's first and only friend. And while her progress in mastering the Gentle Step was going at a far slower pace than he would have wished, maybe he could convince Naruto to let her join him on his training with the Sannin.

But for some reason, Hiashi couldn't shake the thought that all this good fortune had a price tag attached to it, and that one day somebody would ask him to pay.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, Hinata's mom is safe, as well as Naruto and Hinata's friendship, yay!**

 **Funny thing, in "Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 4", Obito and Madara have a combination attack named "Heavenly Insertion of the Hammering Star". Upon learning this, I set a new goal for this story: to make a jutsu with an even more sexually blatant name. Maybe a Chidori variant named "Thundering Penetration Thurst", or a Rasengan variant named "Double Massive Celestial Balls", or somethinglike that.**

 **As for the next episode, well, I hope you like the Sand Siblings, because they will be making their debut, and play a big part in it.**

 **Meanwhile, don't forget to review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	7. Desert Winds

**Author's note: Hello once again, my dear readers! Last week's chapter was shorter than usual, so to compensate, here you have an extra-long chapter! In fact, it's the longest chapter so far! (though some of the future chapters I already written will be even longer than this one)**

 **Hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7**

Desert Winds  


Or

 _Why turning your children into weapons is not cool_

 _Seven years after the Kyubi attack_

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"Are we there yet?"

"NO! STOP ASKING THAT ALREADY!" Jiraiya yelled in anger. Between the heat and Naruto's constant chattering, he'd swear he'd go insane at any moment. Then he noticed something in the distance, and narrowed his eyes to see it better. Then, he turned to Naruto and said: "Yeah, we are there already. Sunagakure is just behind those dunes."

"Finally!" Naruto threw his hands in the air.

The heat was downright oppressive, and his thirst was becoming nearly unbearable. He wished he had listened to Jiraiya's advice and didn't drink all the water from his canteen the first day they were in the desert. But after two hellish days waddling through an ocean of sand, their journey was already over.

After much, much time, and much, much stalling on the Kazekage's part, Sarutobi finally managed to convince his Sunagakure counterpart to accept the visit of a Konoha diplomat, in order to strengthen the relationship between the two villages, as well as to "help" with his Jinchuriki problem. While the intention to help was genuine –or else Sarutobi wouldn't have send Konoha's best seal master alive as its representative– Sarutobi had other less selfless motives behind such action, namely, evaluate the threat said Jinchuriki could pose, as well as the Kazekage's intentions on how he was planning to use him.

Jiraiya requested to bring Naruto with him to the mission, believing that having a Jinchuriki who also happened to be a kid of the Suna Jinchuriki's age would help to connect with him. Koharu and Homura vehemently opposed to such thing, since not only it would mean taking Naruto out of the village despite not being a ninja, but bringing him into a foreign village. Sarutobi, however, agreed with Jiraiya's reasoning. Besides, if something happened, Naruto had one of the Sannin taking care of him.

Tsunade also opposed her husband's idea, but for different reasons. She felt that Naruto was too young to do such a journey to another village, and all the possible dangers he could face, besides losing Academy days. Jiraiya spend a whole hour convincing the Slug Princess that he would make sure that Naruto would return from the trip unscratched, and that Naruto would work extra hard to make up for his absence at the Academy.

Naruto was elated when Jiraiya informed him about the trip. He had never been outside Konoha's walls, and he was dying to see the world out there. He was amazed by the lush forests of the Land of Fire –which made Naruto wonder why it was called the "Land of Fire" instead of the "Land of Forests", and that such name would only make sense if somebody set those forests on fire. Jiraiya begged Naruto not to try to make their country's name more meaningful– and was marveled by the watery landscape of the Land of Rivers. But when they reached the Land of Wind...

"This place should be called the Land of Unbearable Heat!"

But fortunately, they arrived at the large rift in the middle of a large stone wall which was the entrance to Sunagakure, flanked by a couple of Suna Chunin. After they verified the Toad Sage's identity, they allowed both him and his son access to the village.

The hallway that was the rift was completely covered in shadows, and thus had a much cooler temperature, something both Konoha residents greatly appreciated. After a short walk, they arrived at the village proper.

Naruto took some moments to contemplate the village before him. The village was composed almost exclusively by spherical, cylindrical or conical buildings made of clay –Jiraiya would explain him later that clay was easy to mold and hardened fast in a heat climate, making construction work easier and faster, plus clay-made buildings, while weaker than brick-and-concrete buildings like those from Konoha, helped to keep the inside of said buildings cool– and there were none of the abundant plant life that was so common on his home village. Even if it was in the middle of a desert –again, Jiraiya would explain him that no plant could live in such place, and thus most plants were kept on greenhouses–.

They immediately headed towards the Kazekage Estate, a massive spherical building with the kanji of "Wind" inscribed on its front, which was placed in the middle of the village. Just like the Hokage Tower in Konoha, not only it was where the current Kazekage worked, but it also doubled as his and his family's residence, should he choose to live there.

While Suna looked wildly different from Konoha, the atmosphere was rather identical: carefree kids played in the streets, traders sold goods, civilians walked through the streets headed to their usual jobs, some ninja patrolled said streets while others watched everything from the buildings' roofs...

Naruto guessed that deep down, most ninja villages were just the same.

…

 _Kazekage's Estate_

Jiraiya and Naruto were sitting on a couch on a large room, while they waited for the Kazekage to receive Jiraiya, which, according to the Suna Jonin that received them at the entrance, it should be soon.

"So, tell me Naruto, what do you think about Suna?" Jiraiya asked, not afraid of a potentially tactless response, since they were alone.

"Eh, it's okay, I guess, but I prefer Konoha. It's really hot in here, and there's no green," Naruto dryly replied.

Jiraiya guessed that Naruto wouldn't be very happy there. From an early age, he always had a fondness for plants. He loved to play in their house's garden when he wasn't training, and even had a corner when he was growing some plants. But then again, it could have been the fact that he grew up in a place with trees as far as the eye can see, and the contrast was rather jarring.

"Have you even been here before?" the blond asked.

"Yes, multiple times. But this place has hardly changed from the last time I was here. Well, I'm seeing some new power lines, but that's it," Jiraiya mentioned.

"Do you know the Kazekage?"

"I'm afraid not. I met his predecessor once during the Third War, but that's about it. Then he mysteriously disappeared."

"Weird. Did they think it had something to do with you?"

"Fortunately not."

A door opened, and another Suna Jonin, a woman in her twenties with purple marks on her cheeks appeared.

"Jiraiya-san, Kazekage-sama is waiting for you at his office"

"About time. Is there a place where Naruto can wait while I'm with the Kazekage?"

"Yes. Kazekage-sama said that Naruto-kun can spend the time with his children. I'll take him with them," the Jonin offered.

" _Good, that way Naruto can get closer to the Jinchuriki"_ Jiraiya thought. "Alright Naruto, this might take some time, so be patient, and be nice to the Kazekage's children."

"Sure thing dad," Naruto nodded as he saw Jiraiya leaving.

"Please, come with me Naruto-kun," the female Jonin said, extending her hand at him.

"Ok, eh..."

"Maki. My name is Maki," the female Jonin replied, smiling a bit.

"Alright Maki! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! But you already know that, right? Hehe!"

"You're quite a lively child. I'm sure you'll have no problem in making friends with the Kazekage's children."

"I hope so!"

…

Jiraiya entered the Kazekage's office, and saw the man himself, Rasa of the Gold Sand, the Kazekage, already waiting for him, sitting on his desk with a frown on his face. The Sannin put his best smile, and sat on the only empty chair.

"Kazekage-dono, is a pleasure to finally meet you," Jiraiya greeted, as cordially as possible. The Sannin, however, was cursing on the inside. He was really good at infiltration and information gathering, but diplomatic affairs were so out of his range of talents. He had to measure his words carefully as not to spark an international incident. Konoha already dodged a shuriken with Kumo, and the last thing he wanted was to unwittingly provoke Suna and made those two villages to ally against Konoha.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin. While I always wanted to meet a living legend, 'pleasure' isn't the word I'd use. We both know why you are here, and nobody but my ANBU are listening, so you might as well dispense with the pleasantries and go towards the matter at hand."

"As you wish, Kazekage-dono," Jiraiya replied in a neutral tone. "As the Hokage's letter said, I'd like to know the reasons behind creating a Jinchuriki, as well as what do you have planned to do with him."

"What, are you afraid that we might use him against Konoha?" Rasa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Should I worry about a preventive war?"

"We both know that's not gonna happen, so cut the act, Rasa," Jiraiya sharply asserted, and immediately cursed inwardly. Not only he had talked the Kazekage in a disrespectful tone, but addressed him by his first name instead of his title. Judging by Rasa's expression, he didn't take it well.

"Act!? I'm not the one who's acting, Jiraiya. Since the end of the war Suna has been steadily losing clients to Konoha, including the Wind Lord himself. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage turned the village into a mess. Defections were a daily occurrence. Bandit attacks over our supply caravans multiplied drastically. And when I made an attempt to recover part of our lost strength, Konoha _forces_ me to accept an emissary demanding information about our internal affairs. We may be allies during the last war, but Konoha had done very little for us after it ended."

"Hey, we weren't having a great time either! Do I need to remind you that the strongest Tailed Beast attacked Konoha not even ten years ago?"

"If you're trying to make me feel sorry for Konoha, then stop it. You're only embarrassing yourself."

Jiraiya repressed the urge to yell at the man's face, and breathed heavily. "I don't want to do that. The Hokage's concerns lies exclusively over your intentions with the Jinchuriki, and your standing with Konoha."

"This is the proof I needed that I was doing the right thing. See? Before news that we had a Jinchuriki leaked, nobody gave a shit about us. But after that happened, we have oh-so-mighty Konoha meekly asking us about our intentions. Alright Jiraiya, you can go back to Konoha and tell this to your Hokage: I will do whatever it takes to make Suna a strong village, and if Konoha, or any other village gets in my way, there will be reprisals."

"That's a bluff. Jinchuriki or not, Suna lacks the ability to wage war against Konoha," Jiraiya boldly stated.

"On our own, maybe. But finding allies willing to crush you won't be hard. I heard about what happened with Kumo, you know. And the minor villages aren't too fond of Konoha either."

Jiraiya was starting to sweat bullets. This was the kind of stuff he wanted to avert. Fortunately, the meeting wasn't over yet, and the Kazekage didn't hear what Konoha was willing to offer.

"You misunderstood me, Kazekage-dono. Konoha does not wish to engage in any war with you at the moment. We only want a guarantee that our alliance still stands."

Rasa raised an eyebrow, and stared at Jiraiya with an amused look. "Alright. Do you want to hear my demands, or do you have an offering already prepared?"

"The latter. I'd like you to hear what the Hokage had allowed me to bargain with. Such as some S-class secrets that nobody outside Konoha knows."

The Kazekage leaned forward. "You have my attention."

"First of all, that Konoha also has a Jinchurki, which holds the Nine Tails, for some years. A kid the same age as your youngest son."

"So you managed to get something out of that mess. Alright, tell me more about him."

"He's the blond kid I brought with me."

A deafening silence followed Jiraiya's statement. Rasa's eyes opened so wide, the Sannin thought they'd fall out of their sockets.

"So you sneaked the Jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast inside my village, without my knowledge."

"I believe I did that."

"And is currently in the same building as I am."

"That is correct."

"And is in the same room as my own children."

"Trust me, I guarantee you that neither you, your children or any citizen of Suna is danger."

Rasa remained surprisingly calm

"Do you know that doing such a thing is _not_ a good way to improve the relationship between our villages, right, Jiraiya?"

"Believe me, I had my reasons to bring that kid here."

"And that would be...?"

"To help your son."

"Excuse me if I don't believe you, Jiraiya."

"You can believe what you want. Listen, I know that the kid is having trouble keeping the Tailed Beast under control, that's why the Hokage send me here instead of somebody with actual diplomatic skills. I can tell that whoever did the sealing, he or she made a rather crappy work. I happen to be one of the world's best seal masters, and if you allow me to take a look at the child, I can create a seal that will contain the demon properly. You can consider it a gift from Konoha as token of our good will."

"A tempting offer, Jiraiya, but how do I know that it's not a trick in order to get close to my Jinchuriki?"

"The fact that you have Konoha's Jinchuriki in your grasp. Who also happens to be my adoptive son. Do you think I'd dare to risk his life like that?"

"A ninja should be willing to sacrifice anything, including his loved ones in order to accomplish his goals and destroy his enemies. That's why I had no qualms about turning my kid into a Jinchuriki."

"That's a grim thought. But then again, I didn't have to bring Naruto here. In fact, I actually took a huge risk doing so. But I did it because I thought it would be very beneficial for both Naruto and your son to meet somebody else with a demon inside, plus you can see the difference between a seal that can hardly contain a Tailed Beast, and a seal that can contain it properly."

The Kazekage crossed his hands below his chin, and stared at Jiraiya intently. "I need to think about this. You'll hear my answer tomorrow morning. Meanwhile, both you and that kid will stay here. I'll have somebody prepare a guest room. You're dismissed."

"Thank you for your time, Kazekage-dono. I'm sure that you'll decide what's best for everybody," Jiraiya said as he stood up and left the office.

…

While the meeting between Jiraiya and the Kazekage took place, Maki brought Naruto to a large room with a long table, a couple couches, some drawers and a few bookshelves. The room's two occupants immediately turned their attention to Naruto the moment he entered the place. One was a tall blonde girl with blue eyes and her hair styled in four pigtails. The other one was a boy with spiky brown hair and black eyes, who was shorter than the girl.

"Naruto-kun, these are Temari-sama and Kankuro-sama, two of Kazekage-sama's children. Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama, this is Naruto, the son of Konoha's emissary."

Naruto walked towards the two kids, extended his hand at an intermediate space between the two of them, and introduced himself with a well-rehearsed line. "Hello! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you!"

It was the girl, Temari, who took his handshake offer, and gave him a rather strong handshake.

"Nice to meet you too, Naruto. Welcome to our village," Temari cordially greeted.

"I'll leave you alone. If you need me for whatever reason, I'll be outside in the hallway," Maki informed before leaving.

An awkward silence followed Maki's departure. Naruto thought it was his responsibility to break it. And he would break it _good_.

"So...which one of you two is the Jinchuriki?" Naruto asked, blissfully oblivious to his extreme bluntness.

Temari and Kankuro almost choked upon hearing Naruto's question.

"H-How do you know...?" Kankuro stuttered.

"My dad told me. It was the reason for why we came here, you know. I remember he told me it was his son, so it has to be you, right?" Naruto pointed at Kankuro.

"Actually, the Jinchuriki is our little brother Gaara," Temari clarified.

"Where he is then?" Naruto asked.

"As of lately, we barely see him. He spends most of the time with our uncle Yashamaru. He's helping Gaara control his powers," what Temari was saying was an S-class secret, but given that Naruto knew about Gaara already, he saw no point in keeping the rest of the details hidden.

"What a pity. I was dying to meet somebody who's like me," Naruto commented, a bit disappointed.

Temari and Kankuro choked even harder this time. Kankuro looked as if he was going to have a heart attack.

"Don't tell me you also have a monster sealed inside-!"

"WHAT THE HELL!? AND THEY LEFT US ALONE WITH YOU!?" Kankuro yelled.

"Kankuro!" Temari shouted in a chiding tone.

The door slammed open, and Maki burst into the room, kunai in hand. "I heard a scream. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, Maki-san, everything's fine. Except my brother, who's still an idiot," Temari explained as she hit Kankuro on the back of his head.

Maki nodded, and left the room once again.

"Eh, it's okay, I got that pretty often. But don't worry, the Nine Tails won't get out of here anytime soon, hehe," Naruto reassured as he patted his belly. "In fact, that's why we're here. Dad says he can make a better seal for Gaara so he won't have any trouble controlling his powers."

Both siblings looked even more shocked than before.

"Really?" Temari asked, as her eyes gleamed with a hopeful glint. "Can he do that?"

Naruto nodded and smiled.

"That would be a gift from heaven. Not only is Gaara getting worse trying to control that monster, but it's also taking a toll on his mind," Kankuro said.

"Yes. Maybe he will even be able to sleep," Temari hoped

"Wait, he can't sleep?" Naruto asked, confused. Temari shook her head.

"If he falls asleep, even if it's only a moment, the monster will take over his body and will go on a murderous spree. Only the monster's power keeps Gaara barely functional while permanently awake, but like my brother said, it's doing nothing to help his mind."

"Let's hope your father can convince ours to let him take a look at Gaara's seal and patch him up somehow," Kankuro added.

"Anyway, while we wait...what do you want to do?" the blond girl asked.

Naruto's eyes darted to the large table, where two wooden dolls with a few strings attached to their body parts laid. The Jinchuriki quickly rushed towards the table and grabbed them. "Hey Temari, are these your dolls?"

"Actually, they're Kankuro's."

"Really? You play with dolls?" Naruto asked, barely holding his laughter.

"They aren't _dolls_ , they're PUPPETS!" Kankuro angrily said as he snatched the puppets from Naruto's hands.

"They look like dolls to me. Only they look more boring. Though they do have a lot of moving parts."

"I'll show you the difference between a doll and a puppet," Kankuro growled while attached the strings to his fingers. He then made the puppets to stand on their feet, and made them fight each other. "See? It requires skill and lots of dedication, but the results speak from themselves!"

"Whoaaaaa, that's so cool!" Naruto said, his eyes fixed on the puppets. "So you're training to become a performer?"

"Actually, I'm training to become a ninja, and so are my siblings."

"I'm a ninja too!" Naruto proudly claimed. "But what puppets have to do with being a ninja?"

"Puppetry is a ninja art too, exclusive from Suna! Some of the deadliest ninja from Suna were puppeteers!"

Naruto, however, continued staring at him puzzled.

"You'd understand it better if you saw an actual ninja puppeteer. Their puppets are as big as an adult, and they're full of lethal weapons. What my brother is using is no different from the tools of a street performer," Temari commented.

"Well, I have to start somewhere, right?" Kankuro protested. "I'll be using a combat a puppet before you realize it!"

…

 _Konoha Academy_

Even without the Sharingan, Sasuke had no trouble dodging the fist aimed at his face, and with a quick movement, he delivered a low kick at his opponent's legs, making him fall on his back. Sasuke placed his foot on his defeated foe.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!" delcared the teacher overseeing the fight, a tall, fat and broad-shouldered man named Daikoku Funeno.

Sasuke's fangirls –which were pretty much all his female classmates minus Hinata– burst into a series of loud squeals as they repeated his name ceaselessly. For those near them, it was almost like having a flock of seagulls screeching into their ears.

Sasuke himself didn't understand why they got so crazy. Sure, he won, but he was fighting against somebody who telegraphed his attacks a month in advance. Even a blind baby could have won against such unworthy foe.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm starting to miss Naruto. Sure, the guy's loud and obnoxious, but at the very least he made me work for my victories," Sasuke commented.

It has been almost a week since Naruto left, and all of sudden Taijutsu practice became infinitely more boring. None of his opponents lasted more then ten seconds.

Daikoku scratched his head. He was really hoping the spar would last a bit longer. "Er...does somebody else wants to spar against Sasuke?"

All the boys averted their gazes. His question was met with silence. Daikoku then turned at Sasuke with an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry then. We'll have to let other people spar for the time being-"

"I-I will spar against him!" a high pitched voice said, making everybody to gasp in unison.

"Hinata, what are you doing?" Sakura asked in disbelief. "You can't fight against a boy!"

"I...can't?"

"Technically, we usually don't make boys fights girls, but there's nothing written in stone about that. I mean, you will have to fight against a ninja of the opposite gender sooner or later, so we may as well start now," Daikoku commented. He then turned at Sasuke. "If it's okay with you?"

"Pass. I'm not going to hit a girl," the Uchiha replied.

"What's wrong, Uchiha, afraid a girl might kick your ass?" Kiba mocked.

"Well, you didn't volunteer to fight me, so I know that you're afraid that I will kick your ass. This girl has more guts than you," Sasuke retorted, making Kiba snarl in anger.

"Hinata, why do you want to fight Sasuke? If you want to spar now, I'm sure one of your female classmates will be happy to be your opponent," Daikoku asked.

"N-Naruto-kun always fights Sasuke-san b-because he says that S-Sasuke-san is strong, and y-you can only get b-better b-by fighting strong opponents. I-I want to g-get stronger t-too."

Hinata never felt the need to spar against Sasuke. While she meant what she said, Naruto was usually her usual opponent when they trained together outside Academy hours. However, she didn't have Naruto for the time being.

"Alright Hyuga. You get your fight. It can't be worse than my previous three fights," Sasuke shrugged as he got into his usual fighting stance. Hinata also slid into the Gentle Fist stance.

Sasuke eyed her opponent, the only girl who wasn't a fangirl of his, but of Naruto's instead. Though then again fangirl was an unfair label. Hinata and Naruto had a genuine friendship. They talked, laughed and were there for each other. The Uchiha also suspected that the Hyuga had a crush on Naruto, but then again he didn't care much about that stuff.

Before the fight began, Hinata activated her Byakugan. Sasuke felt a tinge of jealousy. All the Hyugas awakened their Byakugan when they reached certain age, yet he still didn't awake his Sharingan yet. The fact that his brother awoke it when he was younger than Sasuke is now didn't help.

"Alright then, begin!" Daikoku said, making a chopping motion with his hand.

Sasuke and Hinata dashed towards each other they clashed in the middle, and traded many punches and kicks. For the first few seconds, they successfully parried all the hits, until Sasuke saw an opening and landed a kick on the Hyuga's abdomen, pushing her backwards.

"Hinata? Can you continue?" the teacher asked. Hinata nodded in reply.

Once again, Hinata dashed towards Sasuke. Sasuke was expecting that, being Hinata the heiress of a rather powerful clan specialized in taijutsu, she'd be a worthy opponent, but nope. Her footwork was sloppy, her attacks slow, and had some trouble remaining focused. After trading a few blows, Sasuke once again sent her to the ground with a well placed punch to her gut. And once again, Hinata got up.

It seemed that what the Hyuga Heiress lacked in talent, she made up with sheer determination. It seemed that after all the time they spend together, Naruto was starting to rubbing off on her.

This time, thanks to Sasuke getting confident, Hinata managed to land a strike on Sasuke's shoulder, and he felt it as if it was on fire.

" _This is the Gentle Fist?"_ the Uchiha thought, wincing in pain. _"This girl is more dangerous than she looks. I'll have to finish this quickly."_

Sasuke went on the defensive, careful not to let any of those palm strikes from hell to touch him again. He didn't have to wait much for the Hyuga to reveal an opening, and went for the kill. He delivered a series of fast punches to her ribs, and finished with a powerful kick that send her once again into the ground.

"Okay, I think that was enough. Winner, Sasuke Uchiha!" Daikoku declared.

Once again Sasuke's crowd of fangirls cheered furiously. Sasuke ignored them, walked towards Hinata, and extended his hand. Hinata looked at him for a moment, and took his hand, letting him help her back on her feet.

"Nice fight. You even managed to hit me once." He meant that as a genuine compliment despite being so easy to interpret as a belittlement.

"Uh...t-thank you, Sasuke-san..." Hinata replied. "I knew that I c-couldn't win, but if I could hit y-you once at least it w-would be something."

"Well, it was certainly more than what the rest of my opponents managed to accomplish," Sasuke said, glancing at the crowd besides him.

"Okay, I think that was enough for you two," Daikoku intervened. "Now do the Seal of Reconciliation."

While Naruto was usually very unwilling to do said seal with Sasuke whenever they sparred –not that Sasuke was any less guilty of such thing– Hinata had no problem. After locking their fingers, they returned to the crowd.

"Okay, who else wants to show their abilities? Come on, I need two new volunteers..."

…

Hours later, Sasuke was on his way home, hoping that today he could train with Itachi. Things hadn't been good at home recently. Itachi and their parents would often get into heated arguments that Sasuke couldn't fully understand, but the words "duty", "honor", "clan", "family" and "shame" were uttered by both parties. After that, Itachi would usually leave the Uchiha compound and would not return until sunset.

However, it appeared that today wasn't going to be one of those days, since Itachi was already waiting for him at the compound's entrance. He was carrying a backpack, and had a suitcase besides him.

For some reason, Sasuke had a _very_ bad feeling about that image.

"Sasuke, you're back. I was hoping you'd be here soon," Itachi greeted his younger brother in a neutral tone.

"Nii-san? What are you doing with that suitcase? Are you going somewhere?" Sasuke asked, afraid of the possible answer.

"I'm afraid yes, Sasuke. I had an argument with Father and Mother again, the worst one so far...and they just disowned me. I'm no longer Itachi Uchiha, just Itachi."

"W-WHAT!?" Sasuke couldn't believe his brother's words.

"I just wanted to see you before I left this place. I wanted you to know this from me than from our parents. And most importantly, I wanted to say goodbye"

"But...you can't leave!" Sasuke cried, tears almost forming in his eyes. "You are my brother!"

Itachi kneeled before Sasuke. "Listen me, Sasuke. Uchiha or not, disowned or not, there are two things that nothing will ever change: the fact that you're still my brother, and that I love you."

"B-but...I don't want you to go!" Sasuke cried again.

"I know you don't want to. Being away from you is the most painful part of this mess. But Father and Mother don't want me being part of the clan anymore, and honestly, I can't live under the same roof as them either."

"But you can't leave!" Sasuke repeated. "Let's go and talk with Father and Mother! I'm sure that whatever happened, we can fix it!"

Itachi smiled sweetly at his little brother. "My little brother, you're still so innocent...unfortunately, the reason for my banishment is way too complex for you to understand yet."

"But...what are you going to do now...?"

"I already rented an apartment. I'll bring you there so you can see it once I'm settled. Now you have to be strong, Sasuke. Keep working hard on being a ninja like you have done so far. Make me feel proud of calling you my brother."

Sasuke didn't say anything, just stayed there, crying. Itachi then pulled him into a hug. The Uchiha prodigy then stood up, grabbed his luggage, and left the place that he had called home for all his life.

After watching his brother disappear, Sasuke spent some more minutes there, motionless. Then, he returned to his house. He didn't greet his parents like he usually did. He didn't even demand for explanations as for why they had kicked out Itachi from the clan. He merely went to his room, and locked himself there.

He dropped on his bed, and cried his eyes out until he run out of tears, and finally fell asleep.

…

 _Kazekage Estate, Next Morning_

Shortly after Jiraiya and Naruto woke up, Maki the Suna Jonin entered the guest room they had slept in in order to inform them that the Kazekage had invited them to have breakfast with him and his family. She also informed that Gaara would be there.

"Alright, that's good," Jiraiya said, confident, as he started to get dressed.

"Why is that good, dad?" Naruto asked.

"The Kazekage is rather protective of Gaara, given that he wasn't with his siblings, and has a personal caretaker. The fact that he's willing to have Gaara present means that he trust us to some degree, and maybe he will accept my offer of fixing his seal. If everything goes as planned, not only we will help that poor kid, but will secure an alliance with Sunagakure."

…

Meanwhile, in the estate's dinning room, Rasa and his two elder children were sitting on a large, rectangular table, waiting for their guests and remaining family to join them.

"So, dad, are you going to let Naruto's father fix Gaara's seal?" Temari asked with hopeful eyes.

"I'm not comfortable with the idea, but it appears to be the best solution so far. Gaara has a lot of trouble controlling the demon. If this Naruto you talk about is proof of the man's sealing ability...by the way, are you sure he was a Jinchuriki?" Rasa asked.

"He showed us his seal. It appeared to be the real thing. Only Jinchuriki have stuff like that," Kankuro commented.

"Well, we will learn the truth soon," Rasa said.

The room's door opened, revealing Jiraiya and Naruto, escorted by Maki. After being thanked, the Suna Jonin left.

"So, what's for breakfast? Because I'm so hungry! Do you guys have ramen here?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Who the hell eats ramen for breakfast?" Kankuro asked in disgust.

"You'll have to excuse Naruto. He gets rather...out of control with an empty stomach," Jiraiya said, laughing nervously as he and Naruto took a seat.

"Jiraiya, these are Temari and Kankuro, my oldest children," Rasa motioned to the two kids at his sides, then he fixed his eyes on Naruto. "And I believe that this is the Jinchuriki, right? Your son Naruto."

"Yup, that's me! Remember that name, because when the old man retires, I'll be the next Hokage!" Naruto proudly claimed.

Rasa couldn't help but chuckle. "The kid had some big ambitions Too big, some might say."

Before Naruto could reply, the door opened again, and a redhead child entered the room followed by an adult.

The child, who appeared to be Naruto's age, had short blood red hair and black rings around his blue eyes. The adult –both Jiraiya and Naruto guessed it was Gaara's caretaker– had shoulder length, sandy blond hair and purple eyes.

"Ah, we're all finally here," Rasa mentioned.

"Sorry for the tardiness, Kazekage-sama," the adult said as he and Gaara walked towards the table.

"It's okay, Yashamaru. I know that taking care of Gaara is not an easy job. Fortunately, one of our guest might make that task easier. Or so he says."

"Why is that woman called Yashamaru? Isn't that a male name? And who is this woman by the way, didn't you guys say that your uncle was taking care of Gaara?" Naruto asked.

Temari and Kankuro could barely repressed their laughs, while Rasa glared at him, annoyed. Yashamaru merely smiled.

"I have a male name because I am a man. And yes, I am Gaara's uncle. But yes, my looks makes others to mistake me for a woman, it has happened before."

"WHAAAAAAAT? You're a guy!?" Naruto shouted in shock. Then he turned at Temari. "Wait a minute, you're a girl, right?"

"Of course I am! Don't I look like one?" Temari harshly replied, visibly offended.

"Well, so does this guy!" Naruto protested, making Kankuro to laugh even harder.

Jiraiya facepalmed. Naruto was the nightmare of every diplomat. Fortunately for them, neither Rasa nor Yashamaru were taking his antics seriously.

"Gaara," Rasa said, fixing his eyes on his youngest son. "These are Jiraiya and Naruto. They have come from Konoha to meet you."

Gaara looked at Jiraiya with impassible eyes, and then looked at Naruto.

"I see," was all what he said.

"Gaara, do you notice something special about this kid?" Rasa asked, and waited expectantly at his son's response.

Gaara parsimoniously walked to Naruto, and inspected him. So far, there was nothing remarkable about that boy except for how loud and obnoxiously cheerful he was. And then...he felt a shiver.

"Father...there's...something inside this kid...something Mother doesn't like...Mother wants to kill this child..." Gaara grimly commented.

The blonde almost jumped out of his chair. "Hey, what the hell did I do to your mother!?" Naruto protested.

"So it is true, your son is a Jinchuriki," Rasa concluded, mildly fascinated. "Yet he looks so...normal."

"Of course I am normal! I might have a demon inside me, but that doesn't change who I am!"

"I already told you that Naruto is the difference between a good seal and a shoddy one," Jiraiya interjected.

"Can he access to the demon's power?" Rasa asked again.

"Yes, thought I'm not going to teach Naruto how to use it until he's older. "

"A foolish decision. For a Jinchuriki to reach his potential, they should be trained to control their demon as soon as possible," Rasa replied.

"He still struggles to control his own chakra, so I don't want to take an unnecessary risk and put him in danger."

"Whatever," Rasa dismissed with a wave of his hand. "So if you fix Gaara's seal, Gaara will have access to the demon's power without losing control, right?"

"Exactly."

"If that's the case, then you have my permission to do it."

"Excellent. Then, this is all what I need to start the process. First, a safe room to work in, then..."

…

 _Many hours later..._

The process was hard and exhausting, mostly because a shield of sand would often appear at random times, interfering with the sealing process. A byproduct of the Tailed Beast, Jiraiya had guessed. Though Gaara said that, according to his uncle, it was his mother's spirit protecting him. On top of that, he had to work while two Suna Jonin watched him intently.

Jiraiya had demanded the two ninja to leave, but they weren't going to leave the Kazekage's son and the village's Jinchuriki alone with a foreign ninja.

After much work, Jiraiya had replicated the Four Symbols Seal that kept the Nine Tails prisoner inside Naruto on Gaara, and he removed the shoddy seal that could barely contain the Tailed Beast. Both of them exited the room, and a Suna Chunin escorted both of them towards a room where Rasa, his children, Yashamaru and Naruto were waiting for them.

"The process is finished. It has been a success," Jiraiya announced, smiling. Gaara, however, remained impassible.

"Great! I knew you could do it, dad!" Naruto cheered.

"Those are some great news indeed," Yashamaru commented, smiling.

The Kazekage took a stept forward. "Gaara, how do you feel?"

"I can't hear Mother anymore. But other than that...I feel good," Gaara answered.

"I see. Let's do some tests and see if Jiraiya's handiwork is as good as he claims to be, okay?" Rasa asked. "Gaara, lie on this couch. I'll use a genjutsu to make you sleep."

"But you told me that I should never sleep..." Gaara calmly replied.

"I know. But if Jiraiya's seal works as intended, you should be able to," Rasa explained, motioning to the couch.

Gaara nodded, and did as his father asked. Rasa cast the genjutsu, and Gaara felt asleep. Nothing happened. Five minutes passed. Nothing happened. Ten minutes passed. Nothing happened.

"It's amazing! Gaara is sleeping and the demon isn't taking over! Jiraiya, you're incredible!" Temari gushed, completely elated.

"I never get tired of hearing that," Jiraiya replied with a foxy grin.

"Your work is indeed worth its praise, Jiraiya," Rasa conceded. "Though I still want to do one more test."

"Do all the tests you want, the results won't vary," Jiraiya said, confident.

Rasa rocked Gaara until he woke up.

"Father...I was asleep...did something happen?" Gaara asked, a bit worried.

"Nothing. The seal worked. But I want you to do one more thing for me. Go to the door, please," Rasa instructed.

Gaara nodded, and did as he was told. Once there, he turned towards his father. "I'm on the door. What should I do-"

Gaara was interrupted when he saw his father tossing several kunai at him. The redhead kid yelped and instinctively raised his arms in self-defense. Fortunately for him, a wall of sand formed between him and the bladed weapons, protecting him from any harm.

Gaara was pale with shock. Rasa seemed pleased. Everybody else were dumbfounded.

"...what the hell?" Naruto asked, almost in a whisper.

"Good. He still has the sand. You were good on your word, Jiraiya," Rasa said, satisfied.

"You threw a kunai at your son's face..." Jiraiya whispered, shocked. His shock then turned into anger. "YOU THREW A KUNAI AT YOUR SON'S FACE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!?"

"I needed to check if Gaara had still access at the demon's power," Rasa replied. His voice was completely devoid of regret.

"And what if that wasn't the case? You could have killed him!"

"But I didn't. Stop fretting over that already. It belongs to the past."

"To the past...? IT HAPPENED JUST NOW!"

Rasa decided to ignore Jiraiya's protests. "The seal worked as you promised, and in the name of my village I thank you for that. You can now go back to your village and tell your Hokage that he has nothing to fear. Suna and Konoha will remain allies for the foreseeable future."

Jiraiya glared at the Kazekage, and muttered a curse under his breath. "Naruto, go and pack your stuff. We will leave tomorrow morning."

"What, so soon? But we've been only here two days! And I barely got to know Gaara!"

"Naruto, we came here to do a job, and said job is done. There's nothing here left for us, so we must return. Besides, I promised both the Hokage and your mother than we will be back as soon as possible."

"Okaaaaaay..." Naruto said, dejected.

…

Once again, Jiraiya and Naruto were invited to have dinner with the Kazekage and his family. Jiraiya declined the invitation, but encouraged Naruto to go so he could spend at least some more time with the Kazekage's children, especially Gaara. The Kazekage finished his dinner quickly and left the dinning room, claiming he still had some things to do, leaving the kids alone under the watch of a couple Suna Jonin.

"Tell your father that I thank him for what he did for me. It's good to know that I won't hurt people unwittingly again," Gaara spoke up.

"Yeah, I will," Naruto replied as he stuffed his mouth with food. "You're welcome!"

"By the way, since you're like me...does people treat you...differently?" Gaara asked.

"Differently? Oh, I think what you mean...if they act as if I'm going to go insane and try to kill them or something?" the blond boy asked. Gaara nodded. "Sadly yes. Do people in Suna treat you like that?"

"Yes."

"What? But you're like, the son of the Kazekage! They should treat you with more respect!"

Sure, Naruto was also the son of a Hokage, but in his case, very few people knew that, as it was an S-Class secret. Gaara's parentage was public knowledge.

"Actually, it doesn't matter much. They can only see the potential danger he represents. Though I can blame them, given that there has been quite a few incidents when Gaara lost control of the monster," Temari commented.

"Good thing you and your dad came here. Now maybe we can convince people that Gaara won't harm them anymore," Kankuro added.

"Eh, well, I don't think their opinions will change much. If this village is anything like mine, they'll continue avoiding Gaara like he's the plague. That's what they do to me at least," Naruto mentioned, a bit sad.

Gaara looked thoughtful. "I see then. How do you cope with it?"

"Truth be told, sometimes I want to yell at them. To make them realize that they have nothing to fear from me. That whatever happened in Konoha seven years ago won't happen again," Naruto expalined, bitterness leaking through his words. Then he smiled. "But not everybody is like that. I have mom and dad, and Shizune-neechan, and Hagane-chan and Kaida-chan, and Hinata...and as long as I have them, I don't care what other people think."

"Then should I stop trying to get everybody else to acknowledge me?" the redhead asked.

"What? No, of course not! You deserve to be respected. It's just...don't feel too bad if they don't do now. If you ever feel down, you should go to the people who likes you. Your dad is kind of an asshole," Naruto blurted, then he gasped upon realizing what he said, turned towards Kankuro and Temari and smiled bashfully. "No offense."

"None taken," Kankuro replied. Temari just nodded.

"But you have your aunt –I mean uncle– and your brother and your sister are pretty cool, and I'm sure they'll help you deal with this crap," Naruto motioned at Kankuro and Temari. Both of them smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, I mean, we don't see each other much, but that's going to change soon!" Kankuro declared.

"And if our father has a problem with that, well, he'll have to deal with it!" Temari added.

"Thank you, to both of you, it...it means a lot to me," Gaara said. Naruto smiled at him.

"By the way, Gaara, what's all that talk about your 'mother'? I thought that she died when you were born..."

"Uncle said that the sand that protects me from harm is the spirit of my mother. Sometimes I hear voices in my head urging me to punish those who wrong me...but since your father reinforced my seal, I can't hear her anymore."

Naruto remembered a conversation he had with his parents when he was four. They told him that, if he ever heard a voice inside his head, he should tell them immediately. They didn't elaborate any further, leaving the blond boy rather confused. It became much clearer once he learned the truth about the Nine Tails being sealed inside him.

"Actually...that's not your mother, but the monster they sealed inside you."

"Oh..." Gaara looked dejected.

"But that doesn't mean that your mom isn't with you! My parents tell me that since my birth parents died to protect me, their spirits will be always watching over me, protecting me in mysterious ways. I'm sure your mom will protect you and your siblings as well!" Naruto quickly added.

"That's...a comforting thought. I never thought that my real mother would want me to harm others."

"Of course not! People like us exist to protect others from these monsters. And that's what I want to do when I grow up. I'm going to be Hokage so everyone will know that I'm protecting my village!"

"That sounds nice. Maybe I should try to become Kazekage too."

"And you will be the best Kazekage there is!"

"And we will be there to support you, little bro," Temari added. Kankuro nodded.

The four kids continued talking and laughing until it was time for all of them to go to bed. During the trip back to Konoha, Naruto would tell Jiraiya how much fun he had during the time he spend with the Sand Siblings –as he nicknamed them. That moment Jiraiya knew that the alliance between Konoha and Suna would last for many decades, but it would be thanks to Naruto's unwitting efforts.

...

 _Konoha_

Itachi, formerly known as Uchiha, studied his new home, a three room apartment consisting on a bedroom, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It was a huge step down from his rather cozy home in the Uchiha Compound, but it was enough for him. Due to having so few personal belongings, he took almost no time to settle in.

While Itachi had done a myriad of B-Rank and A-Rank mission, the former Uchiha was penniless. When you're part of a big clan, all the money from missions goes to the Clan Fund. The Clan Head, or a designated treasurer would manage the fund and use it to cover the clan's expenditures, such as food, clothes, weapons, water and electricity. Adult clansmen had a small allowance that they could spend however they pleased. Most of them used said allowance to buy things for their children.

Naturally, Itachi didn't get any money from said fund, so he had to ask for a small loan to the Konoha Bank. Fortunately, his reputation as a young ninja prodigy was enough guarantee for the bank. He had used that money to buy food, some clothes, a stock of weapons, and to pay the first month of the rent. The loaned money would run out soon, and the bank would demand the money back just as soon, so he needed to do well-paid missions as soon as possible. Fortunately the Third would have no problem with it.

Lying on his bed, Itachi couldn't help but wonder if he did the right thing. Maybe he should have tried a bit harder to convince his parents to drop the hostilities with the Konoha higher-ups. Maybe he should have become an ANBU and use his position as a mediator.

His exhaustion beat his troubling thoughts, and the disowned Uchiha soon fell asleep, unable to shake the thought that something terrible was going to happen soon.

* * *

 **Author's note: Even if this chapter doesn't feel like a conclusion, this marks the end of what I call the "Introduction Arc", which pretty much one big set up for the story and some of the most important story and character arcs. The next chapter will be the beginning of the next arc, which I won't name yet since it's a huge spoiler, but I'm sure that you'll guess what is it about ;)**

 **I had the idea of including Chiyo, given that it was her who sealed the Shukaku inside Gaara, plus with her hatred towards other villages she'll have something to say about Jiraiya's intervention. But neither I could find a proper moment to introduce her, nor I could think anything meaningful for her to do or say that could add to the plot. Then again, I'm not very fond of Chiyo, so I wasn't even that motivated.**

 **Oh, and Daikoku Funeno and Maki aren't OCs, they're actually canon characters ;) I will try to keep the number of OCs in this story to a minimum.**

 **Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and while you wait for the next one next weel, don't forget to review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	8. The Calm Before the Storm

**Author's Note: I'd like to address some complains about Naruto's characterization. Some people were expecting bigger changes about him since he's being raised by Tsunade and Jiraiya, both in terms of personality and skill:**

 **First, is that besides the fact that I personally don't think that Naruto's personality would change that much if he didn't grew an orphan, his canon personality is what I like the most about his character, as well as what makes him so likeable. I'm tired of reading stories in which Naruto either becomes an emo nihilist, or a smug bastard that lords his new power over everybody.  
**

 **And second, his power level. As of this chapter, Naruto is EIGHT, and as you can see, he's still quite stronger than he was in canon at this stage. Did you guys expect a toddler Naruto with Sage Mode and the Rasengan?**

 **Okay, enough ranting for now. Enjoy the chapter, and see you at the notes after the end.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

The Calm Before the Storm

or

 _Elementary Elements_

 _Eight Years after the Kyubi attack_

It was a warm Saturday morning. Flowers were blooming, birds were signing and the sky was clear. So while he waited for the daily training session with one of her parents, Naruto decided to spend some time on one of his hobbies besides training and eating ramen: gardening.

Shizune bought him some new seeds from the Yamanaka Flower Shop, and he was planting them on his corner of the backyard. Helping him were his two four year old siblings, Hagane and Kaida. Both of them had inherited Jiraiya's spiky white hair and Tsunade's brown eyes. Though Hagane usually had a short haircut, while Kaida had it styled into two long pigtails.

"Alright, now that you have put the seeds in the holes, you must cover the holes with soil again," Naruto instructed as the twins did so.

"And then what, niisan?" Kaida asked.

"Then you come every day and water the seeds. In a few weeks, it will grow a plan with really pretty flowers."

"Awww, but I wanted to see the flowers now!" Kaida complained.

"Maybe if we water them more, they'll grow faster?" Hagane wondered.

"Nice try, but it doesn't work that way, hehe. Okay, wait here, I'm going to get the watering can," Naruto said as he went to back to the house. He returned back with a full watering can, and he almost dropped it in shock. "WHAT THE HELL!?"

Naruto was in shock. Besides a smiling Kaida and a surprised Hagane, there was an almost full grown bush of white roses.

"Look at this, niisan! I told the flowers to grow already, and they did!" the little girl said proudly.

"Whoa, it's almost like the First Hokage!" Naruto shouted, amazed.

"Who?" both twins asked in unison.

"The First Hokage! Your great grandpa! He had the power to make plants grow super fast, but none of his children inherit that power. Maybe you did!"

"Really? That's so cool! I'm going to grow more flowers then!"

"Maybe I have that power too!" Hagane wondered as he tried to emulate his sister.

"I have to tell mom and dad!" Naruto excitedly stated as he rushed back inside. "MOM! DAD! GET OVER HERE! YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS!"

Naruto pretty much ignored the Sannin's protests as he dragged them, followed by Shizune, to the backyard, where the twins were trying to make more plants to grow.

"Naruto, please, I can walk on my own!" Tsunade protested.

"What's so important that got you so riled up?" Jiraiya asked.

"Look at THAT!" Naruto pointed out towards the white rose bush.

"Those are some nice roses, but I don't think they're impressive enough to be worth getting dragged here," Tsunade deadpanned.

"I don't mean that! I planted those roses five minutes ago, and Kaida made them grow!"

"You mean that she has power over plants? Like the First Hokage?" Jiraiya asked.

"Exactly!" Naruto exclaimed. "Come on sis, show them!"

Kaida nodded, and tried to make another white rose to grow. "Come on, grow! Grow! Groooooooooooow!" Kaida piped as she motioned her arms at the ground, without any visible effects. "Oh come on, it worked just now!"

Jiraiya shook his head. "Come on Naruto, the kids pranked you. While I admit that that bush wasn't there yesterday, there's no way they have the power of the Wood Release."

"No! I have the power! And I'll show it to you! Grow!" Kaida ordered, her face turning red as she tried to channel the power she thought she had.

"Come on sis, I know you can do it!" Hagane encouraged as he patted her on the back.

The moment Hagane touched Kaida, something inside her changed. She felt an overwhelming force coming from within, and almost unwittingly, channeled said force outside through her extended arms. Another white rose bush emerged from the ground, except this one grew to be twice as big and lush as the first one.

Tsunade's necklace shined with such an intense glow it was comparable to the sun.

Tsunade, Jiraiya and Shizune's jaws dropped, and their eyes opened so wide they appeared to pop out of their socket. They remained in a state of stupor until Naruto snapped out of them.

"I...I can't believe it!" Tsunade babbled, almost in a whisper.

"Tsunade-sama...this...this is..." Shizune stuttered.

Jiraiya was also shocked, but then he smiled wide. "Haha, did you see that? My genes are so good, they awakened a long lost Bloodline Limit!"

"Jiraiya..." Tsunade whispered, ignoring the Toad Sage's remark. "When Hagane touched Kaida...you felt something, didn't you?"

"Yes. Something similar to nature chakra," Jiraiya replied. "Kaida, when Hagane touched you, what did you feel?"

"I felt...being full of energy. And so strong! Like I've been sleeping for a whole week! It felt amazing!" the little girl said.

"Hagane, honey, give me your hand," Tsunade instructed as she crouched in front of her younger son.

Hagane did so, and Tsunade's necklace glowed once more. None of the presents were sensors, but they could felt Tsunade's chakra dramatically increasing all of sudden, manifesting in the form of a blue aura flaring around her. Jiraiya also noticed the bit of nature chakra there. The effect vanished once they stopped holding hands. Tsunade stood up, with a dazzling look on her face.

"When Hagane touched me, I felt my chakra reserves growing so much, I thought I wouldn't be able to hold them! This is incredible!"

"Wait a minute, we all touched Hagane many times before. Why he didn't have this effect until now?" Shizune asked.

"I don't know...maybe it was dormant until something triggered it?" Jiraiya guessed.

"Like what?"

"Like...Kaida making those plants grow?" Naruto asked. "I mean, you told me about twins having some sort of invisible special connection. What if Hagane couldn't awake this power until Kaida awakened hers?"

"It's a possibility," Jiraiya conceded. "By the way, Tsunade, I think that this might be the reason as for why your necklace glows so much when it's near either of them."

"It is possible that the First's chakra of the necklace somehow influenced them since the moment they were...err...conceived?" Shizune asked.

"That's an interesting theory, but we'll have to wait to see if it's true or not. I'm going to check the twins now to see the extent of their abilities. As for the time being, I don't want anybody else to learn about this, understood?"

"What? But Kaida just developed a Bloodline Limit which was thought to be lost! And Hagane has some freaky power too! We have to tell the Hokage at least!" Naruto protested.

Shizune stepped in. "Naruto-kun, keep in mind that the power of the First Hokage has been sought by many people. If there was a rumor that Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama's kids had manifested that power, then they would be in great danger. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Shizune-neechan. I didn't think of that," Naruto admitted, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Which means that you two shouldn't use those powers out of this house, and only with an adult present, understood?" Tsunade said to the twins.

Kaida went to protest. "But-"

"No buts, Kaida!" Tsunade's tone did not leave room for replies.

"Alright, mom..." the white haired girl conceded in defeat.

"You two, come with me for a medical check. Jiriaya, why don't you take Naruto out for some training?"

…

 _Traning Ground Three_

While Tsunade inspected the twins, Jiraiya tool Naruto to their usual training spot.

"Alright Naruto, let's review your ninjutsu repertoire. First use the Clone Jutsu," Jiraiya instructed.

Naruto nodded, made the necessary hand seals, and channeled his chakra. "Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted, and four perfect copies of himself appeared at both sides. "Yay!"

"Alright, that jutsu gave you some trouble, but it seems that your chakra control is getting better," Jiraiya mentioned. "Now, Transformation."

Dispelling the clones, Naruto nodded again, and turned into Shizune. Jiraiya gave a nod of approval, and Naruto returned to normal.

"And lastly, the Body Replacement."

Naruto made the hand seals, this time much faster, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a large rock in his place. Naruto then appeared behind Jiraiya.

"Excellent," Jiraiya approved, turning around, already aware of his godson being there. "Those are the three Academy ninjutsu you need to master if you want to graduate. As you can see, piece of cake when you have such an awesome teacher as me."

"Wait, does that mean that I can graduate already?" Naruto said in realization, starry eyed.

"I said that those three jutsus are necessary to pass, not to only thing you need. But yeah, I'm sure that you'd be good to graduate in two years."

"YAY! Take that Sasuke! I'm going to graduate two years before you!"

"Whoa there, don't get yourself carried away. You're not going to skip any Academy year."

"What? But why? If I already know what they teach at the Academy, going there is a waste of time!"

"You have a point. But I'm not teaching you everything the Academy does. Stuff like maths, physics, biology and geography might not seem useful for a ninja at first, but they are. That's why the Academy is still important. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't bother sending you there.

"Besides, I'm going to have a talk with the Hokage and see if he can do something about making the Academy curriculum a bit more challenging. I mean, a ninja needs more than the three basic E-Rank jutsus to do their job. They don't even teach tree walking! Besides, I want to teach you other abilities that will take some time."

"And that would be...?"

"Sealing Jutsus, some more advanced ninjutsu, being able to dispel genjutsus, and if possible, control of the Nine Tails' chakra. It's my goal to make sure you gain some level of mastery over those abilities before you graduate."

"I see. No matter what you decide to throw at me or how hard the Academy gets, I'll pass with flying colors!" Naruto claimed, pumping his fist.

"Boy, that inner fire is something every teacher wants to see in his students," Jiraiya smiled. "Alright kid, now that you showed me what you're capable of, I think that I can fulfill your request!"

"YES! Elemental ninjutsu!"

Last week, Sasuke –who for some reason had become incredibly cranky since the previous year– showed everybody that he had learned the Great Fireball Jutsu. Even if he was far from completely mastering it, Naruto had to admit that it was pretty cool. From that day onwards, Naruto begged her parents to teach him elemental ninjutsu. And now the gap between him and Sasuke would close once more.

Jiraiya then produced a small light brown rectangular paper. "This is a litmus paper. It is used to determine your elemental affinity. You channel chakra into the paper, and based on how it reacts you can determine your affinity. For example," Jiraiya did as he explained, and the paper started to burn. "My affinity is fire, so the paper burns when it's in contact with my chakra. Fire is the most common affinity on this land, hence its name. Now-"

"Gimme gimme!" Naruto hastily took another litmus paper from Jiraiya's hands. He channeled his chakra, and the paper split in two. "Aw dammit! Give me another, I think broke this one!"

"Calm down, Naruto! The paper didn't break. If the paper cuts in two, then it means you have an affinity for wind. Which is the least common affinity of all nations, even in the Land of Wind."

"Awesome! I have a rare affinity, unlike Sasuke who has fire like everybody else!" Naruto cheered, then he realized that Jiraiya also had a fire affinity. "Er, sorry dad, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay. But don't get all excited, having a rare affinity does have it downsides."

"Really? Like what?"

"Since there are so few people with wind affinity, that means less people who can teach you, and less people creating new jutsus. I believe that there's only another wind user in Konoha, one of the sons of Sarutobi-sensei. I think I could get him to teach you some of the advanced stuff. But for the time being, let's stick to something simple."

Jiraiya walked to a tree and plucked a leaf from one of its branches. He then handed that leaf to Naruto. "I want you to use your chakra to cut that leaf in two, just like you did with the paper."

"What? Why?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

Jiraiya sighed. "Your mother and I told you this a million times. Before learning 'the cool stuff' as you so eloquently put it, you need to learn the basics first. And this exercise will help you mold wind chakra. What, did you expect that I was going to teach you how to produce a tornado or something like that?"

"Welll...yes. I mean, Sasuke can create fireballs, and I need something to counter that if I am to beat him!"

"Actually, that wouldn't be a good idea."

"And why not?"

"Because elemental chakra is like rock paper scissors. Just like how rock beats scissors but gets beaten by paper, some elements are weak against some and strong against others. In your case, wind is strong against lightning, but weak against fire. If you try to counter Sasuke's fire jutsus with wind jutsus, you will only make his attacks stronger."

"WHAAAAAAAAT!? Then I'm never going to beat him!" Naruto whined, depressed, as he fell on his knees.

"Don't say that. You can learn water jutsus as well if you want."

"But you said that my affinity is wind..."

"Yes, but that means that wind jutsus will be more powerful, consume less chakra and will be easier to learn. You can learn jutsus from all five basic elements. Think of it as the use of your arms. Your right arm is the dominant one, but that doesn't mean that you can use your left arm as well, but you use the right one more because you have more dexterity."

"Then teach me water jutsus instead!"

"No. You have to learn jutsus of your elemental affinity first. Once you have that down, you can master the element that counters the element you're weak against. For example, after mastering fire, I learned earth jutsus, since earth beats water, which beats fire."

"I see...man, this is far more complicated that I thought!" Naruto realized, rubbing the back of his head.

"Of course it is. Why do you think I don't want you to graduate too early? I want you to be properly prepared once you go out there to fight the bad guys."

"By the way, you have fire, but what affinity do mom and Shizune-neechan have?"

"Your mother has lightning, and Shizune has water. And since Kaida has Wood Release, which is a combination of earth and water, those elements are her affinity."

"What, it is possible to have more than one affinity?"

"Yes, but outside Bloodline Limits, they're extremely rare, even more than people with wind affinity. Now come on, I won't teach you any new jutsu unless I see you cutting that leaf with your chakra! The key is to try to compress your chakra into a blade as fine as possible."

"Right!" Naruto said, as he fixed his stare on the leaf on his hands, and channeled his chakra.

…

Meanwhile, in the forests of Konoha's outskirts, two figures were having a talk, covered by the trees' lush foliage. Both of them were teenagers with dull black hair and black eyes, wearing headbands of Konohagakure. One of them was also wearing the symbol of the Uchiha Clan on the back of his t-shirt.

"So, how things are going, Shisui?" the first figure asked.

"It was as you feared, Itachi. It was way beyond a rumor. The Uchiha are indeed planning to stage a coup. I don't know when, but it will be soon. Very soon," Shusui grimly noted.

Itachi cursed inwards. "Our time is running out. What about that investigation that Jiraiya-sama is conducting?"

"Even if the true culprit of the Nine Tails attack was found, it is too late. The damage was done the moment Danzo put the Uchiha Clan under surveillance. I'm afraid that there's nothing stopping the coup."

"If such things happen, it will be an open invitation for the other villages to declare a war on us. What can we do?"

"I already have a plan. There's a meeting tonight of all the Uchiha members at the Naka Shrine. I believe that Fugaku-sama will make the coup official, and reveal what he has planned. What he doesn't know, however, is that I will be there and I will use my Kotoamatsukami on him and make him convince the Clan to rebuild the burned bridges with the village. I already have the Third's approval," Shisui explained.

"Do you think it will work? If you're caught, you will die on the spot."

"I know it will. Besides, I can't die yet, not without convincing Shizune-san on going on a date with me first," Shusui added, chuckling.

Itachi returned the smile. "I believe you'll need to use your Kotoamatsukami on her for that to happen," Itachi's face became serious again. "But take care. Once you're done, meet me at my apartment, and we'll discuss what to do next."

"Yes. See you this night, Itachi," Shisui said before disappearing.

"Good luck, Shisui. Let's hope everything goes right..."

Little did the two rogue Uchihas knew that a third Sharingan wielder, hidden in the shadows, had listened their entire conversation.

...

Shortly after finishing his training session with Naruto, Jiraiya was confronted by an ANBU who told him that the Hokage requested his presence for an urgent mission. In no time, he arrived at the Hokage's tower, and entered Sarutobi's office through one of the windows.

"Jiraiya, is the door to much of a hassle to you?" Sarutobi asked in a deadpan tone.

"Sorry, sensei, but you said that it was urgent," Jiraiya replied as he jumped inside the office.

"Alright, sit down," Sarutobi instructed with a weary sigh. "Jiraiya, there is no need for you to continue your investigation of the Kyubi attack."

Jiraiya was taken aback by such words. "What? Why?"

"I'm afraid that it won't do any good now. According to my sources, the Uchiha Clan has been planning a coup d'etat for the past couple years. They will stage it sometime during this week."

Jiraiya couldn't believe what he was hearing. "And why are we still here, doing nothing!? We have to stop that from happening!"

"I already have a plan in motion, Jiraiya, don't worry. The coup won't come to pass, I made sure of it."

Jiraiya wasn't convinced, but decided to not to pressure the issue. "I see. The ANBU who contacted me said you had a mission for me."

"Correct. You see, from the past few months onwards, the demand of A-Rank and S-Rank missions had increased dramatically."

"I fail to see how that's a bad thing. More income for the village."

"Yes, but I believe that there's something more to this. This amount of high-ranked missions is unseen in times of peace. An S-Rank mission means an S-Rank threat. If there are so many S-Rank missions requests...well, you do the math. And some of the mission requesters mentioned men in black cloaks with red clouds on them."

"Akatsuki."

"Exactly. They began their move already, whatever it is. Your mission will be to find out what they're trying to accomplish with this."

"Are you afraid that they're doing this in order to bring our best ninja out of the village walls so they can be killed off one by one with ease?"

"It is one of the possibilities, yes, but not the only one."

"Alright, I'll meet some of my spies and see what they have. You'll receive a report from me shortly," Jiraiya said as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Sarutobi knew that he didn't convince Jiraiya about the coup being already over. Truth be told, he wasn't convinced either, but he had to trust Shisui. He had seen his abilities in action, and he knew that he could pull it off.

Still, the old Hokage couldn't shake off the feeling that this was the last time he would see the Toad Sannin.

…

It took him two hours and an inordinate amount of effort, but Naruto had finally cut the goddamned leaf. When Naruto asked Jiraiya if he was ready now to learn wind jutsus, Jiraiya pretty much laughed in his face, and told him that in order to be ready, he'll have to cut that leaf in less than ten seconds. At this rate, he was never going to surpass Sasuke!

Still, Naruto knew perfectly what would get his mood up: some ramen with his best friend.

Now, if a random kid barged into the Hyuga Compound, he would be swiftly kicked out by the Branch House members that guarded its gates. And if Naruto tried to do that a couple years ago, they wouldn't even let him to get _close_ to the place.

But when your mother has saved the wife of the Clan Head from a certain death...well, let's say that the Hyugas start to show you some respect.

"Good afternoon, Naruto-san. Coming to see Hinata-sama?" greeted a Branch House Hyuga who was guarding the gates. The Hyuga had shoulder-length, spiky brown hair with two long bangs framing either side of his face. It would be easy to mistake him for a woman.

"Hello to you too, Tokuma! Yeah, you nailed it! I just came from a hard training session, and I was heading for Icharaku's and wondered if Hinata could join me."

"Hinata-sama is currently training with Hiashi-sama as well. Though I believe they'll finish soon. You can go and see her train while you wait, if you wish."

"Yeah I'll do that, thank you, Tokuma," Naruto said as he entered the Compound.

After asking for directions –he often got lost in the large compound,– Naruto finally arrived at the main dojo, where he saw Hinata, dressed in a dark blue long sleeved shirt and knee-long dark blue pants sparring against another Hyuga, a male –or so he thought, after meeting Yashamaru he wasn't so sure anymore– who appeared to be both older and way more skilled than her. Naruto's presence was acknowledged by the other Hyuga present with a silent nod. One of them, a woman with long dark purple hair, signaled him to sit next to her. Naruto complied.

"Good afternoon, Hikari-san," Naruto greeted as he sat besides the woman.

"Welcome to our home, Naruto-kun. Did you come here to see my daughter?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, I wanted to ask her if she would want to go with me to Icharaku's and grab some ramen, but I see she's busy now."

"She's close to finish her daily training. I'm sure she'd love to eat with you."

Hinata lost her focus the moment Naruto entered the dojo, blushing the moment she saw the blond smiling at her. This moment of distraction made left her wide open for her opponent to knock her down with a swift palm strike.

"Don't get distracted! In a real fight, if you get distracted, you die! Come on, stand up and come at Neji again!" Hiashi chided in a reprimanding tone.

"Y-yes father!" Hinata bumbled as she stood up and dashed at her adversary again.

They traded blows once again, expect this time Hiashi noticed that she was more focused and her attacks were far more aggressive. As if suddenly this spar became a death-match with her life on the line. Yet the only thing that changed was that Naruto had entered the room. Did that kid have some effect on her daughter?

Meanwhile, Naruto continued watching Hinata spar.

"Wow, that kid fights pretty hard," Naruto commented to no one in particular.

"Indeed. Neji-kun has quite some talent. Some believe that in a few years he will become the strongest Hyuga alive, surpassing even my husband," Hikari whispered to him. "But don't tell him I said that, he has quite the ego already."

"By the way...is Neji a guy?"

Hikari chuckled. "Yes, yes he is. Does he look like a girl?"

"Well, it's that I met some guys who look like women. And many of them were Hyugas."

"Well, yes. Many Hyugas have rather feminine looks. Not every Hyuga can have the luck to have my Hiashi's handsome manly features."

There was a collective gasp when Hinata managed to land a hit on the Hyuga prodigy.

"Way to go, Hinata! Kick his ass!" Naruto cheered in a whisper. He remembered the first time the loudly cheered her, and was reprimanded by the rest of Hyuga for almost half an hour for his noisy behavior.

"I think I'll bring you here whenever Hinata-chan has to train. She fights with far more spunk whenever you're present," Hikari observed, smiling at Naruto.

"Well, obviously. I also fight better when I have my friends cheering me," Naruto replied.

After a few more minutes, Hiashi decided that the spar was over. Hikari silently signaled Naruto that it was okay to speak with Hinata if he wanted to.

"Hey, Hinata, way to go!" Naruto cheered as he ran towards his best friend.

The Hyuga Heiress blushed once again. "T-Thank you, Naruto-kun!"

"Say, I was going to Icharaku's to have some ramen. Wanna join me?"

Hinata didn't reply, and merely looked at her father. Hiashi pondered for a few seconds before revealing his answer.

"Yes. But your mother will go with you," Hiashi stated in a neutral, but commanding tone.

"Come on Hiashi, what's the worst it could-" Hikari tried to protest.

"Hikari, I'm not going to leave our eight year old daughter alone with a _boy_ ," Hiashi almost spat the last word. If only he knew all the times Naruto and Hinata had been alone since they met. "So either you or another adult goes with her, or she can't go."

"Alright. As you wish, dear," Hikari rolled her eyes. "Naruto-kun, wait a minute before Hinata-chan gets a quick shower and gets dressed."

…

Half an hour later, the two Hyuga girls and the Uzumaki boy were at the latter's favorite food place.

"Alright, two chicken ramen bowls for the ladies, and five miso ramen bowls for our favorite customer," Icharaku announced as he placed the orders on the counter. "Enjoy the food!"

"We will!" Naruto happily replied as he started wolfing down the food. Hikari watched him with curious eyes.

"Kid, how can you eat so much and not have an ounce of fat in your body?" the Hyuga woman asked.

"Because I burn all of it training a lot! I need to if I'm to become Hokage!" Naruto proudly proclaimed as he finished his first bowl and went to the second. "Especially now, that I'm learning elemental ninjutsu!"

"R-Really? That's amazing Naruto-kun. Because t-that kind of j-jutsus are pretty a-advanced," Hinata noted, as she slowly ate her ramen.

"Indeed. They're usually taught to Chunin, and the average age of becoming a Chunin is fifteen to sixteen. You're half that age, and not even an academy graduate," Hikari observed.

"Yeah, that's how awesome I am!" Naruto claimed with a foxy grin as he emptied his third bowl. "Hey, what about you, Hikari-san? What is your element?"

"Actaully, the Hyuga Clan does not use traditional ninjutsu, just our own martial art, the Gentle Fist. But I believe my affinity is water. I don't know what affinity is Hinata's."

"Well, we might find it soon, since dad said it's going to talk with the Hokage so they teach elemental ninjutsu at the Academy," Naruto claimed.

"The Academy? Isn't that a bit too soon? I mean, not all the kids have the luck of having a clan or being trained by two Sannin, Naruto-kun." Hikari asked.

"I dunno, my dad said that the standards of the Academy decayed a lot since the days he and mom were Genin. By the way, did you know that they graduated when they were just six?"

"They're living legends. It's something to be expected."

"M-mother..." Hinata spoke up. "D-do y-you think I c-could learn elemental n-ninjutsu?"

Hikari shot her daughter an odd look. "Why would you want to do such a thing?"

"W-well, it's t-that I'm not that good with the G-Gentle Fist, so maybe if I c-could have s-something else to r-rely on..."

"I don't see why not. While we don't use traditional ninjutsu, it isn't banned or anything," Hikari shrugged, then she turned more serious. "Though I don't want you to neglect your Gentle Fist training. Your father and I still expect you to master it to some degree. You can learn any other kind of ninjutsu to supplement your skill repertoire if you wish, but none of them are to be treated as the replacement of the Gentle First. Understood?"

"Y-yes mother."

Hikari smiled. "Good then. Though then again I believe that maybe traditional ninjutsu will give you less trouble, since you have such a good chakra control for somebody of your age."

"Hey, if that's the case, maybe she could also learn medical ninjutsu! Mom says that it requires a precise chakra control," Naruto commented.

"You now want to add medical ninjutsu as well? I think Hinata will have enough with elemental ninjutsu and the Gentle Fist, Naruto-kun," Hikari replied. Though given her history, Hikari couldn't help but feel a newfound respect for medical ninjutsu.

"Well, my parents say that a great ninja is a master of multiple skills. That's why besides taijutsu and ninjutsu, I'm also going to learn sealing jutsus as well. And I heard dad talking about something called 'senjutsu', which I don't know what it is. All you need is the will to do it."

"It's good to see that despite being so young, you're thinking so much about your future, Naruto-kun. That kind of hindsight is rare in kids your age."

"Besides, I also heard mom saying that she wanted to convince an Hyuga to become a medical nin, since he said something about the Byakugan being a good medical tool or something.."

"You have a point in there. But in the end, it all depends on what Hinata wants to do," Hikari noted, looking as he daughter.

"W-well, as for now...I t-think I'll l-like to t-try elemental ninjutsu f-first, and t-then maybe m-medical ninjutsu as well..." Hinata said.

"Alright! Can Hinata come to train with dad and me one of these days?" Naruto asked to Hikari.

"I don't see why not. She can go once she finishes her daily Gentle Fist practice."

"Yay! You'll see Hinata, you'll become a mistress of the elements in no time!"

…

That evening, at the Naka Shrine, almost the entire Uchiha Clan was gathering there. Only three members were missing: the disowned Uchiha. Itachi, his little brother, Sasuke –which was happily asleep on his bed, unaware of the nightmarish turn of events that were about to come– and Shisui Uchiha.

There were many crates scattered around the place. Some of them were opened, revealing its contents. Some of them had ninja tools such as kunai and shuriken. Others had flak jackets, similar to the ones wore by Chunin, except that this were black instead of green, and had the Uchiha Fan on its back instead of the Uzushiogakure red swirl. Another crate had forehead protectors, only with the Uchiha Fan instead of the Konoha symbol.

Fugaku Uchiha, the Clan Head, was on top of a couple crates that served as a makeshift podium. The Uchiha stopped chatting among themselves and paid attention to what their leader was about to say.

"My brethren, it's a pleasure to see all of you gathered here, in this sacred place. Since time immemorial, the Uchiha has been one of the most powerful clans of the entire Elemental Nations. An unstoppable force matched by very few clans. Our power, however, wasn't without a price, and said price being doomed to a life of constant battle. That's why our ancestor, Madara Uchiha, choose to join the Senju Clan and founded this village. That granted us peace. But said peace, like our power, came with a price.

"Since we became part of this village, the Uchiha had always been second-rate citizens. Forced to live isolated from the rest of the village, barred from attaining positions with any real power. But, as dutiful and loyal ninja, we endured. But being accused of being behind the Nine Tails attack, that was the last straw!" Fugaku yelled. He was replied by multiple Uchiha shouting back in agreement.

"Allying with the Senju was a mistake, a mistake Madara realized, and so did we much later. But except death, there's no mistake that can't be rectified, and that's what we will be doing soon. We will take back what is ours! We will take back Konoha! The rest of the clans will bow before our might!"

Fugaku's words were met with more shouts, louder and with more enthusiasm than the first ones.

"You must be thinking that this is a suicidal endeavor. And in most circumstances, it would be. But tonight, we have a golden chance that we can't afford to pass. Somebody contacted me a couple years ago, and offered me the means to take this village for the Clan. Said person has vast resources that he had put at our disposal. Among them, he created a climate of chaos and instability across the Land of Fire, forcing the Hokage to dispatch most of his strongest Jonin to keep the peace.

"Which means that there are almost no elite ninja protecting Konoha. Between that, and the reinforcements my ally will provide me, in two days Konoha will be under our control!"

Again, more shouts and cheers. However, not everybody was convinced.

"Fugaku-sama, who is this ally you keep talking about?" asked an Uchiha

"Yeah, is he or she the leader of another village? That's where the reinforcements come from?" another Uchiha asked.

"I believe I can answer that question," a booming, disembodied voice said. All the Uchihas looked around in surprise –some even activated their Sharingan– to see where this mysterious voice came from.

Besides Fugaku, a semitransparent, swirling vortex appeared, and from said vortex emerged a figure. A man wearing a black hooded cloak with red clouds over a set of armor. His face was hidden by an orange mask with black flames on it, as well as a single hole on the right side, revealing a red eye.

"My brethren, this is the ally I've been talking about. Why don't you introduce yourself?" Fugaku asked to the mysterious newcomer.

"Of course," said the masked man. "My name is Madara Uchiha, and I came back to help you reclaim what is rightfully yours."

* * *

 **Author's note: Before everybody points out that Tobi didn't wear the Akatsuki cloak until Sasori's death, I decided to change that and make Tobi a member from the get go, since I think it makes more sense. Remember that this is an AU.**

 **Second, the Hyuga guard, Tokuma, is not an OC, but a canon character. Though I'm not sure of Tokuma is Main House or Branch House, since we never got to see his forehead.**

 **Third, Hinata's mother. I know that what little we know about her personality is that she was kind and gentle, but a lot of people seem to interpret that as "pampers Hinata a lot and can't say 'no' to anything she asks". So while she's indeeed caring and gentle, I also made her a follower and an enforcer of the Hyuga traditions, at least when it comes to the Gentle Fist, and she won't let Hinata to do whatever she wants. Oh, I also edited Chapter 5 to mention her as well, in order to make the plot of Chapter 6 less out of the blue.**

 **Well, I believe that's all.**

 **Brace yourselves, the Uchiha Coup D'etat begins next week! In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews makes me very, very, very happy!**


	9. The Uchiha Coup D'etat, Part I

**Author's note: As you can probably guess by the title, this chapter is going to be very action heavy. Hell, I think this may be the first chapter with an actual real fight, as opposed to mere spars. And I can't believe I took nine chapters and more than 50K words to include some actual action in the story.**

 **To the chapter then. I hope you don't hate me much for what's going to happen. As usual, see you at the author's note at the bottom.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9:**

The Uchiha Coup, Part I: First Blood

or

 _Sharingan vs Byakugan_

or

 _Sharingan vs Ino-Shika-Cho_

It was the end of another nice, quiet and uneventful day at Konoha. The sun was starting to set, and its inhabitants got prepared for their usual evening activities.

At the Hokage's Tower, Hiruzen Sarutobi had just finished with the daily paperwork, and was now relaxing by reading a novel on one of the tower's living rooms.

Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi were on their favorite tavern, sharing a few drinks, reminiscing about the old days, bitching about their wives and boasting about their children.

Anko Mitarashi was at her favorite spot, Dangoya, having some sake and stuffing her mouth with her favorite food.

Iruka and Mizuki were also hanging out at a bar, with the latter trying –and failing– to flirt with a the kunoichi there, and Iruka trying to remind Mizuki in vain that he was going to marry in a few weeks.

Kurenai Yuhi was at her house, doing her laundry.

Yugao Uzuki and Hayate Gekko were on a date to celebrate the first year anniversary of their relationship.

In the Hyuga Compound, Hiashi Hyuga was revising some of the clan's paperwork regarding the clan's expenditures for the past month, while his wife played with their daughters. Meanwhile, Hizashi and Neji finished some late afternoon training at the boy's request.

On a one-room apartment near the walls, Itachi looked through the window at the village, wondering why he didn't hear any news from his friend and cousin Shisui yet, and prayed for his safety.

At the Senju Residence, Tsunade was in the living room teaching Hagane and Kaida how to play Poker, while Shizune and Naruto were in the kitchen about to prepare dinner, while Shizune told Naruto that if he got ramen for breakfast and later for lunch, he wasn't going to have ramen for dinner.

The Uchiha Compound, however, was completely empty, except for one person, Sasuke Uchiha, who was fast asleep in his bed after having a rather brutal training session with his father. Little did he knew that Fugaku wanted Sasuke to be asleep as soon as possible to keep him away from what was about to happen.

…

At the west gate of the Konoha, two Chunin were finishing their shift. One of them was big, had spiky brown hair and a broad nose. The other was a skinny man who wore an eyepatch over his left eye, and a bandana over his head.

"The sun is setting down. So, I believe it's time to close the doors, right, Bekko?" the skinny one said.

"I guess so, thought our replacements didn't come yet, Iwana," the man named Bekko replied.

"Oh, who cares? It's not our bussiness if they're late. Come on, let's close the gates and go to have some drinks. My throat is dry," Bekko said as he walked towards the gates, but heard no response from his partner. "Iwana?"

The big-nosed Chunin turned around to see his eyepatch-wearing partner flat on his back, lifeless. "What the hell?"

"I'm sorry, but the gates are to remain open for the rest of the night," a chilling voice said behind Bekko.

Bekko turned around, and when he did so, the man behind him slashed his throat open. The last thing the Chunin saw before expiring were a pair of red eyes, staring into his very soul.

"West Gate, secured. Send the signal," the Uchiha Chunin said to his partner.

The other Uchiha nodded, and formed several hand seals, and cast a Great Fireball into the sky. A few minutes later, hundreds of criminals, mercenaries and low-level missing-nin that were hiding among the forests of the outskirts of Konoha left their hiding place and rushed into the unsuspecting village.

It took no time for the Konoha ninja to find themselves overwhelmed while dealing with this wave of enemies that came seemingly out of nowhere.

…

Meanwhile, on a secret Root underground, Danzo walked through a hallway while being flanked by his two most loyal bodyguards, Fuu Yamanaka and Torune Aburame.

"Everything has been prepared for the surgery, Danzo-sama. The medics are already waiting for you," Fuu mentioned.

"Excellent. What about the seals?" Danzo asked.

"Already prepared as well. It will be applied immediately after the surgery. They will make sure that nobody will be able to remove the Sharingan eye from your eye socket," Torune replied.

"Good. Come on, I want to get over with this as soon as possible," Danzo said as he finally reached the door of the operating room. "What on Earth...?"

Danzo was expecting the two Root Medic-nins to greet him and ask him to lay on the operation table so they could start. Instead, they were lying on the floor, motionless, surrounded by a pool of their own blood. On the operation table was sitting a masked man wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it. On his hand was a jar with a Sharingan eye on it.

"Oh, hey, what's up? I hope you don't mind, but I really need this eye, so I'm going to confiscate it for the time being," the masked man nonchalantly announced. "And if you do mind...well, you'll have to deal with it. That's how life rolls."

"Fuu, Torune, execute this man and retrieve the eye!" Danzo's voice was firm, but not without panic.

His two minions unseathed their tantos and charged at the masked man.

"I'd love to stay and play with you guys, but I'm kind of busy now. Places to go, people to kill, I'm sure you understand," the masked man said, and disappeared in a swirling vortex before Danzo's bodyguards could reach him.

"Sound the alarm, he can't be too far!" Danzo shouted, now more desperate.

…

Iruka and Mizuki were fighting against a pair of nearly identical ninja, wearing gray and dark blue camouflage clothes, rebreathers, Kirigakure forehead protectors, and large bladed gauntlets on their respective dominant arms. Said gauntlets were linked by a long, spiky metal chain.

"I think I know this guys, Kirigakure's Demon Brothers. They fled their village after a failed attempt of a coup d'etat. It seems that they're trying again here," Iruka said.

"That's nice and all, but how strong they are?" Mizuki asked, a bit nervous.

"The Bingo Book list them as B-Rank Chunin, so they're similar in power to us," Iruka mentioned. "It says that their specialty are ambushes, but are mediocre in direct combat."

"Let me show you how wrong that bingo book of yours is it! Come on, Meizu!" one of them said as he and his brother charged at the duo of teachers.

Mizuki jumped in mid air, pulled out his Fuma Shuriken, and tossed it against the chain, pinning it to the ground and stopping the brother's charge. They quickly pressed a button on their gauntlets that detached the chain from them, and allowed them to fight individually.

Balded gauntlets clashed against kunai and shuriken. While the Demon Brothers' weapons were indeed dangerous and intimidating, they stopped them from performing hand seals, and thus jutsu. They had been working on one-handed seals, but they still had a long way to go until they could use ninjutsu with just one hand.

One of the brothers left himself wide open for a second, but that was all what Iruka needed. The teacher kicked his opponent, who was pushed against his near identical brother, while Iruka made some hand seals.

"Demonic Illusion: Night Cover!"

The brothers quickly felt prey to Iruka's illusion, dropped on their knees, and soon they fell asleep. He then started to tie them with their own chain.

"Well, so much for this 'demon' brothers," Mizuki said, as he twirled a kunai on his finger.

"Mizuki, behind you!"

The white haired Chunin jumped in time to avoid a backstab from an enemy, this time an Uchiha Chunin. Iruka ran through hand seals.

"Water Release: Water gun!" Iruka shouted before releasing a powerful stream of water out of his mouth that blasted the Uchiha against a nearby wall. Mizuki finished him on by stabbing a kunai on his side.

"Why the hell the Uchiha are fighting alongside these guys? Shouldn't they be on our side?" Mizuki asked, frustrated.

"It seems that the Uchiha brought them," Iruka said, with a tinge of sadness.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I heard some rumors about the ANBU watching the Uchiha Clan because they were afraid they were doing some shady stuff. Apparently, this is what they had planned. These guys seem to be their foot soldiers."

"Great, just great. And why the hell are all the Jonin? Your pal Kakashi would be of great help here."

"Kakashi had to leave the village the last week due to a long-term mission. I don't know what are the other Jonin doing."

"Okay, in that case, this what we are going to do: so far, we don't know how this will end, so we'll find a safe place to hide there. Once the battle is over, we get out and join whoever has won."

"What? Mizuki, you can't be serious! Are you going to abandon Konoha in its time of need?" Iruka exclaimed, perplexed.

"It's the most intelligent solution! What if the Uchiha win? Being Konoha ninja, do you think they'll be nice to us and let us go back to our jobs like nothing happened? And if we side with the Uchiha and they lose, we'll be executed for treason."

"That's why we have to fight, to make sure that the Uchiha don't win!" Iruka said, staring angrily at his coworker. "Every man counts!"

"No, until things calm down, it's every man for himself," Mizuki replied as he grabbed his Fuma Shuriken and tossed it at a disbelieving Iruka.

The teacher managed to move aside before the giant shuriken would hit him...and stabbed itself on the chest of a bandit who already had a knife raised ready to stab Iruka in the back.

"That was on the house, don't expect me to save your sorry ass again," Mizuki harshly stated as he retrieved his main weapon from the corpse. "Now, be smart once in your life and find a hiding place."

With that, Mizuki leaped out of Iruka's sight. Iruka sighed, and decided that the best course of action would be to find other more alone ninja to watch each other's back.

…

Meanwhile, on his apartment, unaware of all the chaos unfolding on the village, Itachi was washing the dishes after having a light meal for dinner. He had planned to meditate for half an hour and go to bed early. The Hokage had already assigned him another A-Rank mission for the next day.

Things weren't going too bad for the Uchiha outcast. He still had a rather big debt with the bank, but he was saving up a rather large amount of money that allowed him to cover for basic needs, to pay rent and the bank each month, and still have some money that he decided to save for future emergencies.

Though maybe he could use some of that money to decorate his apartment a bit more. One of the reasons he didn't allow Sasuke to visit him yet was because he thought Sasuke wouldn't be comfortable on such gloomy place.

He was snapped from his train of thoughts when somebody loudly knocked the door.

"Coming!" Itachi said, as he dried his hands on a rug.

The person at the other side continued pounding the door as if he or she was trying to take it down. Not that it would take much effort, but Itachi preferred the door of his apartment to be intact.

"I said I'm coming! Where is the fire?" Itachi asked as he opened the door. He gasped in shock when he saw a badly beaten Shisui, covered in bruises and cuts, as well as missing his left eye.

"To answer your question...all around Konoha," Shusui said before collapsing.

"Shusui!"

Half an hour later, the weakened Shisui was lying on Itachi's bed. Itachi was no medic-nin, but he did have some first aid training as well as a medkit, so he could patch all of Shisui's wounds, including the one from his eye, without much trouble. Fortunately for both, none of Shisui's wounds were too grave (ignoring the missing eye, that's it).

"I patched you up as best as I could, but I think it's enough. I think you may have some broken ribs and maybe a fractured arm, so it would be best if you don't move. Now tell me what is going on, and what happened to you."

Shisui sighed. "Danzo, that bastard. That's what happened," noticing Itachi's confusion, the one-eyed Uchiha decided to elaborate. "I was on my way to the Naka Shrine when I was told that Danzo wanted to speak with me. He deemed me a threat, claiming that I wanted to use the Kotoamatsukami on him and the Hokage, and tried to remove my eyes. At least, I managed to keep one eye before I lost his goons. And that's not even the worst of it."

While Itachi remained stoic on the outside, on the inside he was livid. Danzo would definitely pay for such treachery. He would make sure of it.

"The coup d'etat. It's happening as we speak," Shisui announced, and saw how Itachi lost all the color of his skin. "In fact, I have been attacked by Konoha ninja on my way here. And before you ask, yes I managed to lose them before I got here."

" _This happened because of me,"_ Itachi thought. _"I chose the easy way out instead of staying and trying to make things better. I shouldn't have listened to Shizune-san...not, Shizune-san is not to blame. She wasn't aware of the context of my situation when she offered her advice. I'm the only one to blame. And thus, I'm the only one who has to, and can, fix this mistake."_

"Itachi?" Shisui asked, yanking the younger Uchiha out of his thoughts. "What are we going to do?"

"We?"

"Yes, we. Did you expect that I was going to stay here while our clan burns Konoha to the ground?"

"No, there is no 'we', Shisui. You're going to stay here, and rest. I'll take care of everything."

Itachi opened his closet, and started to get dressed with his ninja gear.

"You can't leave me here! Danzo still wants my Sharingan, and I'm in no condition to defend myself! Come on, at least take my eye!"

Itachi's hand quickly grabbed Shisui's before he could pluck his remaining eye from its socket.

"That eye is okay where it is now. I will be fine, and so will you. Now lie down and rest, or else your wounds will open."

"You can't be serious. Are you planning to go there alone? You have no friends or allies out there! The Konoha ninja will try to kill you the moment they see your Sharingan!"

"That won't be an obstacle. I promise that nobody will die needlessly, especially not me," Itachi assured as he put on his Chunin Flak Jacket. "I'll place a multi-layered genjutsu on this place in case somebody gets lucky and track you here. If you're not on this bed when I return and you haven't been killed or taken prisoner by the enemy, I will kill you myself."

"You can't be serious."

"I will toss you down a cliff, How does that sound?"

"Meh, there are far worse ways to die."

"Well, that's all, I'm leaving. But don't worry, I'll send somebody I trust to watch over you. I don't know when I'll be back, but if I'm never back...take care of Sasuke for me," Itachi grimly asked.

"You don't need to tell me that. But just in case, try to come back alive. I have no idea of what to do with children."

Itachi chuckled at Shisui one last time, and left through a window.

…

Hiashi Hyuga was having dinner with his wife and daughters. It was a moment he enjoyed the most, since it was one of the few rare opportunities where he could spend some time with his whole family, not counting his brother. Sure, he spend a lot of time training his daughters, but contrary to the popular belief, Hiashi Hyuga also enjoyed the rare moments he had to relax. After all, being a Clan head was a rather demanding and thankless job.

"So, how was your first day of training with Uzumaki-san and Jiraiya-sama, Hinata?" Hiashi asked without taking his eyes from his dinner.

"V-very good, father," Hinata sotfly replied. "M-my affinity is l-lightning. Though I-I have to complete a f-few chakra c-control excercises b-before I learn a-any new jutsu," Hinata explained.

"Lightining. Interesting. I heard it's a good element to use in conjunction with bladed weapons. Too bad we don't use those," Hikari casually commented.

"Maybe I c-could use lightining w-with the Gentle Fist?" Hinata meekly suggested.

"Combine the Gentle Fist with Elemental Ninjutsu? That's unheard of!" Hiashi exclaimed.

"I think it's a rather sound idea. It would give our techniques another layer of power," Hikari sharply replied..

"Still, Hinata should master the actual Gentle First first before thinking in doing modifications," Hiashi countered.

Suddenly, a Branch House Hyuga barged in the dinning room, panting.

"Hiashi-sama! You need to come with us, it's a disaster!"

Hiashi tensed, and jumped on his feet. "What's going on?"

"The Uchiha are leading an insurrection against the village!"

Hikari gasped in horror. Hinata didn't fully understand what those words mean, but she knew it wasn't anything good.

"And that's not all. There are dozens of Uchiha outside the compound. They're demanding for you to come out and face them."

"Alright, let's go. Hikari, stay here and take care of the girls. I will see what this nonsense is about."

…

Ten minutes later, Hiashi arrived at the front patio of the compound, where many Hyugas, both Main and Branch house, were already on a fighting stance, ready to engage the invading Uchiha and their mercenary allies. Among them were his brother, Hizashi.

"I am Hiashi Hyuga, Head of the Hyuga Main House. What is the meaning of this?" Hiashi demanded.

Just like the Branch House member said, there were a multitude of Uchihas present. Among them, a masked man in a black cloak with red clouds stood out. Apparently, he wasn't the leader, as another Uchiha, a tall, well built man, with a buzzcut, close to Hiashi's age took a few step forwards. Hiashi guessed he was a Jonin.

"Hiashi Hyuga, both you and your entire clan have been deemed as a threat to Konoha. You will have to come with us. If you resist arrest, we will use lethal force."

"I'm sure both me and my clansmen will come peacefully if you show us an arrest order with the stamp of the Hokage's office and the Hokage's signature," Hiashi replied back.

"The Hokage no longer rules over Konoha. The Military Police is the village's highest authority now. Now, tell your clansmen to surrender. This is my last warning," the Uchiha Jonin said.

"Now you hear my warning, Uchiha. This ground under your feet belongs to the Hyuga Clan. If you and your treacherous clansmen aren't out of our property in less than ten seconds, you will be escorted out of here inside a coffin."

"I'm going to take that as an hostile response. Everybody, attack!"

Multiple Uchiha flied through hand seals. Others grabbed some shurikens from their tool pouches.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A barrage of fireballs of multiple sizes and shurikens flied towards the Hyuuga, still standing their ground. Though if the Uchiha thought that they could take them down with ranged attacks, they had another thing coming.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm Wall!" shouted many Hyuga as they thrust their palms forward, releasing multiple vacuum blasts that stopped some of the incoming fireballs.

"Eight Trigrams: Heavenly Spin!" other Hyuga shouted while they turned into blue chakra twisters that deflected the remaining fireballs.

While the Hyuga were defending, half of the Uchiha and their criminal allies decided to charge forward.

"Crimson Squad and Blood Squad, stay here and secure the patio! Storm Squad and Tempest Squad, get in the compound and kill everybody who puts up a fight!" the Uchiha Jonin ordered.

"Yes, Nakamura-taicho!" multiple Uchiha replied in unison, as half of the Uchiha there abandoned the patio and got into the compound.

However, Hiashi had hear those orders as well, and he wasn't going to have any of that. Thanks to his Byakugan, he spotted his brother in no time, and leaped at him the moment he stopped the heart of an Uchiha Chunin with a well placed palm strike.

"Hizashi! I need you to go inside and protect Hikari and the kids!" Hiashi shouted.

"We're in the middle of a battle right now, and I won't leave your side, it's my duty!" the younger twin replied.

"Your duty is to obey me!And if you need cover, I will provide you some! Now go!" Hiashi said as he engaged two Uchiha, a Jonin and a Chunin.

Shooting one last glance at his elder brother and Clan Head, Hizashi nodded and rushed back to the complex.

…

"Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi. You three have been declared a threat to the village, and will have to come with us. If you resist arrest, we will use lethal force," Mikoto Uchiha announced.

Shikaku looked around him. Half a dozen Uchihas, lead by the wife of the Clan Head, surrounded both him and his two closest friends just after dispatching a bunch of mercenaries that were looting a store.

"Is this some kind of joke, Mikoto-san?" Shikaku asked. "Because if it is, let me tell you is a very tasteless one."

"Yeah, you're the police, shouldn't you be dealing with these rats that are infesting the village all of sudden?" Choza asked.

"Choza...I believe it was the Uchiha who brought these rats. I didn't see any of these criminal scum attacking any Uchiha," Inoichi commented.

"Well, what is your answer?" Mikoto asked.

Shikaku sighed dramatically. "This is going to be such a drag..." then in an instant, his hands formed a seal. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Multiple black tendrils shoot from Shikaku's shadow and flied towards the Uchiha, who jumped in time before being caught. While on air, Mikoto's hands ran through hand seals as well.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The Uchiha Clan Head's wife breathed a huge fireball at the Nara Clan Head, who was forced to move and cancel his jutsu.

"Separate them from each other! Not only are they Jonin, their teamwork is downright legendary!" Mikoto ordered.

"Yes, Mikoto-sama!" the other Uchiha replied.

"They outnumber us two to one. Inoichi, can you do something about that?" Shikaku asked.

"On it!" Inoichi said as he formed a hand seal that formed a rectangle of negative space between them. "Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu!"

The two Uchihas that were about to attack him were stopped in his tracks, realizing that they no longer controlled their bodies. Much to their horror, they started to stab each other repeteadly.

"Good work! Now is my turn!" Choza said, making a hand seal. "Multi-size Jutsu!" Choza's body inflated into a large balloon. "Human Boulder!"

Choza crushed the two Uchiha still figthing each other, while the other four managed to avoid the same painful fate. Mikoto didn't waste time and pulled out a radio.

"This is Mikoto Uchiha requesting for reinforcements to deal with a trio of Jonin-level insurgents! We're on Matabi Street! Over!"

"Insurgents? We're not the ones trying to take over Konoha, thank you," Shikaku said as he activated his Shadow Imitiation Jutsu again.

In no time, a couple Uchiha Chunin leading a group of mercenaries joined the fray.

"More people? What a drag," Shikaku moaned. "Choza, can you take care of the rabble?"

"You can count on that! Multi-size Jutsu!" Choza's size increased several times, and used his also enlarged bo staff to wipe the mercenaries and Uchihas as if he was cleaning the floor. Still, it proved to be a harder task than expected, since his foes were quicker than they thought, and his increased size made a perfect target for the Uchiha's fireballs and shurikens.

"That should keep them busy while Inoichi and I will deal with the red-eyed pests."

"Watch out who you call pest, Nara!" An Uchiha shouted as he leaped at him, which proved to be a mistake, since he put Shikaku in the perfect position of binding him with his shadow.

"Thanks for your helpful assistance, Uchiha-san. Now die," Shikaku said as he made a hand sign.

An arm emerged from the Uchiha's shadow, which reached his neck, and strangled the unlucky Uchiha to death.

Meanwhile, Inoichi was about to take control of another Uchiha's body when he felt several chakra signatures getting closer. "Shikaku, more enemies incoming!" Inoichi warned

"Where do they come from?" Shikaku said as he tried to nail the remaining enemies with his Shadow Imitation.

"Five O'clock! Watch out for the roofs!"

"Choza, did you hear that?"

"Yes! I see them now!" the giant Akimichi said as he moved to intercept them.

"I'll see if I can take Mikoto down, she's the leader of this squad!" Inoichi announced, making the same hand seal again, pointing at two Uchiha that were fighting Shikaku. "Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu!"

Once again, those two Uchiha stopped in their tracks, stopped attacking Shikaku and lunged at a growling Mikoto, who did her best to keep them at bait without killing or hurting them much.

"Shikaku, now!"

Thanks to the distraction provided by Inoichi, the Nara patriarch managed to capture Mikoto with his shadow.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu, success. Again." Shikaku said with a slight smile. Though said smile vanished when he saw that Mikoto was also smiling at him.

"In your dreams," the Uchiha kunoichi retorted before disappearing in a could of smoke, leaving a trash can in her place.

"Inoichi, track her, now!" Shikaku frantically barked.

The Yamanaka Clan Head nodded and made a hand sign. He managed to find Mikoto in no time. Who happened to be just behind him. Inoichi tried to turn around, but not before Mikoto stabbed him in the back with a kunai. She then kicked him into the ground and jumped backwards a few meters.

"AAARGH!" Inochi instictively threw his hands at his back, trying to remove the kunai.

"Inoichi!" Shikaku yelled.

"I'm okay, it's only a superficial cut, the jacket protected me somehow. Try to remove the kunai if you can."

Mikoto's lips formed a chilling smile. Shikaku paled. Unbeknowst to Inoichi, while the kunai only made a flesh wound on his back, there was an explosive tag attached to the bladed weapon. The Uchiha Matriarch made hand sign, which was followed by an explosion, and Inoichi Yamanaka was no more.

For a second, time seemed to stop for Shikaku and Choza as they saw their mutual best friend, longtime partner and trusted teammate being blown up. When the dust settled, all that was left was his charred, immobile corpse.

"This is the fate of those who oppose the new rulers of Konoha. I'll be forgiving and will give you a chance to surrender. If you do not surrender, you will follow the same fate as your friend," Mikoto shouted, adopting now a cold, neutral tone.

Choza let out a deafening shout, and started to stomp wildly around him, in an attempt to crush the nearby enemy ninja, not caring of the buildings he could potentially bring down.

Shikaku, on the other hand, only shot at Mikoto a chilling, murderous glare, while remained there, immobile.

"That was a mistake," was all what Shikaku said.

Mikoto didn't say anything, just frowned, and motioned her hand at him. Multiple Uchiha and mercenaries leaped towards the Nara clan head from multiple directions, weapons raised in air ready to kill him. But Shikaku wouldn't have any of that. Making a quick hand seal, multiple shadow tendrils shot from his shadow, instantly catching his attackers, pinning him in one place. With another hand seal, other shadow tendrils appeared, except that this ones were material, took the shape of spikes, and impaled the paralyzed ninja. The shadows then retreated, and the enemy ninja fell to the ground, motionless.

"You're next. Shadow Gathering Jutsu!"

More shadow tendrils shot from Shikaku's shadow, these also being material, and flied at Mikoto. While far from her prime, the Uchiha kunoichi did an admirable effort dodging them so far by constantly running or jumping to the sides. She then leaped into the air and made several hand signs before grabbing some shuriken from her pouch.

"Fire Release: Flaming Shuriken Barrage!"

The ninja stars immediately caught on fire the moment Mikoto tossed them. Shikaku gasped, canceled his jutsu, and tried to out of the way, but he was too slow. The burning shuriken pierced his flak jacket, and embedded themselves into the Nara's flesh.

"Another one down!" Mikoto cheered. But her cheer was short lived as Shikaku disappeared in a cloud of smoke. "What? A shadow clone?"

Mikoto tried to look around for the real Shikaku, but then realized that she couldn't move. From the corner of her eyes, she could see that a shadow tendril had caught her shadow. Shikaku jumped down from the nearby roof he was on.

"A Shadow Clone...when did you make it? I didn't take my eyes from you this whole time!" Mikoto would have stomped his foot on anger if he was able to move.

"Certainly, you didn't. The Sharigan is rather hard to fool...but 'hard' does not equal 'impossible'. To answer your question, I used the explosion that killed Inoichi as a cover."

"What? But...how...?"

"The moment I saw that explosive tag I already knew that Inoichi was dead. All that was left for me to do was to avenge him, and devised a plan in order to make you let your guard down. And now...all that was left is for you to pay. Shadow Neck Binding Jutsu!"

Mikoto saw a black hand creeping through her body until it reached her neck, and in less than a minute her world turned into darkness.

…

After retrieving Neji, Hizashi found Hikari, Hinata and Hanabi in the dinning room, just where his brother said they would be. After telling them what was going on, he began to lead them to the one of the compound's emergency exists. When Hizashi saw many Hyuga fighting the Uchiha invaders –and in most cases, losing against them– he felt the urge to help them, but felt compelled to ignore them and follow Hiashi's instructions instead.

"What are we going to do once we get out of here, father?" Neji asked.

"We will try to find some help. Do not fear, Neji, everything will be fine."

Unfortunately for the Hyugas, two Uchihas, a Jonin and a Chunin, blocked their path.

"All members of Hyuga clan are under arrest! If you resist we will use lethal force!" the Uchiha Jonin echoed his commander's words.

"Would you dare to hurt children, you monster?" Hikari spat at him as she clutched Hanabi in her arms.

"There's no need to hurt anybody if you come peacefully," the Uchiha Chunin interceded.

Hizashi said nothing and sprung to action. Taking advantage of the Chunin momentary lack of focus, he managed to land a palm strike on his chest, knocking him backwards. The Jonin immediately reacted and unsheathed a katana and attempted to slice him.

Hizashi bended backwards just in time, and the Uchiha's katana only sliced some of his hair. The Uchiha Chunin managed to get back on his feet, and was going through several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!" he shouted, casting multiple fireballs at Hizashi.

Juast as fast, Hikari, who no longer had Hanabi on her arms, jumped in front of Hizashi and she started to spin.

"Heavenly Spin!" she shouted, turning herself into a spinning dome of chakra, deflecting the fireballs. "Don't you dare to ignore me! I may be retired, but I used to be a Jonin!"

"Thank you, Hikari-sama. Let me repay your kind act by finishing this fight. Eight Trigrams, Thirty Two Palms!" Hizashi shouted as he delivered a quick succession of palm strikes at the two Uchihas. "Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight Strikes! Sixteen Strikes! THRITY TWO STRIKES!"

Unable to stop the barrage of Gentle Fist strikes, the Uchihas fell to the ground, prey of sudden chakra exhaustion. While that attack was nowhere near enough to kill them, or even close all their chakra points, it was enough to put them out of commission long enough for the group of five Hyugas to escape the compound safely.

"Mother, where is father? Isn't he going to come with us?" Hinata asked.

"Your father is fighting the Uchihas who attacked our home. Don't worry dear, he's strong, he will be fine," Hikari said in a reassuring tone.

As they ran away, Hizashi looked at the compound, which had several parts of it on fire, one last time, and wondered if Hiashi could escape alive and meet them again.

…

Back in the patio, the battle had finally died down. The place was littered with corpses, both Uchiha, missing-nin and Hyuga alike. Only two men were standing, Hiashi and Ko Hyuga. Both of them had some minor injuries and were exhausted, but they could stand on their own. The Hyuga patriarch looked around, and had to repress the urge to throw up. The sight of so many dead Hyugas sickened him to the core. Not even fighting in the Third War shook him so much.

"Hiashi-sama, are you alright?" Ko asked as he limped to him.

Hiashi tried to regain his composure. "Yes, Ko. Come on, let's get inside, I can hear fights still going on. We need to save as many clansmen as possible."

Hiashi then heard a sickening noise coming from Ko.

"AGRK!" Ko suddenly grunted, blood coming out of his mouth. He looked down, and saw a sword protruding from his chest. Ko fell to the ground, revealing his murderer, the masked man of the black cloak.

"Yes, Hiashi. Go and save your clan. What's left of it, at least," the masked man mocked, as he removed his sword from Ko and kicked his corpse aside. "But I don't know how can you do that if you can't save yourself first."

Hiashi didn't say anything, and slipped into the Gentle Fist stance. "You will pay for that, murderer. We both had the Byakugan activated. How did you managed to ambush Ko like that?"

"Well, I could tell you, but if I did I'd lose one of my main advantages, and that would be pretty detrimental, don't you think?" the masked man replied in the same tone, as he sheathed his katana. Hiashi tensed when he saw his enemy flying through hand seals. "Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"

"What!?" Hiashi was shocked, though his battle instinct compelled him to jump backwards, trying to avoid the emerging sharp tree roots trying to impale him. Through his Byakugan, he saw that more roots were emerging, surrounding him. "Heavenly Spin!" Hiashi turned into a spinning blue dome that shattered the roots the moment they tried to grab him.

"Not bad, definitely not bad. How about this then?" the masked man commented, doing hand seals again. "Multiple Great Fireballs Jutsu!"

The masked man shot a successions of large fireballs at Hiashi. The Hyuga clan head dodged some, and blocked others with the Vacuum Palm, all while he dashed towards his foe, who remained in the same place, making no attempt to moving.

"Impressive! Guess that you guys don't exaggerate that much when you boast about your power!"

"If you thought that was impressive, wait until you see this," Hiashi slipped into the Gentle Fist stance again. "The battle is over, you're within my divination field. Eight Trigrams, Sixty Four Palms!" The Hyuga Clan head lunged at the masked man. "Two strikes!" But much to his bewilderment, his hands phased through the masked Uchiha's body harmlessly. "Four strikes!" The result was the same.

"Well, I'm afraid to say that that wasn't very impressive," the masked man said as he let out a yawn.

"What is this trickery? A genjutsu? Of course, it has to be. There's no way you can use the Wood Release!"

"A genjutsu, you say? Good guess. But If I'm a Genjutsu, try to explain this!"

Suddenly, at an almost imperceptible speed, the masked man unsheathed his katana again and buried it inside Hiash's chest.

"Does this feel like a genjutsu, _Hiashi-sama_?" The masked man pushed his sword deeper. He then pulled his sword out and kicked Hiashi's corpse back into the ground. After cleaning the blood from his weapon on Hiashi's robes, he sheathed his sword again, and pulled out an scalpel. "Oh my, Hiashi, what a beautiful eyes you have! I hope you don't mind if I borrow them!" Then, he looked around, and noticed all the dead Hyugas around him, many of them who were Main House. "Oh what the hell, I'll take all of them! You don't see a chance like this every day."

The masked man started to hum a cheery melody as he began to harvest Byakugans from the dead Hyugas.

" _Jitensha! Jitensha! Jitensha! Koide! Koide! Koide kuru yo...!"_

...

Meanwhile, at the Hokage's tower, Sarutobi was unaware of all the chaos and destruction that was unfolding on the village he ruled. He was happily reading a novel on one of the tower's living rooms when one of the night shift ANBUs barged inside the room, a man who wore the mask of a tiger

"Hokage-sama! It's a catastrophe!" the ANBU shouted, panicked. "The Uchiha Clan is trying to take over the village!"

Sarutobi slammed the book shut, and turned at the ANBU with a shcoked expression. "What? When did this happen?"

"We don't know, Hokage-sama, but we believe it was at sunset. They have an army of criminals and mercenaries backing them up."

"What is the situation now?"

"The Uchihas and their allies have taken over the Torture and Interrogation Headquarter, the Hyuga Clan Compound, the hospital, the aviary, and some compounds from minor clans. They're currently trying to take the Jonin Standby Station and the Academy. And we spotted an eight man team lead by Fugaku Uchiha himself heading here, probably to take over the tower and assassinate you."

Sarutobi was trying his best to process the gravity of the situation. What happened to Shisui Uchiha? Did the other Uchiha see through his ploy? There has to be the only logical explanation. However, there was no time to ponder what had gone wrong, but to remedy the problem at hand. He had to act now to prevent the number of deaths from growing.

"I want you and all the ANBU of the tower to go and liberate the hospital, that's your number one priority. Then, I want you to protect the civilians from being attacked. I will stay here and will try to make Fugaku-san to see reason."

"But Hokage-sama, we can't leave you unprotected in a time like this!" the ANBU protested.

"Are you questioning my orders!?" the old Hokage shouted, making the ANBU to flinch at the unusual display of anger.

"Of course not, Hokage-sama. I'll tell the others your orders. Good luck..." the ANBU said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Once alone, Sarutobi calmly headed towards his office, grabbed a pencil, a blank scroll, and started writing. Once he was done, he sealed the scroll, and making some hand seals, the scroll disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Then, he lit his pipe, and took a puff on it. "So, this is how it ends...why, despite living for so long, I still feel that I haven't done enough?" he wondered aloud, as he took another puff on his pipe He saw a picture of him, his late wife and his two sons, who were still teenagers at the time. The old Hokage allowed a smile to appear on his face. "On the good side, it seems that we will see each other soon, Biwako-chan..."

…

Meanwhile, on the roof of his apartment building, Itachi contemplated the village before him. Buildings on fire shone brightly against the night sky. Screams, shouts and explosions filled the usually silent night atmosphere. He didn't need to look far in order to see Uchihas, criminals and mercenaries engaged in a fight against Konoha ninja.

The Uchiha outcast bit his thumb, and made five hand seals.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke emerged a large crow, twice as tall as Itachi. The giant bird stared at the former Uchiha with curious eyes.

"Good evening, Itachi-san. It's nice to see you again. You look distressed. Is there something wrong?"

"Good night to you as well, Kurokaze-sama. And yes, there's something going wrong. Very wrong. What I have been fearing has finally happened. The Uchiha are trying to take Konoha by force."

The Boss Crow turned around, and saw at the battles that took place at the very bottom of the building he and Itachi were.

"I see," the crow said in a grave tone. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I need you to oversee Konoha from the sky, and track all the larger groups of Uchiha. Focus mostly on those who appear to have the upper hand in their fights. Leave the weaker ones for later."

"Consider it done, Itachi-san," Kurokaze divided himself into a much smaller crows that spread above the village, and one of them placed itself on Itachi's shoulder.

"I'd appreciate as well if you used two of your clones to watch over my friend Shisui Uchiha, who's in my home, and my brother Sasuke, who's probably asleep back in the Uchiha Compound," Itachi added.

Checking his equipment one more time, Itachi unsheathed his katana and leaped towards the battle at the bottom of the building, cutting an Uchiha down upon landing. Doing so, he already choose a side, and knew that there was no going back on that. Not that he cared, since Itachi considered himself a Konoha Ninja first and an Uchiha second. And he would protect the village and his inhabitants at all costs, even if that would mean fighting his family. He needed to stop the coup d'etat as soon as possible, and there was only one thing that would stop the ongoing madness.

A massacre.

* * *

 **Author's note: Some people pointed out that Jiraiya and Tsunade's presence caused nothing but a positive effect on the story, with some characters who died in the manga, such as Hizashi or Yashamaru, surviving here, but without any kind of exchange. Well, this is the exchange. And this is just the beginning. I want the coup d'etat to have an impact on Konoha way bigger than Orochimaru's invasion during the Chunin Exams. And as you will see in the following chapters, I'm not talking about just some characters dying.**

 **Another thing I want to point out: in the anime, when Danzo stole Shisui's eye, he merely put it inside his empty eye socket, just like that. I found that scene beyond ridiculous, even for this series** ** **(yes, I'm aware that something similar happened in the manga, that doesn't stop them from looking ridiculous in my eyes as well)**. So in my story nobody is going to get organ transplants of any kind without a medic to realize some sort of procedure.**

 **By the way, Iwana and Bekko aren't OCs. They appear in the first chapter/episode of the manga/anime, but never reappear again after that. Their only bit of characterization is that they dislike Naruto. And thus, they were perfect to be killed off and show that yeah, people are going to die here. So thank you, Iwana and Bekko, thanks to your sacrifice, you saved me the trouble of creating a pair of OCs just to get them killed.**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked the beginning of the story's first big event, which will continue (but won't conclude yet) in "Part II: Demons", next week. In the meantime, leave a review! reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	10. The Uchiha Coup D'etat, Part II

**Author's note:...yeah. As expected, the reaction to the sudden tone shift from the last chapter was as expected. Though not as bad as I feared. Anyway, here is the second part, which thankfully won't be as jarring to read given that it continues where the previous chapter left (more or less). See you at the ending notes. Enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 10:**

The Uchiha Coup, Part II: Demons

or

 _Sharingan vs Sannin_

Anko Mitarashi whistled cheerfully as she retrieved her kunai from the corpses of the two Kumo missing-nin she had just killed. They had boasted about all the atrocious crimes they had committed before, and how they were going to bring down Konoha alongside the Uchihas, but in the end, what the Snake Lady was hoping to be a challenging fight was anything but.

Oh well, it was a good warm up.

Once she was done, Anko jumped at the roof of a one-story building, and took a look at the battles that she could see from that vantage point. She cursed upon seeing that none of them involved Uchihas. Since he heard so many people getting all hysteric about the Uchihas revolting, how is that she had never run into at least one yet?

Anko always wanted to measure her skills against an Uchiha, and now it was the best chance she got. Besides, if she defeated plenty of those red-eyed freaks, maybe she could secure the promotion she wanted so much.

Suddenly, something caught her attention. At one of the edges of the Naka Bridge, a single man with a massive sword was fighting three Konoha ninja, who were unable to land a hit on him. They finally gave up, and fled, but the man remained in the bridge for some reason. He didn't appear to be an Uchiha, but maybe he would provide a better challenge than those no-name criminals she had been dealing with for the past hour.

Jumping through the rooftops, Anko quickly arrived at the bridge, and landed in front of the man, who stared at her with indifference.

The man was tall, with a muscular build, spiky short black hair, and no eyebrows. The lower half of his face was covered by a mask, similar to Kakashi's. There was a Kirigakure forehead protector on his head, and he was wielding an impossibly big sword. Said man's imposing appearance, combined the amount of killing intent he was projecting would make most people tremble in terror, but that only made Anko more giddy.

"Hey there, tall dark, and handsome! Do you mind if I make you come company?" Anko asked with a foxy grin as she walked towards him.

"Do as you wish. But if you get close to this bridge, you will be dead," the ninja swordsman replied, slamming his word on the ground for a more dramatic effect. Anko, however, didn't flinch.

"How so?"

"The Uchihas tasked me with protecting this bridge. Nobody with a Konoha forehead protector shall pass."

"Ah, yes, the Uchihas. I've been trying to look for one, but I had no luck. Maybe you and your overcompensating sword can provide me some challenge!" Anko said as she dashed at him.

The Kiri ninja raised his sword. "Let's see if you last longer than the other fools who dared to fight me!"

Anko tried to strike the Kiri ninja with her kunai, but all her hits were parried by the man's massive sword. She leaped backwards and tossed several kunai at him, but they were also parried. Fortunately, Anko had something that couldn't be parried by normal means. She quickly formed several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Anko breathed a massive stream of fire shaped like a dragon.

"And unwise move," the Kiri ninja calmly said as he formed hand seals as well. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

The water from the river started to rise in the shape of a twisting pillar. Said pillar took the form of a dragon, and after letting out a roar, charged forwards. Both elemental dragons clashed against each other, but the water dragon easily overpowered Anko's fire dragon, and the purple haired kunoichi was hurled against a wall by the massive water construct.

"Ughh..." Anko groaned, spitting water while trying to stand up. Much to her horror, she saw the swordsman already in mid air, ready to cut her down with that massive sword.

"Die," the masked swordsman stated, and his sword came down.

Fortunately for Anko, the gigantic sword didn't hit her, but another kunai instead, being held by a black haired kunoichi. Taking advantage of the kiri ninja's sudden surprise, the kunoichi managed to kick him back, while she landed on her feet besides Anko.

"Anko! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks, Kurenai," Anko said as she got back on her feet.

"Thanks Kami you recognized me. I have lost count of all the times I have been attacked by Konoha ninjas that mistook me for an Uchiha!" Kurenai complained.

"Well, those red eyes of your kind look like Sharingan," Anko, noted, making Kurenai to frown. "Don't give me that look! I'm just stating the facts."

"Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I could take this guy alone, but I bit more than I could chew."

"Anko, do you know who is this man?" Kurenai asked. Anko guessed by her tone that it was a rhetoric question. "This is Zabuza Momochi, a missing-nin from Kirigakure, and one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He attempted a coup d'etat against the Mizukage, but failed. Of course he would be part of an another coup."

"I see that you made your homework," Zabuza appeared to be flattered by Kurenai's knowledge of him. "And yes, guess that I can't help but sympathize with fellow revolutionaries trying to bring down a corrupt government. But then again, the obscene amount of money the Uchihas paid me is a big incentive as well."

"Be careful Anko, this guy is a Jonin, and a strong one might I add. Plus he isn't randomly attacking civilians or looting stores like other mercenaries the Uchiha hired. They placed him to guard an access to the part of the village where the Hokage Tower is. Then there's all the water around us that he can use to fuel his jutsus."

"Well, he certainly is as tough as he looks. Too bad your boyfriend isn't here, we could use a Jonin right now."

Kurenai suddenly turned red. "What are you saying? Asuma is not my boyfriend!"

"I never mentioned Asuma by name, did I?" Anko asked with a sly grin, making Kurenai to blush even harder. "But that's okay, because do you know what does this mean?" Anko asked. The raven-haired kunoichi looked at her, dumbfounded. "If we beat this guy, we may become Jonin ourselves!"

"Anko...the village is suffering one of its worst debacles since the Nine Tails, and you're thinking in _promotions_?" Kurenai asked in disbelief.

Anko shrugged. "Eh, I'm an optimist person. Besides, Konoha survived the Kyubi attack. This is nothing in comparison."

"True, but back then we had the Yellow Flash."

"In that case, we'll have to fight extra hard to make up for it!" Anko said as he adopted a fighting stance. Kurenai soon followed.

"So, you're going to fight me then," Zabuza stated, as he eyed her opponents. "I don't think you appear on my bingo book. I'm going to guess that you're both Chunin, B-Rank at the most. I shouldn't have any problems killing you, even if it's one on two. But then again," Zabuza said menacingly as he formed a hand seal with one hand. "Why should I take the risk? Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"

Four blobs of water jumped from the river into the ground, and they took the shape of four Zabuzas, gigantic sword included.

"Now that's much better," Zabuza smiled under his mask. "Shall we begin?"

The four clones charged forwards, two dashing towards Anko and the other two towards Kurenai. The red-eyed woman guessed that the clones were just a distraction to keep them busy so the infamous swordsman could kill them from behind. Not if she had something to say about it. The black haired kunoichi flied through hand seals, pulled two kunai, and fended off her attackers.

As Zabuza watched the battle, he saw that the Kurenai was having the most trouble dealing with his clones. She'll be his first victim then. Making a hand seal, he used the Body Flicker to appear behind her, and run his Executioner Blade through her body.

"Kurenai!" Anko cried as she continued fighting the water clones.

"One down, another one to-huh?" Zabuza mentioned as he realized that the wound on Kurenai didn't leak any blood. Suddenly, multiple snakes burst from Kurenai's wound and wrapped tightly around Zabuza. "What the hell is this...? Of course, an accursed genjutsu!"

Fighting the snakes off, Zabuza managed to bring his hands together and make a hand seal. "Release!"

And after a burst of chakra, everything went back to normal. Zabuza hadn't moved from his original spot, but his clones were gone and his two female opponents were flanking him, each holding a kunai flying at his chest. In the last second, Zabuza managed to grab and stop both arms before being gutted alive. However, that left him unable to defend himself from Anko and Kurenai's kicks, which hurled him backwards.

"Ha! That got him good!" Anko cheered.

"To bad he saw through my genjutsu. Two seconds later, and he would be dead," Kurenai observed.

Zabuza was started to get angry. How this two nobodies dared to make fun of him! His hands furiously flied through hand seals.

"I've wasted enough time with you two! Water Release: Great Crushing Wave!"

A gigantic wall of water rose from the river, and streamed down right on the terrified kunoichi, loudly crashing on the ground, crushing the two women under tons of water. While Zabuza was sure that attack was enough to kill them, he swore that he heard a voice saying "Summoning jutsu!"

And just like the water receded back into the river, he saw a giant snake coiled around something. The snake uncoiled itself, revealing Anko and Kurenai, completely wet but not particularly harmed.

"Snakes...tell me, is any of you related to Orochimaru of the Sannin?" the missing-nin from Kiri asked.

Anko's happy and battle-eager expression morphed into a mask of fury. "Don't even dare to mention that name in my presence!"

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "I guess I hit a nerve, didn't I?"

The snake appeared to react to Anko's anger, and lunged at Zabuza , its jaws wide open. Zabuza leaped at the snake as well, raising his Executioner's Blade. The fight was short lived, as Zabuza quickly delivered an horizontal chop, and the snake vanished in a poor of smoke. Kurenai ran through hand signs once more.

"Demonic Illusion: World of Decay!"

The moment Zabuza landed, he found he couldn't move his legs. Much to his horror, they were starting to melt as if they were an ice cream on a really warm day. After immediately realizing that he fell into another genjutsu, he made a hand seal before his hands would melt as well. "Release!"

After quickly disturbing his chakra network, everything turned back to normal, and this time Anko and Kurenai were in front of him ready to attack him. He was completely sure they weren't part of a genjutsu. So why they didn't attack him while he was under Kurenai's genjutsu? The answer came in the form of killing intent coming from behind him.

Zabuza quickly turned around and raised his sword, blocking the two katana strikes that would have sliced his back had he not reacted in time. The wielders of those katanas were a brown haired man with a bandana on his head wearing the typical Konoha Chunin uniform, and a purple haired woman wearing ANBU gear, minus the mask.

After parrying the attack, Zabuza pushed them back.

"Hey look, the lovebirds decided to join the party!" Anko noted, as he waved at them. "Hey Yugao, Hayate, how was your anniversary date?"

"Well, let's say that it was different from what I had in mind," Yugao bitterly answered. "We had to go home and get changed since there's no way I could fight wearing a night dress."

"Isn't this guy Zabuza, the Demon of the Hidden Mist?" Hayate asked between coughs.

"Yeah, he's part of the Uchiha's mercenaries. Care to help us?" Kurenai asked.

Hayate and Yugao both raised their katanas. "Sure, between the four of us shouldn't be a problem," the former noted.

"Do not mistake quantity with quality, twerp. Just like how ten stupid men won't sum a smart man, ten weaklings won't sum a strong warrior. You are all below me!" Zabuza claimed in a grandiose manner.

"If you're so strong, why haven't you killed us yet? Kurenai and I have been fighting you for quite some time and here we are. The odds are even greater in our favor than before. Do everybody a favor and surrender already," Anko said.

"The Demon of the Hidden Mist NEVER surrenders!" Zabuza yelled while making a hand seal. "Let's see what good your superior numbers are against this! Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Suddenly, a very thick mist covered the battlefield. Kurenai panicked. This was Zabuza's favorite tactic, blind their opponents and kill them silently afterwards. The Demon of the Hidden Mist had decided to fight seriously.

"Oh man, this can't be good for my asthma," Hayate moaned to himself, coughing a bit. Then, he raised his sword and adopted a defensive stance. "Yugao! Track him!"

Yugao made a hand sign and closed her eyes. "On it!"

Fortunately for the Konoha ninja, the purple haired kunoichi happened to be a sensor. She had a hard time tracking Zabuza, since the mist was laced with his chakra. However, she quickly found that said chakra was much more concentrated at certain point. "Kurenai, behind you!"

The raven haired kunoichi turned around and raised a kunai just in time to parry the blow aimed at her gut. The clang resulting of the metal clashing was enough to reveal Zabuza's position to Hayate. The only male Konoha Chunin leaped at Zabuza. "Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

The blade of Hayate's katana was wreathed in flames that dispelled the mist the moment it touched it, and found Zabuza in no time. Zabuza had to ignore Kurenai and fend off the swings of the ninja with the flaming sword. Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize Anko getting closer until it was too late.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

A snake emerged from Anko's sleeve, and bite Zabuza in the neck. The snake's poison quickly paralyzed Zabuza, until the Kiri missing-nin lost all control of his body and fell to the ground, motionless. The mist then disappeared.

"We did! We took Zabuza down!" Kurenai cheered.

"Oh yes, I can feel that Jonin diploma in my hands! Go Team Estrogen!" Anko cheered while pumped her fist.

"Hey, I helped too!" Hayata protested, before going into a coughing fit.

"Go Team Estrogen plus Hayate!"

Yugao walked towards Zabuza's body and checked his vitals. "He's still alive. Anko, was that poison you injected him lethal?"

"Nope, just a paralytic toxin. He'll be cold for two days. I guessed that maybe I could bring this guy to T&I and get some useful information out of his head. You don't capture every day a member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist!"

"Well thought. We should hide his body while we finish off the remaining Uchiha and mercenaries."

"Understood. I know a place that-AHHHHHHH!" Anko suddenly yelled as she fell on her knees and her hand reached the back of her neck.

"Anko!" Kurenai quickly rushed to check her. "What's going on?"

"The Cursed Seal...it burns..." Anko said, visibly in pain.

Kurenai opened her eyes wide at the implications of such statement. "That...that means..."

"Y-yes...that traitorous bastard is here..."

…

 _Senju Residence_

"Tsunade Senju, you, your husband and your adoptive son have been declared a threat to the village, and will have to come with us. If you resist arrest, we will-"

 **BOOM!**

"AAAAAARGGGH!"

"Excuse me, were you saying something?" Tsunade asked innocently.

While Tsunade dealt with the two Jonin and two Chunin –now just one– that were sent to capture her and Naruto, Shizune was tasked with keeping the children safe.

Naruto and the twins watched how Shizune removed the carpet from the living room, and made a hand seal. Suddenly, a trapdoor appeared all of sudden. Shizune opened the trapdoor and motioned the kids to go inside.

"This is a shelter we built after Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama listened to a prophecy from one of the toads of Mount Myoboku. Jiraiya-sama covered it with all kinds of protective seals, so it's pretty much impossible for anybody with the exception of Jiraiya-sama, Tsunade-sama or myself to open it from the outside. The seals also make it impossible to find, even to those with a Byakugan or a Sharinagan. The shelter has enough food and water to last a month for the six of us, so for you three it should last even more. It also has a bathroom.

"And this is important: no matter what you hear us say, even if, no, _especially_ if you hear us asking you to come out, DON'T COME OUT. We will retrieve you once all this madness is over. Understood?"

Naruto nodded, the twins did the same.

"Now get in there, and don't be afraid, I promise everything will be fine," Shizune reassured, forcing herself to smile, unsure if that was a promise she could keep.

"Are you and mom going to be okay, Shizune-neechan?" Hagane asked.

"Of course, sweetie. Your mom is the strongest woman there is, nobody can't hurt her. Especially with me helping her."

"Yeah, mom is like, super strong! I trained with her and her strength knows no limits! The only ones who would come close to her are dad and the Hokage!" Naruto added. Shizune couldn't help but wonder if his optimism was genuine or if he was trying to calm down the twins. Either way, it was a good thing.

"Naruto-kun, you're the eldest, so you'll have to take care of your siblings while Tsunade-sama and I are busy, understood?"

Naruto valiantly nodded before he and the twins headed to the underground shelter. Shizune then closed the trapdoor, made another hand seal, and the trapdoor disappeared once again. Lastly, she put the carpet back.

Taking one last glance at the invisible shelter, and wondering if she'll live to see her almost little siblings again, Shizune rushed outside to assist her master and mother figure

…

 _Hokage's Tower_

Fugaku Uchiha's eight man squad broke into the entrance of the Hokage's workplace and residence, only to find it deserted. They moved towards the first floor, but it was just as empty. The second floor was devoid of any life as well. Fugaku smelled a trap.

"Kenichi, track the Hokage, now!" the Uchiha Clan Head ordered.

"Yes, Fugaku-sama!" Kenichi, the Uchiha sensor, made a hand seal and closed his eyes. As his senses expanded, he didn't perceive anybody in the building, until he reached the roof. "Found him! He's standing in the roof!"

"How many ANBUs has with him?"

"Actually...none, Fugaku-sama. He appears to be alone..."

"What? That can't be possible! It has to be some kind of trap!"

"Unless the ANBU have a way to fool sensors we're not aware of, the Hokage is alone in the roof. What are we going to do, Fugaku-sama?"

"The old monkey was waiting for us. He evacuated the building, and probably sent the ANBU to protect civilians or something like that. Anyway, that makes our job all the easier. Everybody, to the roof! But don't let your guard down, it might be a trap!"

"Yes, Fugaku-sama!" all Uchihas replied in unison.

…

 _Senju Residence_

With a neck snap, Tsunade killed the last of the Uchihas sent to attack her home. Tsunade had some minor bruises and burns, but there was nothing she could heal in a couple minutes.

"Shizune, go and fetch me a couple sealing scrolls, now!" Tsunade ordered.

The black haired kunoichi nodded and headed back into the house, and in less than a minute she returned with the requested items. Tsunade started to store the dead Uchihas inside them, and instructed her apprentice to do the same.

"I know the body of a dead ninja is valuable, especially a dead Uchiha...but what do you plan to do with them, Tsunade-sama?"

"Me? Nothing. The Hokage will decide what use should we give them."

"By the end of the night, there won't be a Hokage, nor a village, anymore," said a voice seemingly out of nowhere.

In front of the two medical-nin, a masked man appeared coming out of a spiraling vortex. Tsunade immediately recognized the black cloak with the red clouds. Tsunade couldn't help but stare at the man's mask, or more specifically, at the single hole on it that revealed a Sharingan. Gamamaru's warning echoed through her head.

 _Beware the One-Eyed Demon_

"You're an Akatsuki!" Tsunade shouted at him.

"Oh? You hear about our organization? Guess that Konoha ninjas have done their homework. Not that it matters, anyway," the masked man replied.

"What do you want?" Shizune asked.

"To finish what I started eight years ago. To reclaim what is rightfully mine, and use it to destroy Konoha."

"Wait a minute...are you saying that you're the man responsible for the Kyubi attack?" Tsunade asked in disbelief.

"That's exactly what I said."

"So, this is why the Uchiha are revolting? To get their hands on the Nine Tails? I can't believe that Danzo of all people was right!"

"Oh, no, you're _horribly_ mistaken. I might be an Uchiha, but I stopped caring about the clan long time ago. The Uchihas are nothing but a disposable tool, mere pawns of a much grander plan. See, with this coup d'etat, the Uchiha and Konoha will destroy each other, while I take advantage of the ensuing chaos and get the Kyubi. Everybody wins."

The blond Sannin gritted her teeth. She was about to say something when the crystal on her necklace began to glow with a teal light. "What the...?"

"Oh, how curious. I'm not into jewelry, but that's an interesting necklace you got there. I think I'll take it as well. But first, the Jinchuriki," the masked man said as he advanced towards the house.

"If you want Naruto, you'll have to go through me first!" Tsunade stated defiantly as she planted herself in front of the man.

"Trust me, that won't be a problem."

Tsunade snarled something unintelligible, and threw a punch towards the masked man's face. But much to her surprise, her fist phased through his head is if the man was an illusion or mirage.

"What?"

Shizune shot several senbons from her wrist-mounted launcher, but they phased through him as well.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me. Don't waste your energies doing so. Or do it, it won't make a difference."

"Who are you?" asked Shizune.

"My name is irrelevant, but if you wish, you can call me Tobi," Tobi said as he entered in the house. "I believe that the kid will be upstairs, right?"

Tobi teleported to the upper floor, and inspected the two bedrooms that looked like they belonged to a child, but he found nobody there. Annoyed, he proceed to inspect the rest of the house, but there was no clue of him either. His Sharingan scanned every centimeter of the house, but didn't found any chakra signature on it. But deep down, he felt that the Jinchuriki was there...somewhere...hiding...

Muttering a curse, Tobi teleported outside, back with Tsunade and Shizune.

"Where is the Jinchuriki?" Tobi angrily demanded. His one eye flashed red.

"On a safe place far away from here, where neither you nor people like you will be able to touch him," Tsunade answered. "Can't that fancy Sharingan track him?"

"YOU LIE!" Tobi bellowed. "He's here, I can feel it, even my eye can see him. Yes, I know he's really close, even if I can't reach him myself. And if I can't do that...well, maybe your screams will make him come out on his own."

"So, a scream contest, then? I have a feeling that it's you who's going to be the winner," Tsunade replied confidently, as she cracked her knuckles.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with, Sannin," Tobi said as he formed many hand seals. "Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"

As the thick roots emerged from the ground and wrapped around Tsunade and Shizune almost forgot how to breathe. Shizune escaped using a Body Replacement, but Tsunade stayed there, motionless.

"You...how can you use my grandfather's...?" Tsunade asked in disbelief, unable to shake the shock. Was this stranger related to the Senju in some way? There was also the fact that her necklace reacted to him just like it did to her children.

"Like I told you, you know nothing about me or what can I do. That's why fighting me it's a fool's errand," Tobi replied as he unsheathed his katana.

"Tsunade-sama, don't stay there! Move! We can wonder how he can use Wood Release, but first we have to defeat him!" Shizune yelled.

Tobi lunged at her, his katana aiming forwards. "Now, perish!"

Shizune's words managed to snap Tsunade out of her trance, and making use of her famous chakra-enhanced strength, she broke free from her binds. Tobi stopped in the last second, and jumped backwards to avoid any possible counter attack.

"Sorry about that, Shizune. Please understand it was quite the shock. But I'm better now," Tsunade assured as she calmly removed her green haori. "Let's crush this guy."

"Right!" Shizune chimed as she pulled out three senbons and tossed them at Tobi. However, much to her shock, the senbons phased through the masked man. "What?"

The second after Shizune threw her senbons, Tsunade had dashed towards Tobi, who made no effort to dodge, and launched her fist at him. But just like Shizune's needles, Tsunade's fist phased through his face. "What is this? A genjutsu?"

Tobi smirked under his mask. "Just like that Hyuga said. And just like him, you're going to find how wrong you are," the masked man said before quickly punching Tsunade on her gut, leaving her breathless, followed by a kick to he face the moment she unwittingly bent over. "Does that feel like a genjutsu?"

Shizune threw more senbons at him, but the result was the same. "You already did that before, did you really expect a different result now?"

"Alright, this is something your fancy intangibility won't protect you from!" Shizune said as he leaped above him. "Poison Mist!"

Shizune's cheeks puffed out, and released a stream of purple mist from her mouth that engulfed the masked man. However, Tobi flew out of the poisonous cloud like a missile, and unsheathed his katana again.

"I think I'll get rid of you first!" Tobi declared as he prepared to deliver an diagonal slash.

Fortunately for Shizune, the attack never came as Tsunade managed to grab Tobi's ankle, and slam him overhead into the ground multiple times, until his ankle slipped through Tsunade's hands, and quickly crawled away from the Slug Princess. Shizune then landed besides Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, you touched him!" Shizune squealed in joy.

"I did more than just touch him," Tsunade said with a confident smirk. "You can turn intangible at will, but in order to harm us, you have to turn corporeal, right? In that's the case, it's just a matter of timing our attacks."

"You're one clever bitch," Tobi painfully got back on his feet. "But this changes nothing. That was a mere lapse of judgment on my part. You won't touch me again."

"I must admit that you're way tough if you can still stand such a beating. Most people wouldn't be able to even move after that."

"I think I already stated that I'm not like everybody else. Now let's see how much pain can you withstand until you reveal to me the location of the Jinchuriki," Tobi threatened as he disappeared in a swirling vortex.

"Shizune, stay alert!" Tsunade warned. Her apprentice nodded.

It didn't take long for Tobi to reveal himself. "Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"

Once again, multiple tree roots emerged from the ground, and tried to either restrain or impale the two kunoichi. Tsunade shattered them with her enhanced punches, while Shizune tossed poisoned senbons that made the roots to wither and rot in a matter of seconds.

However, that attack was just a diversion. While Shizune was busy dealing with the roots, Tobi appeared from behind and wrapped an arm around her neck.

"This charade ends here. Now, Tsunade, tell me where you're hiding the Jinchuriki, or this woman dies," Tobi declared, his voice regaining some of its previous calmness.

"Tsunade-sama, don't do it!" Shizune pleaded. "He's tangible now, now is the chance to attack!"

"I wouldn't do it if I was you. Do you think I can't kill this woman and then use my ability to avoid your attacks?" Tobi asked. Tsunade remained there, hesitant. Running out of patience, Tobi made his decision. "I see. Say goodbye to this woman then."

The blade of Tobi's katana burst through Shizune's chest. The black haired kunoichi let out a gasp of pain.

"NO!" Tsunade threw her hands over her mouth

"See? This is what happens when you oppose somebody you can't hope to defeat. Now-" Tobi was interrupted by Shizune bursting into a cloud of purple fog. "WHAT?"

Tobi jumped back in an attempt to avoid the poisonous mist, but he accidentally breathed some of it.

"Poison Clone. Clever, right?" the real Shizune then appeared behind Tobi.

"What? You made a clone? I never took my eye from you two! How did you evade my Sharingan?" Tobi protested between coughs.

"To answer your question, I did it while you were inspecting our house."

"Wait...I've been fighting a clone the whole time?" Tobi's disbelief grew by the moment, as so did his coughing.

"You landed a few hits on Tsunade-sama, but none of my clone. My clones can last hours if they don't receive any damage. And judging by your coughs, I guess that that mask of yours doesn't filter poisonous gases. What you inhaled is a fast-acting poison that will rot your lungs until you can't breathe anymore. You are already death."

"Don't be so overconfident!" Tobi yelled before going into another coughing fit. "There's no poison that can kill this body!"

"Yes. I believe that you somehow spliced your genes with those of my grandfather, who had great resistance to poisons, hence your ability to use Wood Release. But even then that doesn't make you immune to them," Tsunade smirked at him. "Let's see how well you can fight when you can hardly breathe!"

Both Tsunade and Shizune lunged at the masked man. Tsunade threw a kick at his face, followed by Shizune who had kunais on her hands. Both their attacks phased through Tobi. The Akatsuki member tried to slash Tsunade, but his swing was way sloppier than before and Tsunade had no trouble dodging it. Shizune threw more senbons at him from her wrist-mounted launcher, which Tobi dodged by jumping backwards.

"Your breathing is becoming heavier. Even if you somehow survive Shizune's poison, you won't survive my fists."

"SHUT UP!" Tobi angrily yelled as his hands flew through hand seals. "Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"

More roots emerged from the ground, and lunged at Tsunade. The Slug princess smirked once again, and raised a foot.

"Heavenly Foot of Pain!" Tsunade brought her foot down with such force that the ensuing shockwave shattered the wooden roots, leaving a crater behind. "And you might have my grandfather's Bloodline Limit, but yours is nowhere near his level."

Both Tsunade and Shizune leaped at Tobi at the same time from opposite directions. The masked man disappeared once again in a swirling vortex.

"Alright, another ambush. Good, he's growing desperate."

"Come on coward, show yourself!" Shizune shouted.

"As you wish," Tobi said as he appeared right behind Tsunade.

The blond Sannin immediately turned around and punched the masked man, who shattered into thousands of wood shards. "A wood clone...?"

Suddenly, a blade burst through Tsunade's belly. Blood started to leak from it. Shizune's eyes grew wide with shock.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!" Shizune yelled in horror.

"I believe that you're not a clone, right bitch?" Tobi hatefully said as he pulled his sword out and kicked Tsunade in the back, making the Sannin to fall on her face. Tobi's hands then flew through hand seals. "Fire Release-"

However, a rather severe coughing fit stopped him from completing the attack. Knowing that this was her only chance, Tsunade gathered all the chakra she could muster on her fist, turned around and delivered a devastating punch at Tobi. The Akatsuki had no time to turn intangible, and Tsunade's fist landed on his right shoulder, shattering it completely, cutting the right arm from the rest of his body, and hurling him towards a wall.

"Ugghhh..." Tobi moaned, as he got on his feet as good as he could. "That...certainly hurt..."

"How are you still live...?" Tsunade asked.

"I could...ask the...same thing to you..."

"Surrender, you monster! Tsunade-sama got you good! Between that hit and my poison, there's no way you can win!" Shizune cried.

"Maybe you're right...but mark my words...sooner or later...the Kyubi will be mine...and this world of despair and lies...will disappear..." Tobi said as he disappeared in a swirling vortex.

Tsunade coughed blood. Shizune quickly rushed towards her master's side, and checked the wound on her belly. It poured large amounts of blood.

"Alright Shizune...you know what to do..."

"Yes. First, stop the hemorrhage," Shizune reminded herself as she used the Mystical Palm Jutsu on Tsunade's wound, closing it slowly.

"I guess it's a good thing I got over my fear of blood..." Tsunade weakly joked.

"Tsunade-sama, don't speak!"

"Don't tell me what to do..."

"You didn't lose your temper. Guess that that's a good thing. But seriously, don't talk."

Still, Tsunade decided to follow Shizune's advice, and didn't waste the little energy she had left on talking. While her apprentice brought her from near death, she couldn't help but wonder about that mysterious one-eyed man. Then she remembered what Jiraiya had told her about his long-term mission regarding the Akatsuki and the Kyubi attack.

Orochimaru and this man, Tobi, were both part of the same organization, Akatsuki, who apparently wanted the Kyubi, and other Tailed Beasts, for whatever nefarious purposes. Orochimaru had experimented with Hashirama's cells in order to obtain his power, and Tobi was clearly one of his test subjects. And while Tobi could use Wood Release, the scale and power of his jutsus were nowhere near the level of the First Hokage.

But even then, it was a terrifying thought. What if Orochimaru was able to perfect the genetic splicing? The thought of Orochimaru with Hashirama's power was worrying, but an army, hell even a small group with that power was a nightmare come true.

Lastly, she also wished she could warn everybody about Akatsuki manipulating the Uchiha and stop this madness before more people could die. But she knew it was too late. Even if she wasn't so badly wounded, there was no way she could stop the coup. All she could do was pray for this to end as soon as possible with the least amount of casualties.

…

Inabi Uchiha and his teammates Yashiro and Tekka were at the roof of the Jonin Stanby Station. Multiple Konoha ninja had attempted to reclaim the building, but the Uchiha trio managed to fend off the attackers. The last attack had been more than an hour ago, to which Inabi deduced that Konoha gave up trying to take back the station.

"You know, this is kind of boring," Yashiro mentioned. "This place is safe, can we go somewhere else?"

"You heard Fugaku-sama. We were assigned to take and guard this place. Fugaku-sama will flay us alive if we disobey his orders," Tekka replied.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Tekka, as much as I'd love to continue fighting," Inabi said. "Man, this was too easy. Maybe we shouldn't have been so cautious and wait until most of the Jonin were away."

"Well, nothing can compare to might of the Uchiha. I wish I was assigned to Masaki's team. They got to fight Tsunade. They will be the only ones who will fight against somebody who's actually strong," Yashiro moaned. "Besides Fugaku-sama, I mean."

Suddenly, all of their radios started to crackle loudly. Inabi grabbed his.

"This is Inabi Uchiha. Who is this?"

"This is Naoki Uchiha requesting reinforcements! That traitor Itachi appeared and slaughtered my unit!"

"Naoki, calm down and tell us your position so we can assist you!"

"I'm-AAAAAAARRGGH!"

"Naoki? Naoki?" Inabi frantically shouted, clutching the radio on his hand. "DAMMIT! I knew Fugaku-sama should have thrown that spoiled brat of his into a cell!"

"Itachi is our there, and apparently decided to hunt us. What are we going to do?" Yashiro asked.

"It isn't obvious? Hunt him first before he can do anymore damage."

"What about Fugaku-sama's orders?" Tekka asked.

"This is more important. If some Konoha ninja take this building while we're absent, we can retake it later. Now come on, Naoki's team was supposed to guard the hospital, so if we are fast we might catch Itachi before he leaves the place."

"Oh, you're leaving already? Sorry, but I don't think that such thing is going to happen," a cold, yet soft voice said behind them.

The Uchiha trio turned around, and saw an extremely pale man with long black hair and yellow eyes, wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it.

"Orochimaru!?" Inabi asked in shock.

"Is he back in the village too?" asked Tekka.

"Why is he dressed like Madara-sama?" Yashiro asked as well.

"Madara? That's what he told you? Kukuku...this kid certainly had some delusions of grandeur," Orochimaru said, chuckling.

"What are you doing here? Are you part of Madara-sama's army of mercenaries? I know for a fact that you're not an ally of Konoha," Inabi said.

"True. But being the enemy of your enemies does not make me your friend, as you're about to find. But anyway, you should feel honored, you three had been selected to take part in an experiment in order to further my ninjutsu research. Are you going to come with me willingly, or do I have to take you by force?"

"Yashiro, Tekka, we'll have to deal with this lunatic first before we can go to look for Itachi," Inabi declared. His two partners nodded.

"It seems that we're going to have a worthy opponent after all," Yashiro agreed with a glee.

"By force then? This should be fun," Orochimaru's mouth forming an ugly smile.

Activating their Sharingan, the Uchiha trio dashed at Orochimaru. Yashiro and Tekka impaled Orochimaru with their katanas from opposing angles, while Inabi jumped over him while making hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The other two Uchihas jumped sideways before the fireball hit its target and engulfed Orochimaru in flames.

"So much for the 'Legendary Sannin'," Inabi said dismissively.

However, when the flames started to disappear, they saw a half melted mud clone in Orochimaru's place. When the Uchiha trio realized that they have been fooled, it was two late. Three snakes wrapped tightly around their necks, rising them in mid air.

"A nice display, indeed," the real Orochimaru praised, somehow behind them. The three snakes holding the Uchihas were coming from one of his sleeves. "You're young, strong, and with a mature Sharigan. Yes, you will be perfect!"

The snakes bit their victims in their necks, knocking them out cold, before dropping them into the ground and returned from whence they came. Orochimaru then bit his finger and made five hand seals.

"Summong Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, a gigantic light gray snake appeared. Orochimaru then snapped his fingers, and three ninjas wearing gray camouflage outfits, balaclavas and forehead protectors with a quaver on them appeared before him.

"Take these bodies to the meeting point. Make sure they suffer no harm. I don't think that you will have much trouble with all the battles going on, but just in case I'll send Hebiroshi with you as an escort."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" the three ninjas replied in unison before carrying the bodies on their backs, and jumped away. The giant snake followed them.

The snake Sannin was about to leave, but sensing a certain presence coming closer made him stay and wait. After ten minutes, the presence landed in front of him. It was a woman with spiky dull purple hair.

"Orochimaru. Should have guessed that you'll be among the scum the Uchiha had brought with them."

"Nice to see you again after so much time, Anko-chan," Orochimaru greeted her with a sinister grin. "Though you're awfully mistaken. I'm not part of this sad attempt of a coup. In fact, I was about to leave before you ran into me."

"Like hell I'm going to let you leave!" Anko shouted angrily, pulling out a kunai.

"Please Anko-chan, save yourself the embarrassment. Do you think you can defeat me alone?"

"What make you think I'm alone?"

As on cue, Kurenai, Yugao and Hayate appeared all around him.

"I see you brought some friends with you. That's intelligent, but still futile. The result will be the same."

"SHUT UP!" Anko yelled as she dashed at Orochimaru and sunk the kunai on his neck. However, the moment he did so Orochimaru turned into mud and started to melt. "It was a clone? DAMMIT!"

…

Meanwhile, at the other side of the village, Fugaku Uchiha and his elite team climbed the Hokage's tower until they reached the roof. Just like their sensor had said, the Hokage stood there, completely alone, contemplating the village flooded by chaos and destruction.

"Enjoying the spectacle, _Hokage-sama_?" Fugaku asked the old man.

Sarutobi turned around to face him. "Ah, Fugaku-san, I was waiting for you. You brought quite the group with you."

"You can't expect to take down a Hokage by doing a half-assed job. These men are the best the Uchiha clan can offer."

"The best you say?" Sarutobi asked, tilting his head as he studied Fugaku's team. "Then why didn't you bring young Itachi with you? I believe he's quite the prodigy."

Fugaku gritted his teeth upon hearing the name of his disgraced son, but decided not to take the bait. He needed to remain focused in order to finish the job.

"If you were expecting us, then you know what I came for. Are you going to fight, surrender, or are you going to try to talk me down? Try to avoid the latter option if possible, I'm not in the mood for lectures."

"I think you're old enough to be lectured, Fugaku-san. So I will simply ask you a question. Why? Why are you doing all of this? Do you want to be Hokage that much?"

"Do not play dumb with me, Hiruzen," Fugaku replied, pointing an accusatory finger at the old Hokage. "You might be old, but I know that you're far from being senile. You know perfectly why I'm doing this."

"I'm afraid I'm not. So please enlighten me, before more blood is spilled this night," upon seeing Fugaku's frown, he added: "I can assure you that this is not a ruse to buy time for whatever I had planned. I knew you were coming here since more than an hour ago. Had I planned a trap, it would already sprung."

"If that's true, then you're an idiot for not doing so."

"Yes, I've been calling that before. I believe the words Danzo used was 'idealistic fool'. But guess that's something I can't change about me. The reason I didn't prepare a trap was because I do want to end this in a peaceful way."

"Fine, have it your way," Fugaku scoffed. "The reason we're doing this is that we're tired. Tired of living isolated from the rest of the village. Tired from being barred from any position of power. Tired of being Konoha's attack dogs, being kept in cages when you aren't throwing us at your enemies, and always held by a leash.

"But that's going to end now. These dogs are cutting their leashes and breaking their cage's bars. The Sharingan is not your little weapon to play with. The Senju wanted our power, but never wanted us, and made sure that we stayed loyal but were never a threat. And when they were gone, they made sure that things would never change.

"You are the pupil of the first two Hokages. And the Fourth was a student of one of your students. A cleverly crafted system that ensures that only those indoctrinated in the ideas of the Senju access to positions of power just like yours. To keep the status quo and stop any change from happening, regardless of how necessary they are."

"That's a lie and you know it," Sarutobi angrily replied. Though deep down he had to admit that Fugaku had a point. "In a few years, your eldest son would have make a fine Fifth. He has both the power and the wisdom to be worthy of the title."

Fugaku snorted dismissively. "Too late for that, Hiruzen. I wouldn't believe that even if I didn't know of your little plan."

"Little plan? What are you talking about?"

"The Kyubi brat. Who bears a more than striking resemblance to the Fourth. Who's being raised by two of your students, one who happens to be the granddaughter of Hashirama and the other who was the master of the Fourth. And here's the best part: how that little boy boasts non-stop that he's going to be Hokage. Sure kids his age have unrealistic ambitions, but that boy sounds so _sure_ that he's going to be Hokage, as if somebody already promised him such position. Tell me, Hirzuen, who could have put that idea into his young innocent mind?

"But it's not a matter of just being Hokage. Even if my son or any of my clansmen became Hokage, he would just be a figurehead or a puppet, keeping the seat warm until the _real_ candidate became old enough to take the hat, while you and your little friends run everything from the shadows. But that's not going to happen. This village is rightfully ours, and we will take it back."

"Fugaku-san, please think about this. Even if you managed to kill me and my councilors and became the new rulers of Konoha, nobody would accept you, especially those who lost loved ones during your coup. Konoha would get plunged into a civil war, like it's happening with Kirigakure right now. But unlike Kirigakure, we don't have a sea or other natural defenses to stop other villages from invading us."

"The people of Konoha fear our power, so we will give them good reasons to fear us. Fear will keep the population from rebelling."

"Those who rule by fear are bigger fools than the hopeless idealists like me. Those who live under fear can't wait to throw away that yoke."

"I've heard enough," Fugaku abruptly said. "The dynasty of the Senju and those indoctrinated by them ends tonight. You can surrender and live a few more years, or you can fight us, die, and delay the inevitable for a little time."

Sarutobi's mouth curved into a sad smile. In a swift movement, he tossed away his hat and robes, revealing a battle armor underneath them.

"I think you should know what my answer was going to be," Sarutob adopted a fighting stance. Every Uchiha minus Fugaku did likewise.

"If you planned to fight us, then why did you send your ANBU away? With them at your side you might had some chances of surviving."

"The ANBU are helping people that needs their aid more than this old but far from defenseless man. A good Hokage puts the good of the village above his own. If you and your clansmen knew that, maybe one of you would have become Hokage."

"Make no mistake, Hiruzen. I'm not Orochimaru. I'm making this for the good of my clan, not for any sense of personal ambition," Fugaku spat as he unsheathed his katana. "Everybody, ready to attack! Tonight the crows will feast on the flesh of a Hokage."

"Either you kill me or not, Fugku-san, you _will_ regret this decision."

* * *

 **Author's note: Okay, a lot of stuff to comment on this chapter.**

 **First of all, I'm not going to write another fight involving Tobi unless he loses his kamui somehow. Writing the Tsunade and Shizune VS Tobi fight was a pain in the ass, thanks to the goddammed kamui. Do you guys know how many times I rewrote that part? I pretty much lost count after the tenth. That's why I had the whole poison clone of Shizune poisoning him and making him unable to use kamui as easily as usual.**

 **Speaking of Shizune, after the last chapter, I'm pretty sure you guys thought she was a goner. Well, nope! As "New Chance" said in one of its omakes, Shizune in most fics doesn't have any role besides being Tsunade's assistant, and I would have killed her off if this was the case. But it isn't, and it might not be apparent now, but Shizune is going to play a BIG role in future arcs. I think that the poor girl deserves it.**

 **And yeah, Orochimaru's getting a Sharingan. The story makes it as if such thing means the end of the world, but after the manga gave us Madara with the Rinnegan, Wood Release, Sage Mode and the Ten Tails (and that's not getting into all the blatant rule-breaking, like using Susano'o without eyes, and that's just the tip of the iceberg) I feel I can make my antagonists as overpowered as I want, and they still wouldn't be as ridiculous as the villains of the final arcs of the manga. Then again, I don't think Orochimaru with a Sharingan is _that_ overpowered to begin with.**

 **Given that the Demon Brothers appeared in the previous chapter, I'm kind of surprised that nobody asked for Zabuza. And yeah, this means that the Wave Arc is not gonna happen. Because I'm sick of reading fics that copy-paste that arc in its entirety when in the end the only difference is that only Haku, and sometimes Zabuza, survive the whole ordeal. So I'll be taking a page from "True Potential", and will make Naruto's first C-Rank mission that inevitably goes wrong something original.**

 **Anyway, this note is getting too long, so I'll wrap things up. Next chapter, Sarutobi vs Fugaku & his Uchiha flunkies. Who will win? Who will survive? Maybe both? Maybe neither? (And before you guys ask, no, I didn't forget about Itachi. I know that his presence in this chapter was minimal, but trust me, he will play a big role in the next chapter).**

 **In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	11. The Uchiha Coup D'etat, Part III

**Author's Note: Hello once again, my beloved readers. Last week I posted chapter number ten, so let's see the story's stats at such milestone:  
**

 **+41000 hits,**

 **375 Favs,**

 **547 alerts,**

 **and 252 reviews**

 **To all my readers, thank you for supporting this story!**

 **I'm pleased to see that, while not without its detractors, the Uchiha Coup arc is getting a good reception. Well, now we're getting close to the end of the arc. I personally feel that the fights in this chapter aren't as good as the one before (guess due the number of people involved), and they gave me even more trouble writing, but I still hope that you like it.**

 **The title is kind of spoilery, but I'm sure all readers could guess the outcome of this conflict, or else there wouldn't be any story to tell after that. See you at the bottom.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 11:**

The Uchiha Coup, Part III: Uchiha's End

or

 _Sharingan vs Sharingan_

After thirty minutes that felt like hours, Tsunade was finally out of danger. Shizune made an admirable effort closing her would and leaving no effects. Still, Tsunade had lost quite some blood and felt awfully weak. She doubted she could fight again. Still, that didn't mean she couldn't be of help.

"Tsunade-sama, how do you feel?" Shizune asked as she helped her master to get on her feet.

"Much better, thanks to you."

"Should I...fetch the kids?"

"Absolutely not. The kids will stay in the shelter until things calm down a little. Besides, we have still some work to do," Tsunade replied as she soaked her finger with the wet blood of her wound, and made five hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, a massive white slug with a blue back appeared.

"Katsuyu, the village is under attack. I need you to reach all the wounded and use our link to let me heal them," Tsunade instructed. "But ignore the Uchiha. They're the ones who are behind this attack."

"Understood, Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu replied before splitting into smaller clones of herself and spreading through the village.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure you can do this? The Immense Network Healing requires a lot of chakra, and you just sustained a potentially fatal injury," the lengths Tsunade was willing to push herself worried her apprentice to no end.

"I know. That's why I'm going to use part of your chakra too, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't! But still, the amount of energy this jutsu requires could mean your death..."

"I won't die today, Shizune. Do you think I'm going to leave you and the kids alone with Jiraiya?" Tsunade chuckled weakly. "Now come on, we have a village to save."

Tsunade and Shizune sat down in front of each other, holding their hands, and started to channel their chakra towards Katsuyu.

…

During his long life, Hiruzen Sarutobi was a man that had been present in a myriad of battles, especially during the first two Ninja World Wars. Some he won, some he lost, all in which he managed to escape alive. Some against ninjas of every major village, others against ninjas of minor villages and sometimes against independent clans. Hell, he even fought against the strongest Tailed Beast and lived to tell the tale, something only Hashirama did before.

Paradoxically, it was all these battles and the deaths that ensued that shaped Sarutobi into a man whose goal was the pursuit of peace and understanding, a goal he tried to instill on his students, with varying degrees of success –and a single, catastrophic failure–. Because no man or woman should go through what the Third Hokage went through. And truth be told, he turned out relatively fine, unlike his friend Danzo Shimura, whose experience was just as extensive and gruesome, yet he turned into an unemotional, unmerciful extremist.

This wasn't also the first time that either him or a predecessor had to fight against a traitor. He had fought against Orochimaru many years ago, when the ANBU discovered the unethical experiments he was conducting –and to this day, still wonders if he should have killed his former student when he got the chance– and the First Hokage had to fight against his former friend Madara Uchiha.

But even then, Orochimaru and Madara were just individuals with an unchecked ambition. This was the first time an entire clan revolted against Konoha. While part of him remembered Tobirama-sensei's warnings about the Uchiha being dangerous, another part couldn't help but make him feel that this was his fault for letting this happen, and not putting more effort in repairing the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.

And now, surrounded by the Uchiha patriarch and his elite ninja, Sarutobi knew he was going to die. He wasn't afraid to just die, thought –he never hesitated to take potentially suicide missions– but the fact that the village would be just in an equally or even greater awful state then it was after the Kyubi attacked.

Just like his predecessor and his one successor, it seemed that it was the Hokage's fate to die protecting the village from its enemies. But in Sarutobi's case, he'd die fighting against fellow villagers.

"Before we start, answer me one last thing," Sarutobi said. "What happened to Shisui Uchiha?"

"Shisui? Why do you ask?" Fugaku asked, puzzled. "Was he some sort of double agent of yours or what?"

"Yes. He had a plan to stop you, but I never heard from him after the last time we spoke. Was he found out by your peers?"

"We weren't aware of Shisui's treachery, but given his friendship with Itachi it shouldn't be a surprise. But to answer your question, the last time any of my clansmen saw Shisui he was talking with some ANBU."

"ANBU? That can't be right...unless...oh no. Danzo, what you have done?" Hiruzen moaned in realization.

"On top of that, you can't even keep your subordinates under tabs. It's amazing this village had lasted as long as it did. But fear not, Hiruzen, a new golden era is about to begin. But first, we must get rid of the relics of the past!" Fugaku shouted as his hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Fugaku breathed a massive fireball at Hiruzen. The old Hokage proved to be deceptively fast for somebody of his age and dodged the flaming projectile jumping aside. However, two Uchihas were already waiting for him, their katanas already coming down on his head. With a quick hand movement, a large black staff with golden tips appeared on Hiruzen's hands, blocking the double blow, much to the two Uchiha's surprise. Taking advantage of their states, Hiruzen pushed their swords aside and smacked them on their face.

A trio of Uchihas leaped at him, and while they where in mid air, they pulled some shuriken from their pouches and tossed them at Hiruzen.

"Behind you! Shuriken rain!" the staff shouted, surprising some of the Uchihas.

Hiruzen merely nodded and formed many hand seals as fast as he could. "Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu!"

The ground started to shake, and in an instant the Hokage was protected by a dense dome of rock that stopped all the shuriken.

"Break that dome, now!" Fugaku ordered.

A female Uchiha Jonin nodded and went through several hand seals. "Lightning Release: Mighty Thunder!"

The Uchiha woman put her hands together above her head, and they started to crackle with electricity. In a swift motion she brought her hands forward, releasing several streams of lightning that shattered the rock dome Sarutobi was using to hide. Before it was completely destroyed, Sarutobi leaped from it. He pulled out a sealing scroll, and unsealed a Fuma Shuriken. He tossed it before making a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the single Fuma Shuriken became twenty. The Uchiha tried to avoid the rain of metallic death, and except one, all of them managed to avoid the giant weapons.

" _Alright, one down. Let's see if I can get more lucky shots,"_ Sarutobi thought as he landed. The corner of his eye caught another Uchiha forming hand seals.

"Fire Release: Heat Orbs Barrage!"

Several spherical yellow fireballs appeared around the Uchiha, almost like they were miniature stars, and with a hand motion he directed them at the Hokage. Running towards the attacker, Hiruzen spun his staff as fast as he could to deflect the heat orbs, and upon reaching the Uchiha, he swung his mighty weapon at him. The Uchiha jumped aside, but much to his shock, a hairy, white haired arm emerged from the staff and grabbed the unfortunate Uchiha's neck. With a sickening "crunch", the Uchiha ceased to be.

"Be careful with that staff! It's actually the Monkey King Enma, a Boss Summon! It's extremely dangerous!" Fugaku warned to his remaining clansmen. "New plan! I'll fight him directly, the rest of you cover me!"

The Uchiha patriarch dashed at Sarutobi, his katana ready to slice him. Both men clashed, their weapons hitting and parrying each other's blows. Whenever the other Uchiha saw an opening, they'd use a fire jutsu or pelt the Hokage with kunai or shuriken. Unfortunately, some of these weapons found their marks.

A poorly timed fireball almost hit Fugaku, forcing the Uchiha leader to jump backwards, leaving Sarutobi some time and space to breath. Time he was going to use wisely. It was about time to use the jutsu his two mentors developed in order to fight the Uchiha and other clans with special eye powers. He formed a hand seal.

"Yin Release: Bringer of Darkness!" a mantle of shadows covered the entire Hokage Tower.

Not even the Sharingan would be able to see through this jutsu. However, due to his dwindling chakra, Sarutobi could only keep this jutsu active for a few seconds.

"Kenichi, track the Hokage, now!" Fugaku shouted.

"O-On it!" the Uchiha sensor stammered before making a hand seal. In no time, he located the Hokage. "I got him! He's behind-ACK!"

Naturally, Hiruzen wasn't stupid enough to not target the sensor ninja first.

"Kenichi!" other Uchiha yelled, and thus marking his position for Sarutobi. The Hokage silently dashed towards him and broke his skull with a well placed hit to the head with the Adamantine Staff.

Sarutobi found himself unable to keep the jutsu active, and the darkness receded. Fugaku contemplated in disgust the bodies of the Uchiha the Hokage had just killed.

"Even in your old age, you're one resilient son of a bitch, did somebody tell you that?" Fugaku spat, glaring at Hiruzen.

"Quite a few times. In fact, it's part of the job description," Sarutobi replied, allowing himself to chuckle.

"To think that you killed four of my men already..."

"There's nobody else but you to blame for their deaths."

"I know. That's why now I have to make sure that their sacrifice isn't in vain."

…

 _Senju Residence Underground Shelter_

Naruto couldn't help but feel amazed at the sheer foresight his parents had when they built the underground shelter. It consisted mostly in a massive, single room, as big as any if the two floors of their house. There were multiple shelves full of canned food and bottled water, as well as good amount of medical supplies.

While there was no visible decoration, there was some furniture as well, such as a large table, a few chairs, a pair of couches, and a pair of closets.

And just like Shizune said, there was even a bathroom, which had a hefty supply of toilet paper.

The walls were almost entirely covered in paper seals. Naruto managed to identify a few of them, such as Armor Seals and Shield Seals; the former were used to increase the hardness of whatever it was applied to and the latter was used to nullify chakra-based attacks, mostly ninjutsu. There were also one-way Silence Seals, which wouldn't let any sound out of the room –but it would let the occupants of the room hear what was going on outside–.

There were many other seals that Naruto did not recognize, such as Mirror Seals and Camouflage Seals, which in conjunction made it nearly impossible for the shelter to be detected unless somebody already knew where it was located. He had heard Shizune said that not even a Sharingan or a Byakugan could be able to see through those seals.

Naruto had been told that, due to both his heritage and his status as a Jinchuriki, many people would want to either hurt him or kidnap him, and thus they needed to do their best to protect him. But this...what kind of threat deserved something like this shelter? Where his parents aware of whatever was happening right now? If yes, why didn't they do anything to stop it before it happened?

Naruto had far too many questions in his head. He need to talk with their parents whenever everything calmed down.

The blond Jinchuriki was snapped from his thoughts when he felt somebody tugging the sleeve of this shirt. It was Kaida, who was looking at him with worried eyes.

"Naruto-niisan...is mom and Shizune-neechan going to be okay?" the white haired girl asked.

Naruto also wondered that. He had heard many yells, crashes, and explosions, but after some time, there was nothing but silence. Still, he was aware of how strong his adoptive mother and big sister were, and refused to believe that they were dead. Besides, he also had to be strong or else the twins would panic.

"Of course they are! Mom is the strongest woman who ever lived!" Naruto said, putting up the best of his smiles. "You should have seen her when we train! She can bring down a tree with just one punch! Can you imagine anybody being able to hurt her?" Kaida slowly shook his head. "Exactly!"

"Yeah...g-guess that you're right..." Kaida admitted, unconvinced.

Naruto frowned. He really needed to do something so the twins would take their minds off of what was going on outside. "Hey, since we're going to spend some time here, how about if we play something to pass the time? I'm sure mom and dad also left some board games or something like that, so let's take a look."

"Yes! Both twins said in unison, and the three kids split off to cover more ground.

Kaida looked in the closets, but all that was there were spare clothes of many sizes, the smaller ones for her and her brothers, and the bigger ones for the adults. Naruto inspected the shelves, but all that he found was food and water. Hagane, however, found something behind one of the couches.

"Hey, take a look at this!" the white haired boy said.

Naruto and Kaida dropped what they were doing and rushed to Hagane's side. In front of Hagane there was a cardboard box full of items, such as scrolls, a couple books, worn out clothes and used ninja tools. One of the things that caught Naruto's attention was an opened envelope full of pictures. The Jinchuriki grabbed the envelope and took out the photographs from it. The twins also watched them intently.

"Hey look, that's dad!" Hagane pointed out.

The first one was a picture of a much younger Jiraiya, alongside three kids. While there was nothing remarkable about the two of them, the third one got Naruto's immediate interest: a kid with spiky blond hair and deep blue eyes.

"Hey, that kid looks a lot like you, nii-san!" Kaida pointed out, voicing Naruto's thoughts. "Do you know who is him?"

Jiraiya had told Naruto how he was his father's sensei, and how he would train Naruto so he would surpass his dad. A sad smile formed in his face. "Yeah, I think I have an idea."

Naruto put that pic at the back of the pile, and watched the next one. A brown haired man with three other kids, one with long white hair, the other with long black hair, and a blonde girl with a ponytail.

"Who are those?" Hagane asked.

Naruto chuckled. "Oh come on, don't tell me that you can't recognize your parents?"

Both twins' eyes opened wide. "Those are mom and dad? No way!" Kaida exclaimed.

"And who is the other guy? He looks scary," Hagane said as he pointed at the third teammate.

Jiraiya and Tsunade almost never talked about their third teammate. All what Naruto knew is that his name was Orochimaru, and that he and Jiraiya had a falling out many years before Naruto was born.

" _Another things I'll have to ask dad about,"_ Naruto thought.

"And who is this man?"

Naruto laughed once again. "You might not recognize him now, but this man is the Old Man Hokage himself!"

"Really? But...why isn't he wearing the Hokage Hat?" Kaida asked.

"The Hokage doesn't wear the hat all the time! I mean, we don't wear the same clothes all the time, right?"

"But whenever I saw the Hokage he's always wearing that hat..." Hagane mentioned.

"Maybe he wasn't the Hokage yet?" Naruto wondered. But unbeknownst to him, Hiruzen was already Hokage when he was Jiraiya and Tsunade's sensei.

They continued watching pictures, most of them were of Jiraiya with somebody else, though they were a couple of their biological parents. One that caught Naruto's attention was one in which appeared with three other kids, an orange headed boy, a red headed boy with weird eyes, and a smiling blue haired girl.

" _Dad never told me he was the sensei of another team. Man, I don't think I'm going to remember all the things I have to ask him!"_

"Hey, look at this book!" Hagane said as he grabbed one of the books of the box.

Naruto paled upon hearing his brother. A few months ago he learned what kind of books his father used to write for a living. What he read disgusted him, and his respect for Jiraiya dropped considerably.

"Don't touch that!" Naruto shouted as he snatched the book from his brother's little hands.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but this book isn't for children. Nor for anyone but perverts," Naruto chided as he looked at the book in disgust. But his disgust was replaced by puzzlement when he saw thew title.

 _The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja_

" _Weird...this doesn't look like the kind of books dad usually writes,"_

But still, Jiraiya's name was in the cover. Naruto dared to see if his suspicions were correct, and opened the book on a random page. Turned out the book wasn't smut, but apparently an adventure story of a ninja called...

...Naruto.

"Hey, you're reading the book, and you said that said book isn't for children!" Kaida loudly protested.

"Sorry...I thought that this was...other kind of book...but it's okay, children can read it! Do you want me to read it to you?"

"YES!" both twins said in unison.

Naruto sat in one of the couches, with one twin at his side. He opened the book, and saw that there was a hand written dedicatory.

 _This book is dedicated to my godson Naruto. Yeah, your parents liked this book so much that they decided to name you after the main character. Funny, right?_

 _Anyway, I hope you like this book as much as your parents did, and I hope it also inspires you to become a great ninja. Better than the main character, and definitely better than me._

 _Your godfather, Jiraiya_

Naruto smiled tenderly upon reading the dedicatory. Now he really wanted to read the book –and wondered why Jiraiya never showed it to him in the first place. He had to write down all the questions he had–.

"Okay, let's start," Naruto started reading the first page. "Naruto Musasabi jumped from tree branch to tree branch while looking for his enemy. There was only one thing in his mind: protecting Shuku, his home, at all costs. Pulling out a kunai, he readied for..."

…

"You damn traitor! I hope you rot in-!"

 _SHINK!_

The last Uchiha of the zone was silenced by Itachi's katana. With this, it was four the squads the former clan heir had slaughtered. Three which were fighting against other Konoha ninjas or guarding conquered zones, and one team which was sent to hunt him after somebody warned the rest of the clan about Itachi's killing spree.

Even if none of them were even close to kill the Uchiha prodigy, Itachi was starting to feel tired. Reaching his pouch, he pulled a soldier pill and gulped it. He immediately felt his strength returning, but he knew he couldn't fight what was left of the clan by himself. Taking more than one soldier pill could have dangerous side effect, some of them which were immediate.

"This was the last Uchiha squad in this district. I have tracked another squad fighting against some Konoha ninja. They're three blocks away from the academy," the crow on his shoulder informed.

Itachi nodded, and headed to the Academy. "What about Sasuke and Shisui?"

"They didn't move since you left," the Kurokaze clone said.

"That's good."

"Besides, there's also-oh..."

"Oh? What do you mean? Did something happen to Sasuke or Shisui?" Itachi asked, almost panicking.

"No, it's not that. One of my clones found the Hokage. He's fighting against your father and other Uchihas. It doesn't appear that the Hokage is winning..."

"What? Dammit! Where are they?"

"At the top of the Hokage Tower."

"Then that will be my next destination," Itachi jumped from roof to roof, heading to the Hokage Tower. _"I hope I can be there in time..."_

…

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

The four remaining Uchihas had surrounded the Hokage and bombarded him with fire jutsus from every angle. Dodging them wasn't option. Fortunately, it wasn't his only option.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth Dome Jutsu!"

Rocks appeared out of nowhere and formed once again a dome around the Hokage. However, another dome formed around the first one, and then a third one after that. The barrage of fireballs destroyed the outer dome, but left the other two relatively intact. Unbeknown to the Uchiha, Sarutobi was forming hand seals.

"Earth Release: Death Ring Jutsu!"

The second dome suddenly shattered in thousand of sharp rocks, and flew outwards in every direction, impaling the four Uchiha. Fugaku and the other two managed to avoid all the damage with a well placed Body Replacement, but the third one wasn't fast enough, and died the instant the sharp rocks pierced his body.

"Destroy that dome before he casts that jutsu again!" Fugaku ordered.

The other two Uchiha nodded, and threw several kunai with explosive tags attached to them at the dome. The explosions shattered the rock shelter. Sarutobi managed to escape the dome before the explosions could harm him, and wasting no time, made more hand seals.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!" Hiruzen reared backwards, and exhaled a massive stream of white fire.

Unfortunately for the Hokage, Fugaku's Sharingan copied the attack.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Bullet!"

The two streams of white fire clashed against each other, pushing back and forth, though eventually Sarutobi's attack appeared to be the strongest. Unfortunately for Sarutobi, this wasn't a one on one duel. The two remaining Uchihas ran parallel to the streams of fire and unleashed a barrage of shuriken towards the Hokage. Cursing inwards, he canceled his current jutsu and jumped, avoiding the shuriken shower –though some of them graced his skin– and nearly getting burnt by Fugaku's attack. Upon landing, Sarutobi nearly lost his balance and fell on one knee, and started to pant heavily.

"You know, Hiruzen, given all the trouble you gave me alone, I'm sure that, have you decided to keep some ANBU by your side, you would have come out of this alive. But this fight ends now," Fugaku stated.

"Why are you so sure, Fugaku-san? I already killed more than half of your men. What can possibly stop me from killing you and your two remaining squadmates?"

"For starters, your age. While you're strong, you clearly can't keep fighting for much longer. How old are you, seventy? People your age aren't known for their resistance, you know. You barely have any chakra left.

"There's also all the blood you lost already due to the wounds made by the kunai and shuriken that you couldn't dodge. Your movements have become slower and sloppier as the fight went on. And you can't barely stand on your feet.

"And lastly, the fact that you didn't realize that I just trapped you in a genjutsu, and my men already moved for the kill," Fugaku said, making a hand seal, dispelling the genjutsu.

Suddenly, Sarutobi found his chest being impaled by two katanas, being held by Fugaku's two remaining men. The Adamatine Staff disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He felt what little energy had fading away, and in a few seconds, he fell to the ground, dead, not having enough time or energy to utter some last words.

"You've been a strong opponent, Hiruzen Sarutobi. History books will remember your valiant last stand. I can promise you that."

…

"Itachi-san...I'm afraid to tell you that the Third Hokage had died," Kurokaze's clone said.

"Damn!" Itachi loudly cursed. If the Hokage would have only lasted a couple more minutes... "How many men has my father with him?"

"Two. Itachi. Are you planning on fighting him? Even with that soldier pill, you're pretty worn out," the crow asked.

"Yes, I do. And he just fought the Third Hokage, he has to be way more drained than I am. I believe I can defeat him. With my father out, the Uchiha will be leaderless, the few remaining squads will be destroyed or forced to surrender, and the coup will come to an end."

"I see that you made your decision. Is there something else I can do to assist you?"

"Not anymore, Kurokaze-sama. You've been of great help here, but I can continue alone. Please keep watching over Shisui and Sasuke until this madness ends."

"As you wish, Itachi-san. Good luck," the crow clone said before flying away.

"Thank you."

Itachi couldn't help but wonder what was he going to tell Sasuke when everything was over. After all, he was going to kill their father. Even if it was for a greater good, he was afraid that Sasuke wouldn't see it that way.

" _No, I can't think about that. If I'm not focused, I won't be able to put an end to this. This is all my fault for not acting sooner,"_ Itachi inwardly said, pushing his conflicting thoughts aside. _"Forgive me, Sasuke."_

Upon reaching the Hokage Tower, Itachi pulled several shuriken from his tool puch, grabbing a handful on each hand. In a few jumps, he managed to reach the roof, leap over his father and his two unsuspecting teammates, and unleash the rain of metal.

Fugaku managed to see Itachi in time, activated his sharingan, and using his katana, deflected the shurikens aimed at him. The other two Uchiha, their guards lowered due to their apparent victory, and their senses momentarily dulled by the exhaustion and wounds received, didn't notice the newcomer and died almost instantly. Itachi landed in front of him, his katana on hand.

"Look who decided to show up," Fugaku spat in disgust. "But I'm afraid that you're too late, son. The old regime is no more."

"To save the Hokage, maybe. But to end this madness, not even by a long shot," Itachi calmly replied. "I've already killed half the clan, the other half being dealt with by Konoha's forces as we speak. Sorry father, but you lost already. And now...I shall execute you for starting this insurrection against Konoha, killing the Hokage, and causing the death of so many Konoha ninjas."

Fugaku's face turned into an angry grimace. "You insolent child. I knew you were rebellious, but to see such a betrayal coming from my own flesh and blood...the others were right about you. I merely banished you because I thought that you only needed some time alone to get your thoughts in order. But yes, I was too soft. If you weren't my son. I would probably have thrown you into a cell and tossed the key away. Which is what I should have done in the first place!"

"I'm not a traitor, father. My loyalty is, has been, and will always be towards the village. It is you who betrayed Konoha by sparking this insurrection that won't bring anything good for any of the parties involved. Why did you do it, father?"

"Why? WHY? I did it for you, you ungrateful child! For both you and Sasuke! To give the clan a better future! The Uchiha Clan would wither and die under the constant oppression of Konoha! But now...you just doomed all of us."

"Stop pinning the blame of your actions on me, father. This was never meant to end well. I merely accelerated the inevitable and cut some losses. Had I not done anything, this would have degenerated into a full on civil war that would end up with Konoha's destruction. My only regret is not acting sooner."

"If I can't have Konoha...then Konoha won't have the Sharingan anymore. I'll gather the survivors, and start over again somewhere else. We will even create our own village. The Uchiha clan will thrive again."

"You are right that the Uchiha will thrive again. But they won't do it under your command," Itachi firmly stated as he raised his katana. "The time for words has passed. Not it's time for you to pay for your treason."

"No, it's time for me to correct my mistakes! I won't let you jeopardize the future of our –no, of _my_ clan!"

Father and son dashed towards each other, staring each other in the eyes. When they were within their striking range, they moved their blades; Itachi's aimed at Fugaku's gut, and Fugaku's aimed at Itachi's neck. Fugaku's sword hit its mark the first. Itachi was stopped on his tracks the moment Fugaku's blade jammed on his neck.

"I'm, sorry, son," a single tear fell from Fugaku's eye. He suddenly felt his eyes burning, as if his Sharingan changed into something else...

However, Itachi suddenly turned into a murder of crows that flew away in every direction, and Fugaku saw a blade bursting through his chest. His heart had been pierced.

"It's me who is sorry..." Itachi replied, tears coming from his eyes.

As life started to slowly leave his body, the soon to be former Uchiha patriarch was invaded by an overwhelming sense of regret, as if the hate and anger towards Konoha that filled his heart and mind was dispelled, and could see things as they were. And realized that both Hiruzen and Itachi's words were right.

" _Why is only in death that I find clarity...?"_ Fugaku bitterly thought. "Itachi...take care of Sasuke..."

"I will, father."

And thus, Fugaku Uchiha left the world of the living.

Itachi removed his hands from his Katana's handles, and Fugaku's lifeless body fell on his face on the ground. Itachi also fell on his knees, and started to cry inconsolably. All the rage, all the sorrow, all the emotions that he had been bottled for so much time couldn't be held anymore. But his grief was interrupted by a sharp pain attacking his eyes. They felt like they were burning. The same feeling that his father experienced seconds before dying.

He then remembered a conversation he had with Shisui about the Sharingan evolving after experiencing the loss of a loved one.

Itachi had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Urggghhhh..." a soft groan snapped Itachi out of his trance. He turned around, and saw that it came from the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama? Are you alive!?" Itachi shouted as he rushed towards the body of the fallen Hokage. He got no answer, but Sarutobi moved a little. "O-Okay, try to keep your energy, I'll find some help!" Itachi picked some of his own blood and made several hand seals. "Summonig Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, one of Kurokaze's clones appeared.

"So soon? What's going on, Itachi-san?" the black bird said, before noticing the dying Hokage.

"Find a medic, please! We don't have much time!"

"Yes, immediately," Noting there was no time to ask questions, Kurokaze flied away, while mentally transmitting the orders to the rest of his clones.

Much to Itachi's bewilderment, a minute later one of the crows returned, carrying a large slug between his claws.

…

The sun was started to emerge from the east.

While Tsunade and Shizune were channeling their chakra through the Immense Healing Network, they were surprised to see one of the Katsuyu clones crawling as fast as she could towards them.

"Tsuande-sama! Shizune-san!" the small slug said. "The coup d'etat has been stopped. Combats had ceased already. We have healed all the wounded and there are no more people in danger," the slug announced.

"Those are good news indeed! Thanks for your help again, Katsuyu-sama!" Shizune smiled for the first time since the coup began. Then, she looked back at Tsunade, who looked like he was going to collapse at anytime soon. "Come on Tsunade-sama, we need to take you to the hospital."

"The kids..." Tsunade murmured. "Check the kids...first..."

"R-Right...I'll be back in a minute!"

Shizune went back into the house, and much to her relief she saw that the secret trapdoor remained intact. She unlocked the seals, and entered the shelter. What she saw there was so cute, she had to restrain herself from squeeing.

The three kids were asleep on a couch, Naruto in the middle, with Hagane and Kaida resting their heads on Naruto's shoulders, with Naruto's arms wrapped around each of them. Naruto had an open book on his lap.

" _Naruto did his best to try to make his siblings not to panic. Oh, you're such a good big brother..."_ the medic thought, as her mouth formed a sweet smile. _"It almost pain me having to wake you up..."_

After waking the kids up, the four of them headed outside, and much to their horror, they saw Tsunade, lying on the ground, motionless.

"Tsunade-sama!"

"MOM!"

"She's still alive," the Katsuyu clone quickly said, as if guessing their collective thoughts. "But her chakra is nearly depleted. She needs assistance as soon as possible."

Shizune nodded. "Come on kids, help me bring your mom to the hosptial!"

…

Sasuke awoke next day as usual. He got dressed and got out of his room. His house seemed unusually silent. The young Uchiha felt that there was something wrong going on.

"Mother? Father?" Sasuke asked, but got no response. Weird, his parents always got up at least an hour before he did.

He went to the lower floor and inspected the rest of the house, and found it empty. Then, he heard a noise coming from upstairs. The black haired boy rushed back to the upper floor, and saw Itachi coming in through one of the windows.

"Itachi?" Sasuke asked, puzzled. He would be thrilled to see his brother if it wasn't for the fact that his clothes were soaked in blood, his face was red, and his entire body was trembling. "What...what are you doing here?"

"Sasuke...let's go down. There's...there's something important I need to tell you."

That morning, Sasuke awakened his Sharingan.

...

Thanks to Itachi and Tsunade's efforts, the Uchiha coup d'etat was suffocated by the time the sun rose, and many people were saved from what would have been a certain death. Among them was Hiruzen Sarutobi, while in critical condition, managed to keep his life thanks to the Katsuyu clone Kurokaze managed to bring, until actual medics arrived.

Many couriers were sent to find the Jonin outside the village, urging them to drop –or finish if they could– whatever missions they were doing and return at once in order to help with the reconstruction efforts.

Upon hearing the news of their failure and their leader's death, the few Uchihas left decided to go down fighting rather than surrender, since they knew that they would be executed anyway for committing an act of high treason. The mercenaries and criminals who didn't escape Konoha when it became obvious that they were fighting a losing battle decided to surrender instead. Those who had confirmed kills would be executed, while the rest would be sent to prison.

A mass funeral was held in honor of all the people, both ninja and civilian, who were killed during the insurrection. While many people died, the most notable deaths were those of the clan leaders such as Hiashi Hyuga or Inoichi Yamanaka.

Naruto did his best to comfort Hinata, who, like her mother and little sister, spent the entire ceremony crying their eyes out. Hinata's grief was contagious, since Naruto ended up crying as well, even if he barely knew Hiashi. It could be said that he could feel Hinata's pain.

Naruto also recognized three of his classmates, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka, crying profusely as they were standing in front of Inoichi's grave. While Ino's grief was understandable, he didn't understand why Shikamaru and Choji were crying like that. Naruto didn't know that the three clans were very close, and Inoichi was an honorary uncle to both Shikamaru and Choji.

There was also another funeral held after the main one, for Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha, at Itachi's request. Only Itachi, Shisui, and Sasuke, the three remaining Uchihas alive, attended the ceremony.

…

After the coup was quelled, there was an air of dread and hopelessness impregnating the very air of Konoha, something that it wasn't felt since the Kyubi attacked eight years ago. The near death of the Third Hokage was a huge blow to the population, especially the ninjas. Not only was he loved and respected, but unlike his successor, who was killed by (what most people believe it was) a mindless monster, Hiruzen Sarutobi was almost killed by the head of one of the most respected clans of Konoha.

Besides that, many people couldn't help but wonder what was going to be of Konoha now. Losing one of its strongest clans was nothing but the tip of the iceberg. The Hyuga clan, who was the most numerous clan of Konoha, had lost nearly a forty percent of its members. And Konoha as a whole had lost almost thirty percent of its manpower, most of them Chunin and Special Jonin.

This losses, coupled with the lack of a Hokage, made many people fear that other villages would take advantage of this and invade them. The only thing they could do was pray for such thing not to happen, and that Konoha would elect a Hokage soon that would recover their former glory.

…

 _Two days after the coup d'etat_

Jiraiya rushed through the hospital halls, fearing for the worst. The Toad Sannin had an unpleasant sense of deja vu when a ninja courier ran into him, and delivered the news of the Uchiha coup d'etat, and the critical state of the Third Hokage. While the news were worrying on their own, the courier also mentioned that Tsunade, after being seriously wounded, used her Immense Healing Network to help all the people fighting against the Uchiha and their mercenaries. She was now in critical condition as well.

Eight years ago he lost one of his students. He could possibly lose his sensei, whom he loved like the father he never met. He _couldn't_ lose his wife too.

After making sure that he was in the right wing, Jiraiya started to check the door numbers until he found the right door. He slammed the door open, and much to his relief he saw that his former teammate, current wife and mother of his children was alive and seemingly well. Shizune, Naruto, Hagane and Kaida were present too, but he wouldn't register their presence until later.

"Dad!" Naruto said, perking up.

"Hey, look who's back," Tsunade weakly mentioned, looking at Jiraiya with a small smile. Jiraiya didn't say anything, and rushed to hug her. "AWWW! NOT SO HARD!" Tsunade shouted, wincing in pain. "I've been impaled, you know!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Jiraiya frantically replied, breaking the hug. "It's that, when they told me what happened to you, I feared for the worst, and seeing you alive and well..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Tsunade replied dismissively. "Though they mentioned that it will be a few weeks before they let me out of here. Yipee yay," she added unenthusiastically.

Jiraiya smiled in return. Then he noticed something weird about Tsunade's forehead. Mostly, her Strength of a Hundred Seal looked different. It was bigger than usual, with uneven sides and angles. It almost looked like a badly done drawing.

"Tsunade, what happened to your seal?"

"Oh, this?" she asked, pointing at her forehead. "Well, Kaida was sad for me 'losing my diamond' so-"

"So I made her a new one!" the white haired girl proudly said, while holding a purple marker. "And mom made me another one too!"

Jiraiya noticed that his daughter also had a diamond drawn on her forehead, but this one looked better drawn. Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at her daughter's cutesy antics.

"Jiraiya, can you put some privacy seals around the room? I need to talk you about something," the Slug Princess asked.

Jiraiya nodded, and after a few minutes, the Toad Sage indicated that it was now safe to talk without fear of being spied.

"Tsunade-sama, do you want me to take the kids outside?" Shizune asked, guessing what the topic of the conversation was going to be.

"Yes, please. Take them to eat something. You should eat too, Shizune." Shizune nodded, and left Jiraiya and Tsunade alone in the room. "After Shizune an I dealt with the Uchiha sent to 'arrest' us, somebody else appeared. A masked man wearing an Akatsuki cloak. Said man had a Sharingan and could use Wood Release."

"What!?" Jiraiya asked in disbelief. "But that's-"

"And that's not the worst part. The man flat out admitted that he was the one behind the Kyubi attack eight years ago. He said that he was using the coup d'etat as a smokescreen to get to Naruto and finish the job."

Jiraiya was speechless. He knew that the person behind such acts had to be someone powerful, but this was beyond his wildest guesses. He couldn't help but feel worried about Naruto if such a man was after him. Naruto needed to be stronger. Hell, _Konoha_ as a whole needed to be stronger. Fortunately, somebody was about to handle him the necessary tools for such task.

There was a knock at the door. Jiraiya deactivated the privacy seals, while Tsunade told whoever was outside to come in. It was an ANBU with a bear mask.

"Jiraiya-sama, the Council of Elders requires your presence at the Hokage Tower," the ANBU announced.

The Toad Sanin groaned, while a frown appeared on his face. "Ugh, wonder what those old farts want now."

"Sarutobi-sensei is no longer able to continue as a Hokage. It isn't obvious? They want you to take his place," Tsunade mentioned.

"Hahahaha! Me, Hokage, that's a good one, Hime!" Jiraiya replied, genuinely chuckling. "Thanks for the joke, I really needed to laugh. Anyway, I'll come to see you later," Jiraiya gave Tsunade a kiss on her lips before leaving the room.

…

 _Hokage Tower_

"Oh Kami, you guys aren't joking!" Jiraiya's face turned into a grimace.

Sitting in front of him were Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, Sarutobi's former teammates, and later councilors after retiring from ninja duty.

"Did we look like we were joking?" Homura crossed his arms, annoyed.

"Well, you guys look like you don't even know the meaning of the word 'fun', that's why it was all the more shocking," Jiraiya retorted, making the elders to frown.

"Listen, Jiraiya, we lost two Hokages in less than a decade, not to mention our recent losses. We need to appoint a new Hokage as soon as possible, and sadly for everybody, you're our best candidate," Koharu said.

"Come on, I'd suck at being Hokage. There has to be a candidate better than me," Jiraiya protested.

"Danzo-san also talked with us about giving him our support to become Hokage."

"A better candidate that's not a sociopath."

"Listen, we aren't going to support you because we like you, or even because we think that you'll make a great Hokage. We are going to do it because it is what Hiruzen wanted," Homura calmly explained.

"Listen, I know that Sarutobi-sensei had faith in me as a ninja, but me being Hokage? I find that hard to believe. Or did he wake up from his coma already and told you that?"

"Then it's a good thing you don't have to believe just us," Homura replied while leaving a scroll in front of the Sannin. "We found this on Hiruzen's desk. Maybe you should read it."

Skeptical, Jiraiya tool the scroll and opened it. It appeared to be Sarutobi's last will. The Sannin started to read.

...

 _If you're reading this, then I'm more than likely dead, probably by the hand of Fugaku Uchiha, or one of his clansmen._

 _Many years ago, we had some evidence that suspected that at least an Uchiha was responsible of the Kyubi attack eight years ago. Some believed that it was the whole clan. I didn't share this opinion, and even started an investigation to exonerate the clan._

 _Still, it seemed that word of this was made public. The populace of Konoha distrusted the Uchiha, and the Uchiha resented Konoha in return. I tried my best to solve the situation peacefully, but my efforts failed. But then again, I can't think what I could have done save have all the clan swiftly executed by a group of assassins. And honestly, I can't see myself doing that and continue to be able to sleep at night._

 _But that doesn't change the fact that I failed this village. Now I see that maybe I should have never taken back the Hokage's hat after I was unable to handle the Third Ninja World War better. I tried to think of this a second chance to fix my past mistakes, but in the end all I did was make even more mistakes. Now I see that I should have appointed either Jiraiya or Tsunade as the Fifth Hokage when they returned to take care of Minato's son, Naruto._

 _But now, I'm going to fix one of those mistakes. Jiraiya, Tsunade, I know that sooner or later you will be reading this. I want one of you to take a step forward and lead the village. Both of you have the perfect combination of power, experience and wisdom I like to think I have, but without my old age to hinder you. You may think that this is too much for you, but I have faith in you. Konoha needs you more than ever. And if the years you've spent here didn't reawaken your love for this village...do it at least for Naruto. Try to keep the village in one piece until he's old enough to take the mantle. I believe that there's some truth behind that little rascal's boasts._

 _I feel that Fugaku and his Uchiha are getting closer, so I'll wrap this up. First of all, do not lose hope, and keep the Will of Fire in your hearts. That's the key for Konoha to recover the glory it will inevitably lose this night. Second, I know for a fact that at least two Uchihas are not part of this insurrection. Do not ostracize them (and any other Uchiha not involved in this) or blame them for the sins of their misguided clansmen. And lastly, since I won't see them again, I want you to tell my sons and grandchildren that I loved them more than anything, and that both Biwako and me will watch over them from the Pure World._

 _Hiruzen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konoha_

…

The two councilors watched intently how Jiraiya's expression changed after he read the whole letter, especially the part that talked about him and Tsunade. Once they guessed that the Sannin finished reading, they spoke again.

"Like the letter says, the other candidate for Hokage would be your wife, but she will be stuck on a hospital bed for quite some time, if what the ANBU told us is right. And we can't wait that much," Koharu said.

"Besides, we also believe that taking Tsunade away from the hospital to place her on the Hokage's office would be a disservice to the village. Not only our healthcare has improved considerably since she took charge of the hospital, but the number of medic-nin, as well as their overall skill has increased considerably since her return," Homura explained.

"You made it sound as if I only sit at home and write my novels. I do work for the village too, you know! I'm the main intelligence gathered of the village!" Jiraiya protested.

"True. But I'm sure that you can send somebody else to meet your spies, or train other people in the art of collecting information. But we can't just ask a medic of Tsunade's caliber to stay at an office doing paperwork."

Jiraiya groaned loudly. Part of him was already regretting coming back to the village. Taking care of Naruto was doable, but being Hokage? Not in a thousand years. But then again, the thought of handing the Hokage mantle to Danzo was...nightmarish, to say the least. Sighing in defeat, Jiraiya was forced to admit that he had only one choice.

"Alright. I'll become the new Hokage."

"Excellent. We'll announce your appointment this afternoon."

…

 _Later that day, sometime during afternoon_

Jiraiya had never been so nervous in his whole life. Well, maybe the day before his wedding. But then again he was only marrying to one woman. This was like being married to the entire village. While the two Elders were talking to the people gathered around the tower, Shizune was adjusting his robes and making sure that he was presentable. Naruto, Kaida and Hagane were present as well.

"So, how do I look?" Jiraiya asked.

"Absolutely imposing, Jiraiya-sama," Shizune beamed.

Jiraiya, however, frowned in return. "Listen Shizune, I'm still trying to work out what kind of relationship you and Tsunade-hime have, but drop the honorifics when talking to me, okay? Jiraiya is enough," the Sannin replied. He really wanted to tell her that for a long time.

"Given that you're about to become Hokage, I don't see that happening anytime soon," Shizune retorted, never losing her smile. Jiraiya's scowl deepened.

" _And without further ado, meet the Fifth Hokage!"_ Homura's voice said.

"That's your cue, Jiraiya-sama. Go and impress them!" Shizune patted Jiraiya on the back.

"Yeah, you can do it dad!" Hagane cheered.

"We will be here cheering you!" Kaida added.

"Soon you'll be the second best Hokage this village ever had!" Naruto said.

Jiraiya looked at him, puzzled. "Second best? Who's the best then...? Oh, never mind, I see what you did there."

Naruto chuckled in return.

Wasting no time, Jiraiya walked towards the edge of the tower, and took a look at the huge crowd below him. They were silent, expecting him to say something. He'll better not keep them waiting.

"People of Konoha!" Jiraiya began his speech. "Usually, the appointment of a new Hokage is a reason to celebrate. Yet I can see that nobody here feels in the mood to celebrate anything. Konoha went through one of its darkest moments second only to the Kyubi attack. Many good ninja died. Parents lost children and children lost their parents.

"However, I ask you not to be consumed by grief and stand strong! Because we already went through something similar not too long ago, and we were back on our feet in no time, and this time it won't be different! Our beloved Third Hokage, my sensei, might not be with us anymore, but his will, the Will of Fire, still is! The Third Hokage would have all of you to move on with your lives, to be happy, to keep the village strong and running!

"That's why I'm going to honor my master's last request, and become Hokage, and work as hard as I can to honor his legacy! And that's why you're going to do likewise, so everybody who wants to harm us know that this village can resist anything!"

People started to cheer loudly once Jiraiya finished his speech. All present members of Jiraiya's family smiled at him.

" _He's always been such a good orator. It's a pity Tsunade-sama isn't here to see him. She would have loved it,"_ Shizune thought.

…

 _Orochimaru's Main Base, Land of the Rice Fields_

After much time waiting, Obito appeared from his trademark swirling vortex, and looked as if he had been trampled by an stampede of mad elephants. His cloak was completely torn, his mask was nearly broken, his body had multiple bruises, and a whole arm was missing. Another Akatsuki member was expecting his arrival.

"Welcome back, Obito-kun," Orochimaru sardonically greeted, chuckling. "It seems that Tsunade-hime made a number on you, didn't she? Kukuku...first Minato-kun, and now her. You need to pick your battles better, Obito-kun."

"Shut up!" Obito growled as he took his broken mask and tossed it away. "And prepare the operation table!"

"Yes, it looks like you need some surgery as if there's no tomorrow."

"You know, Orochimaru, if I didn't need you, I would have killed you long time ago," Obito snarled, angry at the Snake Sannin's taunts.

"If you think so," Orochimaru shrugged, at no point dropping his unnerving smile. "While I don't need to ask how the main mission went, did you at least get something of use out of this mess?"

Without saying anything, Obito pulled out three sealing scrolls from inside his torn cloak and tossed them to Orochimaru. The yellow-eyed man unsealed its contents. The first one was a pile of Byakugan eyes. The second was just a single pair of Byakugan eyes. And the last one was a single Sharingan eye.

"A nice loot, but I think mine is better. Is there a reason for these Byakugan are separated from the rest?"

"Yes. They're the eyes of the Hyuga clan head. You can have some of the others if you want, but I need those eyes specifically, so don't touch them."

While Orochimaru was tempted to ask more about that, he felt that Obito wouldn't be in the mood to satisfy his curiosity. Not that it mattered, he could learn about Obito's secret plans on his own later.

"By the way, how about the modifications I made to your body? Even if they weren't of any help in the end, did you notice any improvements?"

"Yes. It took me much less effort to use Wood Release, but I still can't give my jutsus all the power I'd like."

"Baby steps, Obito-kun, baby steps. Sometimes science doesn't advance as fast as we wish. That's why my first priority was to find a way to prolong my lifespan beyond its natural limit."

"Then you should make to find a way to improve my body even further your first priority now. At least, as long as you want me to continue providing you with more genetic material from Hashirama."

"You hurt my feelings, Obito-kun. My work always produces the best results. So, what shall it be, the Byakugan, or the Sharingan?"

"The latter."

"I see. Do you miss having the two of them? Because I certainly would have chose the former. For additional versatility, you know"

"I have my reasonsn, Orochimaru. Now prepare the damn operation table."

Of course, Obito wasn't going to tell the snake Sannin about Shisui's eye special properties. Nor anybody in Akatsuki, for that matter. Trust wasn't something you could find in an organization almost exclusively composed by criminals.

A few minutes later, Obito was strapped to the operation table. Orochimaru looked at him from above with a sadistic smile. If only all his test subjects had Obito's enthusiasm and eagerness...

"Alright, let's start with the eye, then I'll fix the rest of your body. Do you want anesthetics?" Orochimaru pulled out a syringe, full of a greenish liquid.

"You should know better already," Obito spat at him.

"No anesthetics then," the Snake Sannin put the syringe away, and pulled out an scalpel. "Then let me tell you that this is going to hurt a lot. But you should know that already, shouldn't you?"

"Cease your attempts at intimidating me, snake. I don't feel pain anymore."

"Kukuku...I wonder what our leader would say about that."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Despite what this chapter might imply, the arc hasn't ended yet. But don't worry, there won't be anymore fights or potential deaths. The next chapter, unimaginatively titled "Aftermath", will deal on how the Uchiha Coup D'etat has changed Konoha, even if you can see it on this chapter as well. Even then, there are still A LOT of things that need to be wrapped up before we can move into the next arc.**

 **I know that compared to the time he had to fight Orochimaru alongside the zombie versions of Hashirama and Tobirama,, maybe fighting Fugaku and some of his elites wouldn't be much trouble and thus he shouldn't have lost, but I thought that, with even greater numbers (remember, eight versus one), Sarutobi's old age, and the fact that the he lost a lot of blood due the wounds he received, I thought his defeat wouldn't be too far fetched. Plus he killed five of his attackers, so it's not that he went down easily.**

 **Speaking of which, it's not hard to guess that I was originally planning to kill Sarutobi. But I enjoyed writing him far more than I had anticipated, so I decided to keep him alive for a little longer. I especially liked his interaction and conversations with Jiraiya, which will continue into the future, but now with a completely inverted dynamic, given Jiraiya's promotion.**

 **Anyway, I hoped that you liked the climax of this arc. Until we wait for the denouement next week, remember to leave a review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	12. The Uchiha Coup D'etat, Part IV

**Author's notes: And with this chapter, the Uchiha Coup Arc comes to an end. I'm glad that it's finally over, because this arc was way darker than the rest of the story, both the chapters preceding it and those who will follow it, and I'm not usually comfortable writing dark stuff, even if sometimes is neccessary.**

 **See you at the bottom as usual. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12:**

The Uchiha Coup, Part IV: Aftermath

or

 _Shall we start rebuilding Konoha?_

The first law Jiraiya passed wasn't exactly well received, though then again, he already expected that reaction. The Clan Discrimination Bill was a law that harshly punished those who attacked, discriminated or ostracized anybody for belonging to a certain clan. It was painfully obvious that, even if it affected all clans, the point of this law was to protect the last three remaining Uchihas from the wrath of the rest of Konoha, particularly of those who lost somebody during the failed coup d'etat.

In fact, once the news that Itachi, Shisui and Sasuke were still alive, a mob formed headed to the Uchiha Compound (where the three of them were at the moment), ready to kill them, and eradicate the threat of the "Red Eyed Demons". Fortunately, the ANBU acted quickly and dispersed the mob before they could cause any harm. Jiraiya couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for Tsunade and him, similar mobs would have formed to kill Naruto. Maybe that was the reason as for why Sarutobi wanted to enact a law to stop people from even mentioning the Kyubi.

Jiraiya had a meeting with the two older Uchihas in order to discuss the future of the clan, which turned out more...interesting than he had anticipated. Shisui told him about his failed role in stopping the coup, and how Danzo had stolen his eye in order to obtain its brainwashing powers. But even after Jiraiya ordered Danzo's installations to be searched, he never found the eye. Naturally, Danzo dnied everything.

Given that Danzo has been very vocal about how they shouldn't trust the Uchihas, people weren't exactly pleased either with Jiraiya siding with the latter over the former.

Jiraiya appointed Shisui, being the older at twenty two, the new head of the Uchiha Clan. His first action was, as expected, to rescind Fugaku's banishment of Itachi. Shisui also handled most of the Uchiha Clan's properties to Konoha –including the entire Uchiha Compound– as a compensation for the coup, while in turn asked for a new house for them to live. Jiraiya bought them a four room penthouse near the southern gate. They moved there as soon as possible, since Shisui liked to see their new home as the symbol of a new beginning for the Uchiha.

Still, everything was far from perfect for the remaining Uchihas, especially the youngest one.

"Sasuke?" Itachi asked, not daring to enter his brother's room, despite the door being open. Sasuke's room, while big, only had a bed, a closet and a small bedside table. Sasuke was sitting on his bed, looking at the window. "I was wondering...would you like to go training with me?"

In the past, Sasuke would have jumped in joy whenever Itachi mentioned training together. But now, he hardly reacted.

"I see, you're not in the mood...so I saw that we have almost no food yet. Wanna go to eat out, the three of us together?"

Once again, it was as if Sasuke didn't even hear him. Despite wanting to get Sasuke to open up to him, Itachi took the hint and decided to leave.

"Well...if you ever want to talk to me about anything...just tell me, okay?" Itachi pleaded, hoping for an answer that never came.

Itachi left Sasuke's room, and were to the living room, which was rather big, but looked empty due to its bare furniture. At the very least, it had a couple of couches, one of them being occupied by Shisui.

"So, how did it go? Any progress?" the one-eyed Uchiha asked.

"No, still the same. But I can't blame him. How do you react when your older brother kills your father and half your clan?"

"Hey, don't beat yourself over it. He'll realize that you did the right thing. Right now, he needs some time alone to cope with this and deal with his feelings. Once he gets ready, he'll open up to you."

"You sound really sure."

"Come on Itachi, your brother worships the ground you walk on. He'll get out of his trance sooner or later."

"Still, I'm afraid that Sasuke will never be the same again. Nobody can go through an experience like this and remain unaffected. Things will never be like they were in the past. And that's not even taking into account the fact that almost all of Konoha hates us."

"So we will work to make things better! Come on Itachi, I know that what you did would left anybody scarred for life, but you need to be strong. Sasuke isn't going to get any better if his big brother is so sullen."

"And why are you so chipper? The guy who gouged out your eye got away scot free. I'd think you'd be seething in rage right now."

"And I would be...if I didn't have a date with the prettiest medic of Konoha," Shisui announced, his mouth forming a huge smile.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Shizune accepted going on a date with you? Did she lose a bet or something?"

Shisui crossed his arms. "You know Itachi, normally I wouldn't leave that jab unanswered, but that also means that you still have some sense of humor left, so there may be hope for you."

Itachi couldn't help but chuckle in response.

"By the way, I recently got a message from Nekobaa. She accepted my proposal of moving her shop to Konoha."

"Really? Those are good news," Itachi replied, smiling a little. "Right now, we're going to need all the possible allies."

"She said she was also doing it for Tamaki. That abandoned city wasn't place for a little girl. And she even said that she might enroll Tamaki on the Academy!"

"That's even better. Sasuke definitely could use a friend like her."

"Now that you mention it, Sasuke never made any friends in the Academy, right?" Shisui asked.

"Sadly, no. He was more preoccupied with his ninja training, and considered socializing a waste of time."

"That's awful. Maybe if he had some friends, they could help him deal with all this crap."

Itachi was pensive for a few seconds, when suddenly he realized something. "Shisui?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever thought in getting an eye transplant? Because I'm sure Konoha has now plenty of Sharingan that nobody is using."

Shisui chuckled. "Funny thing, Shizune asked me the same. And the answer is that I don't want the eye of some stranger in my face, it feels creepy. I'll wait until I recover my other eye. In the meantime, I'll manage with one eye."

"That may never happen."

"Then so be it."

…

Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly opened his eyes. He felt very weak. No, weak wasn't the word. He felt...numb. As if his brain barely noticed the rest of his body. Still, the sensation felt familiar. He probably guessed that it was the work of the many medicaments running through his body, as well as painkillers. Looking around, he realized that he was on a hospital room, lying on a bed.

And sitting besides that bed was a large, white haired man, glaring daggers at him.

"Took you long enough to wake up, you old monkey," Jiraiya spat at him. Sarutobi could see that his former student was angry at him, though he could also discern that it was the kind of anger born of worry.

Sarutobi chuckled. "It's that a way to talk to your sensei and Hokage, Jiraiya?" the Hokage weakly asked.

"It would be, if you were still Hokage," Jiraiya tossed a scroll at him. "You're in front of your new boss, sensei. And _you_ tell your sons and grandkids that you love them."

Sarutobi opened the scroll, and immediately recognized it as his last will. "How can you have this? This was meant to unseal the moment I died."

"Oh, you were dead. For about three minutes, thanks Kami for our medics," Jiraiya said. Then his face morphed into a mask of fury. "What the hell were you thinking, sending your ANBU away and facing the Uchihas alone!? It's a miracle you're still alive!"

"Like I told Fugaku-san, I can defend myself, other people cannot," Hiruzen replied, meeting Jiraiya's angry stare with one of his own. "Speaking of which, what happened with him?"

"Dead. His brat killed him. As so are most of the Uchiha."

Sarutobi averted his gaze, and cursed inwardly. "That was...catastrophic, to say the least. Did at least any Uchiha survive?"

"Three, as far as we know: Fugaku's two brats, and Shisui. And hear this: Shisui claims that he was about to use some sort of Sharingan jutsu to stop the coup before it started, but he was assaulted by Danzo and stole one of his eyes. Do you know any of this?'"

Sarutobi sighed, and looked a Jiraiya with sad eyes. "Unfortunately, yes. Shisui was my trump card against the Uchihas. It would be a way to stop the coup without spilling blood. Fugaku told me that the last time Shisui was seen he was talking with some ANBU. This confirms my fears..."

"I already had Danzo and his installations searched, but the eye did not appear. Danzo claims Shisui's lying. Still, I believe that after what you said Fugaku told you we have enough evidence of his treachery to put him out of commission."

"Sadly, I don't believe that the testimony of an Uchiha, especially of a dead one, will hold much weight now. We will get Danzo, but not now. Just keep a close eye on him. Sooner or later, he will make a mistake, then we will act."

"I see," Jiraiya said standing up. "I better go back to the tower. I have a big-ass pile of paperwork with my name on it, and those two old farts of your teammates aren't going to give me the time of the day if I don't get started already."

"Ah, paperwork. That's something I'm definitely not going to miss," Hiruzen replied with a cheeky smile.

"I hope you enjoy the hospital food, because you're going to stay here a long time, sensei," Jiraiya mentioned, smiling back at him. "I'll pay you a visit whenever I have some spare time."

...

The next few days were hellish for Jiraiya. Between meetings, passing laws, approving missions, relationships with other villages and many other duties he had now, he swore he would go crazy at any time. He could almost hear the voice of Sarutobi, laughing at him from the hospital.

However, this particular meeting was something he was eager to get on with. In front of him was an androgynous looking boy –Jiraiya swore it was a girl before being corrected by the boy himself– who was a similar age to Naruto. Besides him, there was a tall, muscular man, completely wrapped in chains, and held in place by two ANBU.

"So, Zabuza Momochi," Jiraiya started, crossing his fingers under his chin. "You're quite far away from the Land of Water. Since your coup d'etat on Kirigakure failed, were you trying your luck in Konoha?"

"I have no interest in Konoha, Jiraiya. This was merely a job," Zabuza replied, not losing his cool. "By the way, what a surprise to see you here. My bingo book didn't say that you were back in Konoha, and as a Hokage no less."

"My promotion is a recent one. I got the job because your client put my boss out of commission. And honestly, I would have you executed right now and your head sent on a wrapped box to Yagura for helping the Uchiha. But luckily for you, this child here might save your sorry ass."

"Ah, yes, because of his Ice Release, right? Yes, Konoha has quite the fascination with the Bloodline Limits. Turn out Haku is an even better tool than I imagined," Zabuza said, chuckling.

After having his brain scanned by T&I the ANBU found the boy on a tent in the outskirts of Konoha. Apparently the kid was a survivor of the infamous bloodline purges from the Land of Water, and the last of his clan, no less. The opportunity to have another Bloodline Limit on Konoha was just too good to pass.

"So, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, your subordinates the Demon Brothers...is he the Demon Kid or something?" Jiraiya retorted. Then he regretted using that nickname, given that it was exactly how some villagers referred to Naruto.

"It would have been, had I have more time to train him properly," Zabuza replied.

"You're one of the last persons I'd imagine taking care of child, Zabuza."

"Haku has powers that I could have used in my goals, and I believe that you're going to do the same, right Jiraiya? Come on, let's stop beating around the bush and tell me what do you plan to do with us already."

"First of all, it's _Hokage-sama_ to you, scum," Jiraiya spat, scowling at the Kiri Swordsman, while projecting some killing intent. "Now, this is what we're going to do. From the time being, you will be send to jail, and Haku here will attend our ninja Academy. Once Haku graduates, and if there's no incidents while you're there, you'll be out on probation. While on probation, you will carry out missions for the village. Once I believe your debt with the village is paid, both you and Haku will be released, free of any charge and to go wherever you please. As you can see, it's a pretty reasonable deal."

Naturally, Jiraiya didn't mention that his plan relied on the possibility of Haku growing attached to Konoha and not wanting to leave with Zabuza once the swordsman's probation ends. Zabuza already guessed this, but some things are better left unsaid.

"What if I refuse?" Zabuza tentatively asked.

"Then you will be immediately executed, and Haku will be send to a certain...acquittance of mine which will brainwash him into an obedient drone, and once he becomes old enough he'll be forced to have children with several women of Konoha in order to produce Ice Release users. Not a very good alternative for either of you.

"But this isn't just your choice," Jiraiya stared at Haku in the eyes. "What do you say, kid? Do you want to save your pal and become a Konoha ninja?"

Haku was trembling. He looked at Zabuza with fearful eyes as if looking for his approval. The Demon of the Hidden Mist merely nodded, and Haku echoed the gesture.

"Yes, I'd like to become a ninja of Konoha. But please, do not harm Zabuza-sama!" Haku pleaded.

"Zabuza won't receive any harm. He's going to go to prison. While it's hardly a pleasant place, I'm sure his reputation will keep him safe," Jiraiya said as he made a hand motion, and the ANBU took Zabuza away. Another couple of ninjas entered the office, a brown haired man that couldn't stop coughing, and a woman with long, purple hair.

"These are Hayate Gekko and Yugao Uzuki. They volunteered to take care of you as long as you stay here. I trust you'll be fine with them."

Haku looked at his new guardians, who smiled at him. Still, Haku's sadness did not disappear. He then turned back at the Hokage.

"Can I visit Zabuza-sama?"

"Yes, you can, as long as your legal guardians allow it," Jiraiya was already expecting that question, and had the prison visiting schedule on hand. "From what I can read here, you can visit him on Tuesdays and Fridays. Visits will be up to forty five minutes. Do you have anymore questions?"

Haku shook his head. "No, that's all, Hokage-sama."

"If that's the case, you may as well start to get acquitted with your new legal guardians."

Yugao took a step and grabbed Haku's hand. "Come on Haku-kun, now we'll show you your new home. You'll love living with us."

"I'm sure I will, Yugao-san," Haku replied, thought deep down he doubted it.

…

As Naruto walked towards the Hyuga compound, part of him screamed to turn back and return home. He knew that the Hyuga clan was among those most damaged by the coup, and they probably weren't in the mood to greet visitors. And even if they did, he wasn't sure if Hinata would want to see him.

But then again...he _needed_ to see Hinata. Not because of him, but to check how she was doing and make sure that she knew he was there to support her. Seeing the compound entering his field of vision, Naruto sighed.

" _Let's get this over with."_

As expected, the gate was guarded by Tokuma Hyuga. Naruto smiled upon seeing that one of the few Hyuga he got to know besides Hinata and her immediate family managed to survive the debacle. He went to greet the gate sentinel.

"Hey, Tokuma! It's okay if I drop by?" Naruto asked, rubbing the back of his head. The Hyuga looked at him, and smiled.

"Of course, Naruto-san. You know you will always be welcomed here. Do you come here to see Hinata-sama?"

"Yeah. She was pretty down at the funeral, and I wanted to see how she's doing. Though maybe she doesn't want to see me..."

"Oh, I find that doubtful. While it's sure that Hinata-sama is taking Hiashi-sama's death as anybody would expect, I'm sure that seeing you would brighten her mood."

"Let's hope you're right," Naruto said, giving a hint of a smile. "If that's the case, then I won't keep her waiting."

As Naruto walked through the halls, he felt the compound was way more...empty than usual. The few Hyugas that ran into him often acknowledged him with a nod, but after asking them about Hinata, none of them gave him any clear answers. One of them told him that Hinata was in the main dojo training, but when he arrived there he found it empty.

"Are you looking for somebody?" a voice said behind him.

Naruto turned around, and saw another Hyuga. He was the boy Hinata would often spar against. Neji was his name, or so he thought.

"Yeah, I'm looking for Hinata. Do you know where she is?"

"Hinata-sama just finished her training, and is now having a bath. Hinata-sama likes to spend a long time in the bathtub, so I believe it will be at least half an hour until she's presentable," Neji explained. His tone was oddly neutral.

"I see..." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head again. "Your name was Neji, right?"

"Yes, that is correct."

"Did you...did you lose somebody the night the Uchihas attacked?" Naruto asked.

Neji raised an eyebrow, taken aback by the boy's bluntness. But then again, whenever he heard his clansmen talking about Naruto, this was one of his perks they mentioned the most. The boy made quite an impression the first time Hinata brought him to the compound.

"No. Unless we count Hiashi-sama, my uncle. But then again, we were never exactly close, so his loss didn't have the same effect on me as if I lost my father."

"I didn't lose anybody either. Guess that we were luckier than Hinata."

"Luck has nothing to do with it. It was fate."

Naruto frowned. "Fate? You think Hinata's dad was meant to die?"

"I don't think it. I know it," Neji said, sure of himself.

"That's a bunch of nonsense! If Hinata's dad was predestined to die or something else, then he could have avoided it!"

"You're not getting it. I don't mean that I knew Hiashi-sama was going to die, but that his death was already set in motion by forces beyond our control, and there was nothing we could do about it."

"I'm not getting that either."

"Then allow me to use another example. Do you know about how our clan is divided?"

"Yeah. Hinata told me a bit about it, thought I didn't understand that either," Naruto replied, making Neji sigh.

"In that case I'll try to use the simplest terms possible. You see, in order to protect the secrets of the Byakugan, the clan is divided into two groups: the Main House and the Branch House. The Branch House is supposed to protect and serve members of the Main House. To ensure their obedience, and protect the Byakugan, we members of the Branch House wear the Caged Bird Seal," Neji pointed at the green seal on his forehead.

"Hey, I've been starting to study seals!" Naruto eagerly said. "What does your seal do?"

"When I die, the seal will destroy my Byakugan so enemies of Konoha won't be able to get it from my corpse. And a Main House member can use the seal to cause me an unbearable pain, should he or she choose to do it."

"But...that's horrible! Why do you allow such thing to happen?"

"Because we can't do nothing about it. You see, my father and Hiashi-sama were twins. But since Hiashi-sama was the older one, he got to be the clan heir, while his brother, my father, was marked with the seal, and made leader of the Branch House. That would mean that any children he had, namely me, would be fated to be part of the Branch House, and bear this cursed seal.

"Now, the night the Uchiha attacked, the Branch House members, such as my father, were tasked with protecting the children and the elderly from the Uchiha, and take them from the compound to one of the shelters, while the Main House members, such as Hiashi-sama, fought against the invaders. Many Main House members died that night, but almost no one from the Branch house.

"Had my father been born first, he would have died in place of Hiashi-sama. Do you understand it now?"

"I think I do. But I don't believe in that fate crap. So are you saying that me being Hokage or not has already been decided?"

"Yes. But I wouldn't worry if I were you. Your adoptive father has recently become Hokage, and his sensei was Hokage as well. Fate seems to be smiling at you in that regard, Naruto."

"That's nonsense! If dad became Hokage was because he worked hard to become an awesome ninja, not of because of that fate crap!"

"Believe what you want. That won't change the truth. By the way, your wait is already over," Neji said, looking at something or somebody behind Naruto. Naruto turned around, and saw Hinata in her usual clothes.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata-sama, Naruto has come here to see you," Neji said, making a slight bow.

"Thanks for keeping him company, Neji-niisan."

"If you don't require anything more from me, I will take my leave then," Neji said. Hinata nodded, and her cousin left the dojo.

Now that Neji was out of the way, Naruto felt a bit more comfortable. "So Hinata...how's everything going?"

"It's...good. I'm trying to be strong. Thanks for your interest in my well-being, Naruto-kun. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, that's what friends are for!" Naruto replied, his mouth forming a foxy grin. "If you want anything, you only need to ask."

"You being here already lifts my spirits," Hinata assured, trying to smile. "So, what was Neji-niisan talking you about, Naruto-kun? I swear I hear him mentioning the Caged Bird Seal."

"Yeah, he told me about it. Why does half of your clan is forced to wear it?" Naruto said. He was clearly put off by such revelation. Hinata hoped that this wouldn't made him see her or her family in a negative light.

"It's...a tradition that has been present for generations. That doesn't make it anymore right. If I ever become clan head, I will try to convince everybody to abolish it. It hadn't done nothing but create strifes and misery, especially on Branch House members like Neji-niisan."

"So that's why he looks and acts so uptight?"

"Sadly, yes. Deep down, Neji-niisan is a kind and caring person, but the seal soured his spirit a bit. Back when we were little, he was the most cheerful boy around. He never stopped smiling."

"Well, guess what? Besides being Hokage, I will also help you become the next clan head so you can make the Hyuga better!"

"R-Really? That would be great, Naruto-kun."

"By the way, now that your father is...well...no longer with us," Naruto was struggling to address the issue in a delicate way, definitely not his forte. "Who's going to be the clan head? Your mom?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Fortunately, Mother also shares my views regarding the Caged Bird Seal and the division of the clan. Maybe together we can change things. Speaking of which, how is Tsunade-sama? I heard she was gravely wounded during the insurrection."

"Oh, she's fine! It takes something more than a blade to the gut in order to take mom out! She has to stay a couple more weeks at the hospital, but the doctors says she's fine."

Hinata sighed in relief. "Good to hear. I'd hate if you lost your mom."

"Hey, speaking of which, would you like to go with me to pay her a visit? He gets bored as hell in the hospital, and I'm sure she'd love seeing you."

Hinata smiled. "Of course, Naruto-kun. Let me change first into something more appropriate."

…

In the outskirts of Konoha, two figures were walking through a path that leaded towards the ninja village, one smaller than the other, and adult and a child, both redheads. One of them, the child, who wouldn't be older than nine, wore glasses.

"Look, Karin," the woman said, pointing into the distance. "Our long journey is finally over."

The girl, Karin, adjusted her glasses and narrowed her eyes to see the village better.

"Why do you think this place will be different from the others, mom?" Karin asked.

"Because I know that there's an Uzumaki here. Tsunade Senju, one of the Legendary Sannin. She will protect us."

"How can she be an Uzumaki if she's named Senju?" Kari asked, a bit flabbergasted.

"Because she also has Uzumaki blood running through her veins. Come on, once we meet her, she'll help us to set up a home in Konoha."

"I hope you're right, mom. I'm tired of being on the run all the time."

…

Once the ANBU allowed him to, Iruka entered the Hokage's office. Jiraiya was sitting on his desk, reading something.

"You called me, Hokage-sama?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, Iruka. Please take a seat," Jiraiya made a hand motion to an empty chair in front of him. Once Iruka sat down, the Sannin continued. "You see Iruka, I called you here because I'm about to do a...rather big reform on the Academy Curriculum."

Iruka shifted on his seat, feeling uneasy. "I see...and how big are we talking about?"

"Pretty big. You see, Tsunade-hime and I have been reviewing the curriculum and found it rather...lacking. But before we get into that, I'd like to discuss a big discrepancy when it comes to the Academy graduates."

"I don't think I'm following you, Hokage-sama."

"So far, the Academy graduation rate is nearly one hundred percent. Yet the True Genin Exam approval rate is just a merely 33%. From that 66% remaining, only about 5-10% actually return to the Academy to continue their careers. The rest decided to quit and move to civilian schools. That would mean that little more than about 35% percent of the Academy graduates actually become ninjas. Which means that 65% of the resources we invest in the Academy go wasted. Do you see where I'm going?"

Iruka's normally tan face paled. Much to his horror, he knew what Jiraiya was going to do. "Please Hokage-sama, don't cut our budget! It's small enough as it is! There are very few teachers, and we work as hard as we can to-"

"Whoa there, calm down, Iruka!" Jiraiya interrupted the panicked teacher, holding his hands up in defense. "Nobody mentioned budget cuts here. Just let me finish."

"Y-yeah. Sorry for the outburst, Hokage-sama. It was out of place."

"Like I say, relax. I know that you and your fellow teachers are doing your best. Now, with Tsunade-hime's help, we devised a new curriculum to make sure that the Academy Graduation Test will have the same approval rate as the True Genin Test. Take a look," Jiraiya said as he handled a folder to Iruka.

Iruka spend the following minutes carefully reading the teaching plan for each year. Turn out that Jiraiya wasn't exaggerating when he was talking about 'big' changes. He was unable to repress a couple gasps.

"Are you...are you sure you want to go through this? I mean, I even agree with some of these things like advanced chakra control, but isn't elemental ninjutsu too much for Academy students?"

"Why? Naruto is currently training to master his first wind jutsu, and I believe he'll have it down by the next month. And from what he told me, Sasuke Uchiha already knows the Great Fireball."

"It's not the same, Hokage-sama. Sasuke Uchiha has been trained by his clan, who was one of the most powerful on Konoha until recently. And Naruto has been trained by both you and Tsunade-sama. Other kids aren't that lucky."

"While I appreciate your compliments, you vastly overestimate me, Iruka," Jiraiya replied, crossing his fingers. Iruka raised an eyebrow, a bit confused. "Listen, while it's true that I can teach Naruto many things other Jonin can't teach their students, what I currently taught Naruto –and what the Uchihas taught Sasuke– is something that any Chunin can teach. I mean, you know elemental ninjutsu, right?"

"Indeed, Hokage-sama. fire and water."

"Then you're already qualified to teach such a thing."

"Still, I believe you're rising the standards way too much."

"Of course I am! We're ninja, in case you have forgotten it. We're going to send this children to situations in which they can potentially lose their lives. I did my best to ensure that Naruto had enough preparation to survive out there once he graduates, but now that I'm Hokage, all the village's future ninjas are my responsibility, and thus they're going to be held to same standard I hold Naruto.

"The Academy current curriculum is laughable. Seriously, all what it takes to be a ninja is three E-Rank ninjutsu? With a dedicated teacher, any kid Naruto's age will be able to master them in no time. I don't know why they don't teach them until the last year. No wonder the True Genin Test has such huge failure rates."

"While I agree with your reasoning, there's the problem of the schedule. There's no way to implement these new subjects without removing others."

"Then that's what we're going to do. I believe that the Academy focuses too much on theory, and neglects practice. While I believe that subjects like Maths or Geography are important, you have not just one but two subjects dedicated to explaining how Chakra works, yet neither include any kind of chakra control exercise. Same thing about this subject about the nature of genjutsus. Anyway, my plan is to implement this reform the next school year, so you may tell the news to your coworkers."

"I...of course, Hokage-sama. I'll tell them this the next time we meet," Iruka said.

"Good. If that's the case, then you're dismissed."

Iruka bowed his head before leaving the office. He didn't say anything in front of Jiraiya, but wasn't looking forward it. He knew that his coworkers would get really mad upon seeing all the radical changes Jiraiya was about to do.

Upon leaving the office, Iruka had the feeling that he was forgetting about something...something important he should had told the Hokage the moment he could talk to him...

…

Shortly after Iruka ledt the Hokage's tower, he was approached by a black haired kunoichi. He immediately recognized her as Tsubaki, Mizuki's fiance. This made him realize that he didn't see Mizuki again after the silver haired ninja decided to go into hiding. Tsubaki's worried face made Iruka realize that she shared the same worries.

Of course! That was what he was forgetting about. He didn't tell Jiraiya about Mizuki. With all the chaos that followed the insurrection, and how busy he was helping the village recover, he forgot about his silver haired coworker. Oh well, it wasn't too late.

"Ah, Iruka, can I talk with you?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yeah, sure, what do you need?" Iruka asked, even though he knew the answer.

"It's Mizuki...it seems that he has disappeared. Nobody knows anything about his whereabouts. You are the last person who saw him. Was he okay? Did the Uchihas wound him?"

"Well, during the battle, Mizuki and I...got separated..."

"What!? And why did you do such a thing?"

"We heard some criminals attacking civilians on different streets, so we split up in order to deal with them faster. But once I was done...well, I don't know where did he go..."

Tsubaki's last hopes of finding Mizuki slowly faded. Noticing her sorrow, the teacher decided to patch things up as best as he could.

"But hey, if Mizuki was dead, we would have already found his body, so I'm sure that he's somewhere, safe and sound.

"I...I guess you're right. I'll have to keep a positive mind. It's what Mizuki would have wanted."

"Indeed it is. Remember, if you need something, don't mind telling me."

"Yeah. Thanks Iruka. Now...I better go."

As he watched Tsubaki leave, Iruka wondered how much of what he said was actually true. He wanted to believe that Mizuki was still alive, but if that was the case...then where the hell was he? Anyway, he wouldn't be able to answer those questions on his own. Better he'd go back and tell the Hokage about Mizuki.

…

"HOKAGE-SAMA!" an ANBU with a rabbit mask frantically said as he burst into the Hokage's office. "Something terrible happened!"

Jiraiya sighed. Of course, something should go bad sooner or later. "First of all, calm down. And second, define 'terrible'. Unless somebody died, I'm sure we can find a solution."

"Well, we were checked the tower's inventory, and found that the Scroll of Seals is no longer here! Somebody must stole it during the coup d'etat!"

"What? Quick, alert all the ANBU! I want all the available squads to look for that scroll!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!"

Jiraiya groaned loudly as he took his hands to his head. He wasn't even a month into the job, and something catastrophic already happened. In the wrong hands, that scroll could be a dangerous weapon. While he hoped the ANBU would find it, deep down he knew that the thief was probably far away from Konoha.

…

 _Far Away from Konoha_

Mizuki walked through a small road surrounded by forests, with the Scroll of Seals tied to his back. During the chaos of the battle, he had sneaked into the very much unguarded Hokage Tower and took the scroll away while that old fool of a Hokage was fighting alone against the Uchiha. After that, leaving the village was easy.

He had predicted that they would take quite some time for the Konoha ninja to realize that their precious scroll had disappeared. Those days were all the head start he needed to avoid being captured.

Looking back, Mizuki felt a tinge of remorse for his actions. But said tinge quickly disappeared, and left no lasting impression.

"Konoha is pretty much on its deathbed. A ninja of my caliber has nothing to do on such a place."

As a last act of cutting ties with the village, Mizuki removed his bandana-style forehead protector, and tossed it away before resuming his journey.

* * *

 **Author's note: welcome to another edition of "let's hear Ander bitch about ficitonal characters because he's a little shit"! Today's topic will be Mizuki.  
**

 **Yeah, just like my rant about the repetitiveness of the Wave Arc in fanfics, my feelings regarding Mizuki are the same. I'm sick of seeing time after time the goddamn confrontation with Mizuki. I know why people do it, it's an important event in which Naruto learns about the Fox, as well as his signature jutsu. But even in fanfics in which he learns about these two things from different sources, the face off with Mizuki still happens! Those are the worst since they play my hopes up that they may use Mizuki in a little more original and creative ways.**

 **So yeah, just like Zabuza, Mizuki is out. And I also made him steal the Scroll of Seals, not only because I never read any fanfic in which such thing happens, but because, despite being a seemingly important object, the Scroll never gets mentioned again after chapter 1. I'm sure I can do something interesting with a scroll written by Hashirama Senju.**

 **Don't worry, Naruto will learn the Shadow Clone. Wouldn't be Naruto without it ;)**

 **Also, a second topic to bitch about, because why not: the True Genin Exam. Okay, I get why it's so hard and has such a high failure rate. They want to make sure that only the strongest and most skilled become ninja. It's some kind of filter. But my question is, why doesn't the Academy act as the filter instead? It's like going to a school of average difficulty, only to find that the final exam can only be passed by the most gifted students. Wouldn't you think that they wasted your time? So yeah, with this new method, besides making the new Genin stronger, the kids not cut to be ninjas won't have to waste their time at the Academy and can find their true call earlier.**

 **Which leads to the second part: the Academy itself. Seriously, what the hell do they teach there? I mean, take a look at Sakura. Being a clanless ninja, the Academy teachings is all what she has, and her skills didn't take her very far (there's the fact that Kakashi never taught her anything besides tree walking, but that's another topic). I mean, come on! Stuff like tree walking is simple enough to be taught at the Academy. And not just the Academy. For some reason, Elemental ninjutsu is restricted to Chunin and up, but Sasuke has no problem learning not one but two elements, one of them before he even graduated.**

 **So yeah, the next chapter, which will be a two parter, titled "Academy Days", will address and fix the issues I brought up here. And as you can guess, the Academy will have three new students. In the meantime, leave a review! Let's see if we can reach the 300 review mark! Remember, reviews make me really, really, really happy!**

 **Also, I wish all of you a Merry Christmas :)**


	13. Academy Days, Part I

**Author's note: So, Carrie Fisher is dead. Guess that 2016 couldn't just leave already without one last "fuck you". Anyway, here you have what will be the last chapter of 2016. See you at the bottom, and enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 13:**

Academy Days, Part I

or

 _Going to a ninja school isn't as fun as it looks_

 _Nine years after the Kyubi attack_

Fortunately for Konoha and its inhabitants, the damage caused by the Uchiha Coup D'etat wasn't as severe as the one caused by the Kyubi, both in terms of human deaths and property destruction. In a few weeks, Konoha was functioning like normal, even if it's forces were considerably weaker. Still, Jiraiya made an effort to make the village look strong and did not stop or even slow down the flow of missions.

One of Konoha's institutions that was also back to normal was the Academy. It was the beginning or a new school year, and Jiraiya's educational reforms were starting to take effect. Namely, the fact that quite a few students, especially those born from civilian families, found the new Academy way too hard and moved to civilian schools.

Still, there were at least three new faces to replace some of the drop outs.

"Welcome back once again to the Academy, kids. At least, those who passed last years' exam. Before we begin, we have three new students that moved recently to Konoha. Why don't you introduce yourselves?"

The first one to take a step forward was a girl with shoulder-length red hair, red eyes, and glasses.

"Hello. My name is Karin Uzumaki. I haven't been much time in Konoha, but I like this place so far, and wish to be a ninja," Karin said.

"Hey, I'm an Uzumaki too!" Naruto exclaimed, waving his hand at her. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Naruto, please don't interrupt!" Iruka sternly chided. "You can talk with Karin later if you wish. Now, who wants to go next?"

This time, a girl with long, brown hair took a step forward.

"Hi everybody, my name is Tamaki. I used to live with my grandma on an abandoned city, but she thought it would be good for me to move here. I obviously want to be a ninja and, well... I love cats!"

Tamaki heard a dismissive snort in response. She didn't know where it came from, but many people realized it was Kiba, who looked at the girl with contempt.

Without waiting for Iruka to tell him anything, the last newcomer introduced himself.

"Hello. My name is Haku Yuki. I come from the Land of Water. People like me aren't well liked there, so I'm staying in Konoha until things get better," Yugao and Hayate had told him not to mention his relationship with Zabuza to people who didn't know about it already, at least for the time being. "You look like nice people, and I'm eager to meet all of you."

Shino raised his hand.

"Yes Shino?" Iruka asked.

"I wish to ask Haku-san something, if it's okay with that."

"Of course, I'm sure that Haku will be glad to answer any question you might have about him," still, Iruka looked at Haku for his approval. The kid silently nodded.

"Him?" repeated many voices in disbelief.

"My question does not pertain his gender," Shino clarified, before adjusting his shades. "You said that 'people like you' aren't welcome in the Land of Water. Does that mean that you have a Bloodline Limit?"

"Yes. I possess the Ice Release Bloodline," Haku replied in a neutral tone, used to mask his inner worry.

"But you don't have to worry. Here in Konoha nobody will hate you for having such abilities," Iruka reassured the girl-looking boy. "Now that you have introduced yourselves, go and take a seat."

Tamaki sat on an empty seat besides a bored Shikamaru. Haku took an empty seat in the first row. Karin was about to sit besides Naruto and Hinata, but something else caught her attention. Namely, Sasuke Uchiha's good looks. And fortunately for her, there was an empty spot besides him. Naruto's face dropped when Karin choose to sit with his rival instead of him, her family.

Sasuke acknowledged Karin with a sigh. The redhead then noticed that another girl sat at Sasuke's other side, one with long pink hair, was glaring daggers at her.

"Maybe you should try sitting somewhere else, Karin," a voice said from the upper tables. Karin turned around and saw a blonde girl looking at her. "While I can see what spurned you to sit besides Sasuke, you must know that he comes from a clan of traitors and murderers. It can't be safe being near him. I'm sure you'll be better with Naruto. He's your family after all."

Sasuke didn't seem to react to the blonde's hurtful words, but the pinkette besides him surely did.

"Can it Ino! Sasuke had nothing to do with the coup d'etat and you know it! Stop being such a idiot to him already! You weren't the only one who lost somebody that day!"

"And you should stop defending him, Sakura! Oh, yeah, Sasuke lost his clan, boo hoo hoo. Maybe they should have thought that before trying to take over Konoha!"

"Enough you two!" Iruka bellowed, silencing the feuding girls. "I'm not going to tolerate that kind of talk, okay!? Yes, the Uchiha coup d'etat was a dark day in this village's history, but harboring resentment won't be of any help!"

Haku was starting to understand why he was told to keep his ties with Zabuza a secret. Tamaki, however, wasn't deterred by Ino's words. Her family had always been a staunch ally of the Uchiha clan, and he would show his support to Sasuke. His good looks didn't hurt either.

"Alright, now that we calmed down, let's start. Open your Tools of the Ninja books on page 3..."

...

Jiraiya was working tirelessly in his office as usual. Even with the aid of a couple Shadow Clones, it seemed that the paperwork would never end. He really missed the amount of free time he used to have back then, which he spent either training Naruto, Hagane and Kaida, or spending quality time with his wife. Now those moments were far scarcer. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he decided that a break was in order (though the clones continued working).

He opened a drawer, and pulled out the as of yet unfinished draft of his next Icha Icha volume. Progress had been slow, so he better hurry up and finish this one. He'd hate to make his loyal fans restless. However, there was something in the drawer that caught the Hokage's attention: his very first novel. He grabbed it, and remembered he had with his godson some months ago.

 **FLASHBACK**

Somebody knocked the door of Jiraiya's office.

"Come in!" Jiraiya shouted. He was relieved to have a little break from the endless mountain of paperwork.

Much to his surprise, his godson entered the office. Jiraiya's smile grew even wider. "Naruto! Great to see you here! Did you come to see your old man at his new job?"

Naruto smiled back. "More or less. Well, that, and that I have a few questions that I think only you can answer."

Jiraiya leaned back on his chair, and crossed his fingers above his lap. "Well, that's what I'm here for. What kind of trouble do you have? Is something wrong with the Academy? With your mother? It is a girl you like? Of course it's a girl!"

"It's none of that!" Naruto cut him off before he could come up with more ridiculous scenarios. He fished something from one of his pockets, and handed it to Jiraiya.

The surprised Sannin saw that it wasn't just his very first book, but the one he gave Minato as a gift. Jiraiya's expression darkened. "Naruto...where did you find this?"

"In the underground shelter, inside a box," Naruto replied. "That book was so good! So much better than the stuff you write nowadays! Why didn't you tell me about it before? And why don't you write more books like this one?"

"I see. To answer your questions...you could say that I forgot about it," Jiraiya sighed heavily. "First, there's the fact that the book hardly sold. You and your father where the only people who gave me any kind of positive feedback."

"People who disliked your books were morons," Naruto bluntly stated.

"And second...this book reminded me of your father too much, and the life he will never have, thanks to the Kyubi and that masked bastard that nearly killed Tsunade-hime. I thought that I was over it but...after all these years, the pain still persists."

"I see. Sorry for bringing up then..." Naruto said, averting his gaze.

Jiraiya forced himself to smile. "Hey, it's okay! It's not that you knew about it. I would have done the same in your situation. By the way, what else did you saw in that box?"

"Nothing too interesting. Except a bunch of old pictures," Naruto answered. "But now I'm too afraid to ask..."

"Don't be," Jiraiya assured. "What kind of pictures?"

"Well, the ones in which you and mom were younger...and a couple of my birth parents...but then there was this one with you and three kids that I didn't recognize. Who were they?"

"Three kids? A ginger, a redhead and a bluenette?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto nodded. "Those were a trio of orphans from Amegakure that I taught ninjutsu and survival skills for two years, back during the second war."

"What happened with them?"

"The last time I heard of them, they formed some sort of freedom fighting group, and were about to face the leader of Amegakure. I never knew anything about them after that. The poor bastards are probably buried two meters underground now."

"I see...no wonder you wanted to forget about the contents of that box..."

"Yeah, that box is kinda like a compilation of all my failures, isn't it?" Jiraiya said, almost chuckling. "That's me, the master that ends up surviving his students."

"But hey, if it's of any consolation, you know that such thing won't happen with me!" Naruto boldly declared. "Besides, you did plenty of good things too! I mean, you're Hokage! How many people can say that?"

Jiraiya couldn't help but smile at his godson's unwavering optimism. Yeah, Jiraiya's life didn't turn out so bad, did it? He married the girl of his dreams, had other two kids besides Naruto –both of them who had rare bloodline limits, despite neither him nor Tsunade possessing any– and even if it was something that he didn't want, he was the leader of Konoha.

"You know what, Naruto? I think you have a point," the Sannin conceded. He then looked at the book. "And I think that maybe this book deserves a second chance..."

 **END FLASHBACK**

Jiraiya was snapped of his thoughts when somebody knocked the door. After telling the stranger to come in, the door opened to reveal the person he was expecting to meet, Itachi Uchiha.

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked.

Jiraiya nodded, and motioned him to take a seat. "First of all, I'm aware of how much you sacrificed for the village, and what I'm going to ask you may seem a bit too much, so don't be afraid of declining my proposal if you're not up to the task."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, but if I that was the case, then I wouldn't become a ninja to begin with. Especially now that I'm a Jonin," the Uchiha replied. "Just tell me what you want, and it will be done."

"Your devotion to the village is admirable. Okay, here it goes: as you probably know, I used to be Sarutobi-sensei's main informant during his second tenure. During that time, I build a spy network across the Elemental Nations. However, due to my new responsibilities, I can't leave the village as often as I could in the past, so I need somebody whom I can trust to take care of this task."

"And you thought of me for it," Itachi guessed. The Hokage nodded. "Alright, consider it done."

"Are you sure? Keep in mind that this job sometimes involves leaving the village for long periods of time. You won't be able to spend as much time with your little brother as in the past."

"Thanks for your concern, but I can assure you that it won't be a problem. Sasuke doesn't seem to be very eager to talk or even spend time with me. Maybe I should give him some space, and this job might be good for me as well."

"I see that you made up your mind. If that's the case, meet me tomorrow at five o'clock sharp so I can teach you about your new occupation. You're dismissed."

...

Later, at lunchtime, Naruto and Hinata were sitting on a bench, enjoying their food and each other's company, while they looked others kids playing, talking, or eating their lunches as well. Naruto's eyes were particularly fixed on Karin, and much to his displeasure, the redhead refused to abandon Sasuke's side.

"Man, this sucks. I find a lost clan member, and she has to spend the time with that idiot," Naruto groaned.

"Eh, I'm sure that Karin-san will be more than glad to meet you, Naruto-kun. Just wait for the right moment to introduce yourself," Hinata suggested.

"Man, what does that idiot have that all the girls all flock around him?" Naruto complained. "You know, it almost seem that a higher being sent Karin to Konoha to fill Ino's vacant spot now that she doesn't fawn over Sasuke anymore," Naruto angrily said. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at Naruto's comment.

"Well, Sasuke-san...some girls like his looks, as well as his strength," Hinata explained.

"Man, I'm so glad that at least you don't go after him like the other girls" Naruto said, smiling at Hinata. "I'd hate to lose you too to him."

Hinata blushed a bit. "Y-you don't have to worry about that, Naruto-kun. You're my f-friend, I will always be a-at your side."

"Speaking of friends, maybe we should befriend the new guys?" Naruto suggested. "I mean, not only they're new, but they aren't even from Konoha, so I doubt they have any friends here already."

"I don't see why not. The three of them look like nice people."

"Cool! Well, Karin-neechan is out of the question since he's with that idiot, so how about Tamaki?" Naruto suggested as he scanned the playground with his eyes, trying to track her.

"I like cats too. Maybe I could use that to approach her?" Hinata asked, both to herself and Naruto.

"Oh, there she is!" Naruto finally located the cat kunoichi...and much to his dismay, she walked towards Sasuke. "Oh come on! She too!? Besides, Sasuke isn't even paying attention!"

"M-maybe we should approach the boy of the Land of Water?" Hinata meekly suggested. "He's sitting all alone in that bench."

"I swear if he was actually a girl, he would be trying to get Sasuke's attention too," Naruto muttered with a groan. "Oh, I think you don't know this, but Haku's adoptive dad helped the Uchiha in the coup d'etat."

Hinata was taken aback. "He did?"

"Yeah, and he's in prison now. Dad was planning to have him executed, but changed it to jail time with the condition of Haku becoming a Konoha ninja."

"I...I see," Hinata said. For obvious reasons, the mere mention of the coup d'etat caused her great sorrow.

"On second thought, maybe we shouldn't talk to him..."

"N-no, no!" Hinata quickly said. "W-we shouldn't judge others based on actions t-they were not responsible of."

Thanks to the Caged Bird Seal the Branch House Hyugas were forced to carry, Hinata knew very well what it feels to be personally accused of something people close to you did. She remember the time when Branch House members used to look at her with pure scorn, as well as muttering under their breath things Hinata couldn't hear, but could imagine. Fortunately, things got better over time as the Branch House Hyugas got to know Hinata better.

Once they finished their lunch, they approached Haku, who had just finishing eating as well, and was putting the remains of his bento inside his backpack.

"Hi, Haku!" Naruto enthusiastically greeted. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And this is my friend Hinata Hyuga!"

"W-we'd like to know you better, if it's okay with you. Can we sit with you?" the Hyuga asked.

Haku smiled at the duo. "Sure, I can use some company," the Ice Ninja moved aside so Naruto and Hinata could sit. "And I think it will be good if I get to know some people here already."

"Great!" Naruto sat down. Hinata did likewise.

"You said you have a Bloodline Limit, right? I also have a Bloodline Limit too, but it's different from yours," Hinata mentioned.

"Really? Interesting. Do you mind telling me more?"

"My Bloodline Limit is called Byakugan. It allows me to see through solid objects, gives me 360 degrees vision, and I can see people's chakra pathway system."

"It sounds mostly interesting," Haku said, still smiling. "Like I said before, my Bloodline Limit is Ice Release. I can combine wind chakra with water chakra to create ice. Look."

Haku placed his hands as if he was grabbing an invisible ball. Focusing his chakra, he created a small snowball that floated in mid air. Naruto and Hinata watched the display, eyes widen in fascination.

"Whoa, that was so cool!" Naruto praised.

"You think so?"

"Of course? Why would we lie?" Hinata asked.

"Well, it's that...if I did this in my country, some people would want to kill me."

"Is that...how you lost your parents?" Hinata asked, then she mentally chided herself for not realizing that she was dealing with a sensitive topic. Fortunately for her, Haku didn't seem to mind.

"Yes. Our neighbors assaulted our home shortly after I awoke my powers. Guess that somebody saw me. I lost my entire family that day," Haku explained, omitting the most horrifying details –namely, his father's role.

"And then you met Zabuza," Naruto stated matter-o-factly.

Haku was taken aback by the blond's statement. His normally relaxed expression tensed. "H-How do you...?"

"My dad's the Hokage. There's little going on on this village that I'm not aware of," Naruto proudly said. While being the Hokage's son gave him access to quite some privileged information, his statement was an exaggeration.

"I see. In that case, I must ask you too not to tell anybody about Zabuza-sama. I'm afraid that it may make my stay here tad more unpleasant."

"Don't worry! Your secret is safe with us! Right Hinata?" the blond asked, and the bluenette nodded in return.

"By the way, do you have a Bloodline Limit as well?" Haku asked.

"What? Oh, no, I don't have that. But I'm a Jinchuriki, you know!" Normally, that wasn't something he would be proud of, but Haku and Hinata talking about their Bloodlines made him feel a bit left out, and wanted to show something that made him special, even if it was a curse.

"A... Jinchuriki?"

"Yeah, it's a-"

"I know what a Jinchuriki is," Haku cut him before he could explain his condition.

"You do?"

"Yes. The current Mizukage is one."

Naruto was starry eyed. "Really? That's so cool! If he can be a Kage, then-!"

"It's NOT cool!" Haku suddenly yelled. Naruto was taken aback. Hinata flinched.

"W-why is not, Haku-kun?" the Hyuga fearfully asked.

"He's the reason people like me are hated! He's ruining Kirigakure, and the whole country! That's why Zabuza-sama wanted to depose him!" Haku angrily shouted. Then again, Haku wasn't aware –or was deliberately ignoring– Zabuza's own ambition of becoming Mizukage. Upon seeing Naruto and Hinata's faces, Haku quickly regained his composure. "I'm...I'm sorry for that outburst. You have nothing to do with my plight. Don't think that I hate all Jinchuriki because one ruined my life, Naruto-kun."

"Eh...it's okay!" Naruto said, with one of trademark grins. "Hey, guess what? When I become Hokage, I'll talk some sense into that Mizukage so it's safe for you to go back to your home!"

"I...thank you, Naruto-kun. I appreciate the gesture," Haku sighed. If it was only that easy...

"By the way, I'd like to know how strong you are. Want to spar against us?" Naruto asked.

"That sounds nice, Naruto-kun. That way I can also measure how strong you two are."

…

Later that day, once the Academy was over, Naruto bid Hinata and Haku goodbye and headed home. While he usually was eager to return home and train with one of his parents –or Shizune, in case both of them were particularly busy– it wasn't the case anymore. Jiraiya had started to instruct him in Fuinjutsu, something Naruto found horribly tedious.

Still, the Toad Sannin insisted, claiming that it was Naruto's "cultural inheritance" –whatever that meant– and the fact that it was an incredibly useful art that not many people bothered to master –Naruto could clearly see exactly why–. While Naruto enjoyed the idea of being able to make his own explosive tags, among other things, Fuinjutsu training overall wasn't very stimulating.

"Hey, Naruto!" a female voice snapped the Jinchuriki from his thoughts. Turning around, he smiled to see it was Karin, who was running towards him.

The blond smiled. "Hey, Karin-neechan!"

Karin stopped when she close to Naruto, and gasped for air. "Hey! I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for ignoring you earlier. I got...distracted."

"Yeah, it's quite common with Sasuke," Naruto said, grinning.

"So, you're an Uzumaki?"

"Yup! On my mother's side!"

"I see. My mother and I thought that we were the only Uzumakis left. We traveled a lot and never stayed on the same place for more than a month as long as I remember, and never once run into another Uzumaki."

"Funny thing, I also thought I was the only Uzumaki left. It's so great that we were both wrong!"

"Indeed. The reason we came here was because of Tsunade, who my mother says has Uzumaki blood, and would protect us."

"She is my adoptive mother, you know. She took care of me alongside dad –who is the current Hokage– when my birth parents died. I believe she did it because she was related to my birth mom in some way."

"It's a good thing then," Karin said, adjusting her glasses. "Ummmm...would you like to come to my house later today? I'm sure my mom would love to meet another family member."

"Yeah! And maybe another day you can come to my house and meet my family. They aren't Uzumakis except mom, but I'm sure you'll like them."

"That sounds like fun."

…

 _A few months later_

Naruto's entire class wasn't at the academy, but on Training Ground Seventeen, which had quite a lot of trees, and thus it was popular for drill skirmishes in the Land of Fire. Their newest sensei, a tall man clan in blue, whose eyes were covered by sunglasses –similar to Shino– who wore a bandanna-style headband had brought them there for an exercise.

"Hello, children. My name is Ebisu, and during the following weeks I'll teach you some exercises that will refine your chakra control," the blue-clad man announced. "Chakra control is something important for young, developing ninjas such as yourselves. If you lack control, you won't be able to perform ninjutsu.

"But enough talking, let's go with the exercise," Ebisu said, noting that most of the kids paid him now more attention. "How many of you would be able to climb this tree?" Ebisu asked, while motioning to a large tree behind him.

Everybody raised their hands, just as expected. Time to drop the bomb.

"And how many of you would be able to climb it...without using your arms?"

All who had their hands raised lowered them, and started to mutter among themselves in confusion. "That's impossible!" somebody said.

"Oh, it's very possible! Just look at me," Ebisu said, as he started to walk on the tree as if gravity had no effect on him. The kids looked at him in awe, much to the Special Jonin's delight. "In order to do this, you must gather chakra at the bottom of your feet. But be careful! Too much chakra, and you will be pushed away from the tree; too little you will fall off. Now, choose a tree to climb, and begin!"

The kids split into several groups, since the trees were wide enough for several people to climb them at the same time. Naruto stayed with Hinata and Haku, while Sakura, Karin and Tamaki chose the same tree as Sasuke.

"Alright, this is going to be piece of cake!" Naruto exclaimed, as he started to climb the tree without much difficulty. This, naturally, drew some attention.

"Hey, how did you do it at your first try?" an annoyed Kiba asked.

"Easy, I already did this exercise with mom. And her methods were way more extreme."

 **FLASHBACK**

After many attempts, Naruto managed to nail down the climbing exercise, not without effort.

"Look, mom, I did it!" Naruto proudly said. Huh?"

Much to the Jinchuriki's confusion, Tsunade was emptying a bottle on the base of tree. And then, the Slug Sannin tossed a lit match, setting the base of the tree ablaze.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" a very freaked out Naruto yelled.

"Climbing is easy enough with practice. Staying in the same place for a prolonged time, not so much," Tsunade calmly explained, ignoring the protests of his adoptive son. "I want you to stay like that for five minutes. The fire is to make sure you're motivated enough not to fall."

 **END FLASHBACK**

"In the end, she had to buy me a new pair of pants," Naruto recalled, rubbing his butt, still feeling some phantom pain. "But on the bright side, my chakra control improved a lot!"

Even if his training with Zabuza was brief, it helped Haku to complete the exercise in no time. Hinata was the last one of their little group who managed to reach the top of the tree, after almost an hour of trying.

Other people who managed to complete the exercise in record time were Shino, Sakura and Ino. Much to Naruto's amusement, Sasuke was having a lot of trouble with the exercise. He managed to climb very far on his first try, but he progressed at a rather slow pace. It was a delicious irony seeing the "prodigy" being outlasted by one of his fangirls. Kiba, Shikamaru, Karin, Choji and Tamaki weren't having an easy time either.

After an hour an half, Ebisu dismissed the class, congratulated those who completed the exercise, and gave some pointers and encouragement to those who didn't.

Still, after a week, the whole class was able to master the tree climbing exercise.

…

 _Hokage's Office_

Shortly after his educational reform, many people met Jiraiya to protest over how much he had raised the standards at the Academy, increasing the number of students who failed to pass from one course to the next, and most times they were forced to drop out. Most of the time, it was furious parents, most of them civilians, who demanded him to return the Academy to the way it was. Less frequently, it was an Academy teacher who complained about either being overworked of the children failing to grasp their lessons.

However, this was the first time a ninja, a Jonin no less, requested an audience with the Hokage to discuss such topic. The man in question was tall and well built, with extremely thick eyebrows and a ridiculous bowl haircut. He was wearing a green jumpsuit under a Chunin flak jacket and orange leg warmers. Despite his rather...bizarre appearance, this man was one of Konoha's strongest Jonins, and Konoha's greatest taijutsu specialist.

"Maito Gai. I don't believe we ever talked to each other after I got the position," Jiraiya eyed the green clan Jonin. While Gai was known for his exuberant and obnoxiously optimist behavior, now he looked the complete opposite. "What do I owe the visit? I believe you have a problem with my educational reform, though I fail to see why."

"You see, I met one of the Academy students not long ago," Gai began. "He was crying his eyes out, since his dream was to become a ninja, but now he sees that dream crumbling into dust. You see, for some reason, the kid is unable to do ninjutsu nor genjutsu. I believe you see where the problem lies."

Jiraiya clasped his fingers. "I believe I do. That kid's...condition is mostly unfortunate, but maybe he isn't mean to become a ninja. There are plenty of ninjas who are forced to retire after suffering certain injuries. This case isn't that different."

"Listen, Hokage-sama, give that kid a chance. While my case wasn't the same, I also sucked at ninjutsu and genjutsu for a long time, that's why I focused on taijutsu. I believe that kid can follow my footsteps, and become a ninja with only taijutsu. That kid has a lot of potential! His flames of youth can burn brighter than mine!"

Jiraiya sighed. "I understand your plight, Gai, I really do. But my stance on the Academy is non-negotiable. I believe that ninjutsu is an important part of being a ninja. So unless that kid can develop a level of taijutsu impressive enough in order to-"

"Consider it done," Gai suddenly said.

Jiraiya was left stunned for a few seconds. He blinked a couple times, before he could reply.

"What?" he lamely replied.

"You were going to say that that kid needs a level of taijutsu impressive enough to make up for his deficiencies, right?" Gai asked. Jiraiya just nodded. "Then leave him to me! I will train him personally so his taijutsu reaches a level unheard on an Academy student!"

"Okay, you can take that kid under your wing, but please don't neglect your duties as a Jonin when training that brat."

"Never! That would be mostly unyouthful! Thanks for being so understanding, Hokage-sama! I promise that you will not regret this decision!" Gai loudly declared before he left.

...

 _A few weeks later_

Once again, Ebisu took Naruto's class out of the Academy, this time to training ground nineteen, which had a rather large lake. He also told them to bring swimsuits, since they would need it for the next part of the exercise.

"Okay, all of you already completed the Tree Climbing Exercise, and I hope that you kept practicing on your own. Now, I believe it's time to take it to the next level," Ebisu said, and without further ado, he started to walk on water. Once again, the kids stared in awe. "Now, this exercise is a bit harder than tree climbing, due the fact that a tree is solid, and water is liquid, which means that you'll need a constant stream of chakra from your feet to stay on the surface, as opposed to a fixed amount of chakra," Ebisu explained as he returned to the grass. "The goal of the exercise is to walk ten meters into the water, and get back to land. Come on, begin."

"Did you master this exercise already, Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.

"Nope, I'm still trying. It's way harder than it sounds," Naruto moaned.

"Well...Ebisu-sensei made it sound as if it was rather hard to begin with," Hinata mentioned.

"It's still harder than it sounds. Fortunately, mom can't set the water on fire," Naruto grinned, but his grin was soon replaced by a mask of contained terror. "Yet."

Unlike the tree climbing exercise, nobody was able to master water walking on their first few tries. Those who managed to do the best usually sank after walking just a measly two or three meters, while those who were having the hardest time didn't manage to land a single step without sinking.

Naruto and his classmates took another additional two weeks to master this exercise. But much to their surprise, the exercise didn't end there. Once they all could walk on water in an acceptable way, Ebisu revealed the next part of the training: taijutsu spars, while on the water.

"A ninja has to be prepared to fight anywhere. There will be times in which a battle will take place on a lake, on a river or even at high sea. Besides, this will improve your chakra control even further!" the blue-clad Special Jonin enthusiastically explained as he adjusted his shades. "So, who wants to go first?"

Naturally, Naruto and Sasuke were the first ones to volunteer. The two swimming trunks-clad ninja students placed in front of each other. Near them was Ebisu, who would oversee the fight.

"Begin!"the Special Jonin said, made a chopping motion with his hand.

"Prepare to get your ass kicked," Naruto shoot a taunting smile at Sasuke. The Uchiha merely grunted back.

"Come on Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered from the lake's shore.

"Kick his ass, Naruto!" said Ino's voice, much to Naruto's bewilderment.

Naruto immediately dashed at Sasuke, and launched a punch to his face. The Uchiha dodged the fist, and taking advantage of Naruto being wide open, punched him in the gut. The hit messed up Naruto's chakra control, and the sank into the water. He managed to be back on his feet a few minutes later.

"As you can see, remaining on top of the surface while fighting entrails some difficulty, but with enough practice it will become natural to you," Ebisu explained, then he looked at Naruto. "Ready to continue?"

"You can bet your glasses I am," Naruto replied, not taking his eyes from Sasuke.

"If that's the case, let's continue!"

Naruto once again dashed at Sasuke, ready to punch him in the face. Sasuke was already moving to dodge the fist like he did the first time. But in the last second, rather than a punch, Naruto kicked Sasuke on the hips instead. This time, it was Sasuke who lost his balance and fell into the water.

"Ha! How about that, idiot?" Naruto taunted at his fallen opponent.

"Naruto, don't do that. This is a friendly spar between classmates, there's no necessity to be rude," Ebisu said in a chiding tone. Naruto frowned at him, but nodded nevertheless.

The spars were usually short, sometimes in favor of Naruto, sometimes in Sasuke's favor. Though at one point Sasuke decided to "get serious" and activated his Sharingan. The following spars were all won by Sasuke. Seeing this, Ebisu decided to end the spar, and asked if somebody wanted to fight Sasuke instead. Only one person raised his hand.

"I believe I can defeat Sasuke-san," Haku stated as he walked towards the Uchiha, while Naruto returned to land with the others. Haku studied his rival before Ebisu gave them the signal to start. The Uchiha's Sharingan remained activated.

"Begin!"

Just like with Naruto, Haku dashed at Sasuke, ready to strike him. But just when he was about to punch him, Haku them leaped into mid air, much to the Uchiha's surprise. Haku gracefully landed behind Sasuke, and attacked his legs with a quick low kick. Sasuke lost his balance, but his chakra control didn't falter him this time and didn't sink into the water. Jumping back on his feet, Sasuke tossed a series of punches and kicks at Haku, who moved back while dodging them.

"Those eyes," Haku mentioned.

"What about them? Never saw a Sharingan before?" Sasuke replied, mildly irritated.

"I was talking about your _eyes_ , not your Bloodline Limit," Haku explained. "Those eyes...are the same eyes I used to have. The eyes of somebody who is angry at the world. Did something happen to you?"

Of course, that question was mostly an act of politeness. Haku knew too well the fate of the Uchiha clan.

"That's none of your business!" Sasuke yelled as he hit Haku in the chest with a flying kick. Haku nearly lost his footing and sunk, but his chakra control remained strong.

"You can tell me," Haku insisted as he and Sasuke traded more punches. "You know my background. I lost loved ones and have been betrayed by people I thought they loved me. It's because of what your clan did?"

"I said SHUT UP!" Sasuke shouted as he hit Haku in the jaw. This time, the Ice Ninja was unable to stay in the surface and sunk in the water.

"Okay, I believe that was enough. Sasuke, Haku, go back to land," Ebisu said. "Does anybody want to spar in the water?"

"Me!" Sakura said, raising her hand. "I have the best chakra control here, so this shouldn't be hard."

"I'm glad for your eagerness, Sakura. Does anybody wants to fight her?" Ebisu asked, looked at the rest of the students.

"Me," said a soft voice. Hinata was raising his hand.

"Alright, then come here. Stand in front of each other and...begin!"

Both kunoichi took a fighting stance. Hinata activated his Byakugan. Sakura was the first one to attack. Just like Naruto with Sasuke, she tried to punch Hinata in the face, but the Hyuga bent backwards, avoiding the fist. Hinata then delivered a palm strike at Sakura's belly. While her chakra control was really good, Hinata's Gentle Fist momentarily disrupted her chakra, making her to sink in the water.

"Boy, that hurt!" Sakura moaned, rubbing her belly.

"S-Sorry, Sakura-san..."

"No, it's okay. I would be stupid to be mad at you for hitting me during a spar. And how did you bend you back like that? It's like you're made of rubber!"

"T-The Gentle Fist requires a lot of b-body elasticity," Hinata explained.

"Well, now I know what not to do. Come on, let's continue."

Upon getting a taste of the Gentle Fist, Sakura decided to be more careful and plan her strikes better. She adopted a more defensive stance, spurring Hinata to go into the offensive. Both girls spend quite some time fighting, Sakura letting Hinata attack, dodging or parrying her blows, and waiting for an opening in order to counterattack. Unfortunately, Hinata managed to hit her first with the Gentle Fist again before that could happen.

The spar continued for another five minutes, in which Hinata landed another Gentle Fist strike at Sakura, making the pinkette to give up. Tamaki then volunteered to fight Hinata.

As she returned to solid land, Sakura never felt so humiliated. She was hoping to impress the class with her skills –and more specifically, Sasuke– yet all she did was making a fool of herself. It was shocking how such a sweet, shy and gentle girl like Hinata could pack such a mean punch.

Anyway, that was just a minor setback. She was still the best kunoichi of her class, and nothing was going to change that.

Or that's what she thought.

…

Meanwhile, the rest of the class watched the two girls spar. At that moment, Naruto was approached by Shikamaru.

"Man, I can't understand how are you so eager to fight the Uchiha. He always end up beating you," Shikamaru mentioned.

"He didn't beat me that bad. At least until he activated his Sharingan. But without it, we're pretty much equal!" Naruto protested, as if trying to prove something.

"I know. But I doubt he won't want to use that troublesome Sharingan again if he sees he's losing. And truth be told, I don't see you doing anything about it."

Naruto looked at Shikamaru puzzled. He didn't understand what he mean by that. "I don't think I'm following you."

"Sasuke defeated you because, after activating his Sharingan, you keep fighting him the same way as before. If you see something doesn't work, try something different instead. It's basic strategy," the lazy Nara explained.

Naruto seemed to understand it now. "Thanks for the advice. So you think you should be able to beat Sasuke then?"

"Hell no. Even if I came up with an strategy to circumvent the Sharingan, I don't have the strength nor the skill to match him in pure taijutsu."

Of course, there was the fact that Shikamaru's father killed Sasuke's mother, and Sasuke might feel like wanting revenge by proxy. But that was something Shikamaru preferred not to bring up.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto," Kiba said, walking towards them. "He thinks strategy is the key to everything, but a big brain won't protect you from a fist to the face. Being strong and fast will."

"I would tell you why you're so wrong, but honestly, that would take too much effort for such little gain," Shikamaru lazily replied.

"Next time we spar, I will fight Sasuke instead of Naruto, and I will overwhelm him with my superior strength and speed, you'll see!" Kiba boasted.

"If that was true, it would have happened already, yet you can barely touch Sasuke," Shikamaru deadpanned.

"That's the past! My mom have been training me way harder now! And once I get my dog, Sasuke won't stand a chance!"

Shikamaru merely rolled his eyes at Kiba's boasting.

…

 _Konoha Hospital_

After a long stay at the hospital, Hiruzen Sarutobi was finally declared to be in good enough state to be released. Still, that didn't mean his recovery was complete. Far from it. In fact, the doctors pretty much forced him to use a wheelchair for some time, since they told him his body was in a frail state and couldn't afford to make any unnecessary efforts in order to speed his recovery.

"Ah, it's a good thing to finally get out of that hellish place!" Hiruzen said to his present companion. "If I knew hospital food was so bad, I had done something about it long time ago! I need to talk with Jiraiya about it!"

His companion chuckled. "Unfortunately, I believe my husband has more pressing matters to attend right now. Not that I don't agree, the weeks I've spend there weren't pleasant to me either. I need to tell Shizune more often how much I appreciate her cooking," Tsunade mentioned, as he pushed Hiruzen's wheelchair.

"Were you upset that you couldn't apply to become Hokage?"

"What? Hell no! People may think that being Hokage is glamorous, but I know that the Kages are merely glorified bureaucrats. If Naruto knew what he was getting into, I doubt he'll want to be Hokage," Tsunade replied in disgust.

"Come on, it's not so bad," Hiruzen protested.

"You know, I'm starting to think that you wanted one of us to replace you the moment Jiraiya and I returned to the village."

"I won't deny that the thought crossed my mind. But I know for a fact that you would have rejected my offer, plus Naruto needed you way more than the village, and you'll be overwhelmed. I thought that, maybe once Naruto graduated and became a ninja, I could retire and leave the hat to one of you. Sadly things never turned out as planned."

"I'm afraid of what will happen if Naruto becomes a ninja. He will eventually leave the village to do missions, and will only have his teammates and sensei to protect him..."

"And what is your plan, keep Naruto inside that underground bunker of yours forever?"

"First, don't mock the bunker, it became quite handy to protect Naruto and the twins when that one-eyed maniac attacked. And second, even if I know I can't protect Naruto forever, I can't help but worry about him."

"Understandable. It was inevitable that, after all these years of being his legal guardian, you ended up growing fond of the kid."

" _Mother_. I didn't spend so much time changing diapers, cleaning vomits and being unable to sleep at night to be considered his 'legal guardian', thank you."

"That's a good thing, indeed," Hiruzen said, smiling. "So, you say that your attacker claims to be the man behind the Kyubi attack, right?"

"Correct. That man had both the Sharingan _and_ the Wood Release. Plus his teleporting ability would explain how he managed to avoid all the security measures and barriers you set while Kushina gave birth. To think that that man could just teleport one day and whisk Naruto away..."

"He won't do that," Hiruzen stated.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Easy. Both times he tried to get the Kyubi, both times had to wait for the right moment. The first one was Kushina's birth, the second the Uchiha insurrection. He can't just teleport in the middle of Konoha in broad daylight. Besides, he should know where Naruto should be first, and I'm sure that his spies, should he have some, don't reach that far."

"Let's hope you're right. Still, I'm not letting my guard down."

"I never said you should."

While they walked –or better said, Tsunade walked while she pushed Sarutobi's wheelchair–, many townspeople and ninjas stopped to congratulate Sarutobi on his recovery, as well as wishing him a good time now that he was retired. This made the ex-Hokage realized that, with all the time he spent locked up in that office, he hardly had any time to enjoy the village he protected. Still, he wouldn't stop protecting it nevertheless.

"By the way, what are you going to do now that you're retired, sensei?" Tsunade asked.

"I don't know, honestly. Though I thought that maybe I could help Jiraiya a bit and become his advisor."

"I'm sure he can use your wisdom. And with you helping him, his workload will be-" Tsunade interrupted herself when she realized something, and frowned. "You're going to help him so he can have more time to write those perverted books, right?"

Hiruzen smiled at her innocently. "Tsunade, do you have any idea how long I have been a widower? As long as Naruto is alive. I may be old, but even men my age have certain needs."

Tsunade grimaced in disgust. "Thanks for the mental image, sensei."

Sarutobi merely chuckled in return.

* * *

 **Author's note: Not much to say here, just the first part of what will be a transitional chapter. As you can probably guess, soon this story will finally reach graduation, and thus the start of the manga.**

 **I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Happy new year, and see you back in 2017, which I hope it turns out to be a better year for all you than 2016 was (2016 was kind of a shitty year to me, especially concerning my job situation, so I can't see how 2017 can't be any worse short of dying).**

 **In the meantime, say goodbye (or better yet, say "rot in hell") to 2016 with a review! Reviews make me really, really, really haoppy!**


	14. Academy Days, Part II

**Author's note: Okay, before we start, I'm going to address an issue that had been brough up in multiple reviews. Namely, what happened to other Uchiha children, or how is that I never mentioned them.**

 **The answer is that, by the time of the Uchiha massacre in canon, bot in the manga and the anime, we never see any other kid Sasuke's age or younger. If anything, there are a couple of guys who are Itachi's age, but that's about it. And thus, I decided to stick with this interpretation. It is stupid? Probably, the idea of Sasuke being the only kid in a clan that probably numbers in the hundreds is hard to swallow, but I did this for two reasons:**

 **1-To avoid creating a number of unneccesary Uchiha children OCs that wouldn't serve any purpose other than slow the story (and given the hell a lot of people gave me over Hagane and Kaida, who will serve many purposes in future arcs, I'm not going through that again).**

 **2-To not only avoid having innocent children killed in the story (yes, this story is rated M, but even I have my limits) but not to acknowledge that Itachi did kill innocent children in canon.**

 **That's my answer, and it's final. I'm not going to reply to that question anymore.**

 **Now, let's enjoy the first chapter of 2017:  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 14:**

Academy Days, Part II

or

 _Who said that being a ninja is easy?_

 _Eleven years after the Kyubi attack_

Two years had passed since Jiraiya had implemented his educative reform in the Ninja Academy, rising the standards significantly. Many students weren't able to keep with the new standards for long, so they dropped out and moved to civilian schools. As a result, Naruto's class was reduced to merely twelve students, Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, Shino, Tamaki, Haku and Karin.

Of these twelve, Sakura was the only one not being born to a ninja family –technically speaking, Tamaki didn't have a _human_ ninja family either, but she had the benefit of being trained by ninja cats–, but this didn't deter her. After all, she was the best kunoichi of her class.

That didn't last long. In fact, these two years were horrible for the pinkette.

As the classes moved less from theory –a field in which Sakura excelled thanks to her book smarts– to a more practical approach, Sakura's grades started to fall. While she was pretty good at chakra control and the few classes that still required to study books, on everything else she was a total mess. While she was moderately good at kunai and shuriken toss, she found that it was much harder to it with moving targets, and/or when she had to move. While she mastered the three E-Rank jutsus with little difficulty, D-Ranks gave her a harder time. And obstacle courses were simply a nightmare.

But the worst part was taijutsu spars. Just like Naruto marked Sasuke as his rival, Sakura did the same with Hinata. But while Naruto was slowly closing the gap with the Uchiha, each time the pinkette and the bluenette clashed, Hinata took each time less effort to defeat Sakura.

After admitting that Hinata was too strong for her to beat, Sakura lowered her standards and aimed to defeat her former friend turned rival, Ino. But the results were the same. Even if Ino wasn't as skilled or strong as Hinata, Ino still ended up kicking her ass. It didn't help that unlike Hinata, who actually showed some restrain, Ino took sadistic glee in beating Sakura. Given that Tamaki was aiming to become a close quarters fighter, she didn't even attempt to fight her either.

So far, the only other kunoichi that she managed to beat from time to time was Karin. And even then her victories were short lived, as Karin also managed to surpass her over time. Ino even replaced her usual "forehead girl" nickname for "the pink punching bag". And her parents suggested her that maybe she wasn't cut to become a kunoichi, and think in other possible career paths.

But she could ignore Ino's taunts and her parents' discouragement. What she couldn't ignore, however, was the way Sasuke looked at her whenever she lost. That look full of disdain, barely acknowledging her. She couldn't stand that.

Sakura always excelled without even trying, so the idea of training outside the Academy was foreign to her. Still, she decided that if she wanted to catch up with her classmates, she needed to improve, and fast. Unfortunately, her additional training and study hours were very little help.

And one day, after another painful and humiliating taijutsu spar, Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She ran away from the Academy, crying, not even caring that the bell didn't ring or the fact that she forgot her backpack. She ran, not caring where she was going, or all the people she bumped into. Her legs carried her to a park, which was devoid of children given the time of the day. Out of breath, Sakura merely dropped herself at the base of a tree, and started to cry her eyes out.

" _Maybe they're right, and I'm not mean to be this,"_ Sakura thought. _"Hinata has the Byakugan and her clan's taijutsu style, Ino-pig has her clan's jutsus, Tamaki has her cats, and Karin is a sensor and can heal people. What do I have that makes me stand out? Or even makes me useful?"_

"Are you okay?" a voice asked behind her.

Sakura turned around, wiping the tears from her eyes. In front of her was Naruto, flanked by Karin and Hinata. She instantly noticed that Hinata was holding her backpack.

"How did you find me?" the pinkette asked.

Karin raised her hand. "Sensor."

"Sakura, you ran away before the classes ended. What happened?" Naruto asked, as he crouched besides her.

"Why do you care!?" Sakura spat at him, making Naruto flinch.

"Hey, that's not a way to talk to somebody who asks if you're okay, you know!" Karin shot back.

"You look pretty upset. It's because taijutsu spars are hard to you?" Naruto asked.

"No! Yes! I mean...it's not just that!" Sakura said between sobs. "I used to be the best girl of the class without even trying, but then your stupid dad had to change everything, and now I'm at the bottom!"

Naruto's soft face turned into an angry frown. "Hey, don't blame my dad for wanting to make us stronger!"

"Yeah, it's easy for you to say that, having not one but two legendary ninjas training you! Everybody has somebody who can train them, but not me!"

"Hey, my mom knows some medical ninjutsu and a couple clan jutsus, but she sucks at everything else," Karin said in disagreement..

"Then how did you got so much better than me at taijutsu?"

"Naruto offered me to train alongside him, being from the same clan and all that," she explained.

"But Naruto is like your cousin or something, right? Then my point still stands."

"Well, you could train with us if you wanted," Naruto offered.

Sakura opened her eyes wide in shock. "R-really? But I'm not part of your family!"

"So?" Naruto failed to see the problem. "Neither is Hinata, and we train together many times."

"Well...don't clans only train their own members?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, most of the time. But that doesn't mean we couldn't help other people too. Besides, it's not that we will reveal you clan secrets or anything."

Sakura stared at Naruto in disbelief. "Why are you helping me? I mean...it's not that we are friends or anything. We hardly speak to each other."

"Because I'm going to be Hokage, and a Hokage has to care about all the people of Konoha, not just your friends and family. And I can't stand see a smart girl like you like this."

"Besides, it's obvious that you need some help," Karin added, adjusting her glasses.

"N-Naruto-kun was going to t-teach us something that h-he said it was good for p-people with good chakra control. Maybe could you join us and learn it?" Hinata asked.

Sakura smiled, as she stood up. "Really? That would be great."

"In that case, go to Training Ground Three tomorrow after class. Don't be late!" Naruto said as he turned back and left. Karin left as well.

Hinata, on the other hand, approached Sakura and handled her her backpack. "You forgot this."

"Oh...thank you," Sakura wiped her tears and accepted her returning backpack.

"Sakura-san...may I ask you something?" Hinata asked.

"Uhm...yeah, sure, go ahead."

"I mean, maybe i-it's not my place to ask but...what did make you want to become a ninja?"

Sakura was taken aback by Hinata's question. Looking back, she couldn't remember the reason for her to join. That wasn't good. She thought that maybe it was to impress Sasuke, but that couldn't be it since she didn't met Sasuke until later. But the reason...yes, she remember she wanted to become a ninja when she was little, but that was just a stupid, childish dream she had casted aside.

"I...I don't remember," Sakura sheepishly said.

Hinata looked thoughtful. "And do you still want to be a ninja?"

"Y-Yes, I do."

"Why? What do you want to accomplish? Being a ninja isn't an end, but a means to an end. I want to become a ninja so I can be the leader of my clan some day. Naruto-kun wants to become a ninja to become Hokage. Why do you want to become a ninja?"

Sakura once again looked inside her mind for an answer but found nothing. Well, she did found something: Sasuke Uchiha.

" _A boy. I want to become a ninja so I can impress a boy, who's already stronger than I'll ever be,"_ Sakura thought, but she clearly wasn't going to tell her that.

"It is because Sasuke-san?" Hinata guessed.

Sakura suddenly turned red and jumped back from Hinata. "Why do you think that!? And what if it's true!? It is wrong to like a boy!? Everybody knows that you'll love to be more than friends with Naruto!"

Hinata turned red as well, and yelped. Was she that obvious? But then again Naruto didn't notice how she felt either.

"T-That's besides the point!" Hinata stuttered, making an effort not to avert Sakura's accusatory glance. "Y-Yes, I like Naruto-kun, but unlike you, I don't neglect my ninja training for the sake of a misguided attempt at impressing him!"

Sakura gasped at Hinata's accusation, but rather than anger, she felt sadness, for she knew that Hinata was telling the truth. How much time did she spend trying clothes and new hairstyles in order to draw her attention that could have been invested in training? Tears started to form in her eyes.

Seeing this, the Hyuga realized that she went too far. "S-Sorry, Sakura-san! I didn't mean to be so hurtful...!"

"No, no you're right," Sakura replied, fighting back the tears. "I'm a mess of a ninja. All I did was fawn over Sasuke-kun like a fangirl while the rest of you actually improved and got stronger."

"Well...it's not too late to improve. I mean, y-you're really smart, and have the b-best chakra control of a-all of us...I think you'll make a wonderful kunoichi, Sakura-san."

This managed to make Sakura smile agin. "You think so?"

Hinata nodded. "You only need to find something to apply your strengths."

"In that case, I'll work hard to show everybody that I can become a ninja, even if I don't have a clan!" Sakura stated, clenching her fist with determination. Then, she looked at Hinata in the eyes. "Thanks for cheering me up, Hinata, you're a real sweetie. No wonder Naruto likes to hang out with you," Hinata smiled in return. Sakura continued eying her. "And with a little wardrobe upgrade, you could be his girlfriend in no time!"

Hinata's face pretty much invented a new shade of red. "W-WHAAAT!?"

"Oh come on, drop the 'cute innocent girl' act, Hinata, you're not fooling anyone. Well, except Naruto," Sakura teased.

"W-what's wrong with my clothes?" Hinata asked as she looked at herself.

"For starters, why do you hide yourself behind this coat? It's not even cold!"

"W-Well..."

 **Flashback**

In the Hyuga Compound Dojo, Hinata was sparring against her mother, just like she did every day for her Gentle Fist practice. Suddenly, her mother stopping attacking, and stared at her in silence. Hinata grew nervous.

"Uh, Mother? I-It is there something wrong?"

Hikari smiled. "Oh, nothing, honey. It's just that I think I should buy you a bra. Didn't expect you to develop so soon!"

Hinata turned bright red, and instinctively covered her chest with her arms.

 **End Flashback**

"...I like this coat."

"Oh well. Whatever. Anyway, thanks for the talk again, and for bringing me my backpack. See you tomorrow!" Sakura cheerfully said as she walked away.

…

 _Meanwhile, at Downtown Konoha_

"You have no right to do this!" Sasuke angrily protested.

"Shut up! Just get out of here before I call the ANBU!" a shopkeeper replied, just as heatedly, if not more.

After the day of the failed Uchiha Insurrection, the three remained Uchihas had become pariahs in Konoha. People would glare at them, murmur between themselves whenever an Uchiha was present –though they sometimes were loud enough for their insults to be heard– and treat them with scorn and contempt. Sasuke had learned to ignore all of the above and live with it as he could, but this was the first time they treated him with such an open hostility.

Sasuke noticed that he was starting to outgrow most of his clothes, so he decided to buy new ones. However, the moment he tried to enter a store that caught his attention, the storekeeper, a bald man in his forties with a moustache, wasted no time to kick him out.

As the two of them loudly argued, a small crowd build around them, mostly to enjoy the spectacle, but some also joined the argument and threw some insults at Sasuke. Naturally, it didn't take too long before a couple of ANBU arrived to see what was causing the commotion.

"What's going on here?" an ANBU with a ferret mask asked as he made his way through the crowd.

"Oh, thank Kami you're here! Please take this demon away from my store!" the storekeeper demanded the ANBU, while pointing at Sasuke

"You can't do that! This man just kicked me out of his store for no reason!" Sasuke protested.

"No reason!? You're an Uchiha! That's all the reason I need!" the storekeeper replied.

"I see," the other ANBU, who was wearing a bear mas calmly placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Now everybody calm down, we are going to fix this."

Everynbody was expecting the ANBU to take Sasuke away, but much to everybody's shock, the ferret masked ANBU slammed the storekeeper against a wall, and placed handcuffs on his wrists.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" the storekeeper angrily demanded.

"You yourself admitted to refuse service to a ninja of this village based on his clan alone. That's a clear violation of the Clan Discrimination Bill. Hence, you're under arrest," the ANBU calmly explained as he dragged him away.

"WHAT!? My wife was killed by those red eyed bastards, and you take their side!?" the storekeeper angrily shouted. "You will regret this! Both you and the Hokage! You can't expect us to live side by side with those traitors!"

"Release him, he did nothing wrong!" a random villager said.

"Yes, take the Uchiha instead! Kill all of them before they betray us again!" another village added.

"Enough!" the bear masked ANBU bellowed. "Everybody, scatter or you will be arrested as well!"

The warning was effective, and people quietly resumed with what they were doing before the incident happened. The bear masked ANBU was about to ask Sasuke if he was okay, but he noticed that the young Uchiha had already left.

…

The next day after class, Sakura headed towards Training Ground Three, where Naruto, Hinata and Karin were already waiting for her. They were standing in front of a very large rock.

"Alright, everybody is here, so we can start now!" Naruto enthusiastically announced as he looked at Sakura.

"Er, Naruto, don't get me wrong, I'm really thankful that you're teaching us this, but I hope you don't expect us, or at least me, to address you as 'sensei'," Sakura stated.

"What? Oh no. I'd be a crappy sensei anyway. At least until I get stronger," Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head. "You see, this is mom's super strength secret technique. It is very simple. All you have to do is gather chakra on your fist, and release it. Like this!" Naruto then punched the rock behind him, leaving a small crack. "See?"

"Wow, that's so amazing!" Karin gushed.

"D-Does it hurt?" Hinata asked.

"A little. That's why you also need to keep some chakra in order to shield your hands from the backlash. My chakra control is still far from perfect, but yours is much better. Why don't you give it a try?" Naruto moved aside from the rock in order to leave the girls enough space.

The first one to go was Karin. Just as Naruto instructed, she gathered chakra on her fist, and punched the rock, leaving a bigger crack than Naruto's. However, she also shook her fist in pain once she was done.

"AWW! You said it didn't hurt!" Karin protested as she nursed her damaged hand.

"I didn't said that. Did you remember to use some chakra to counter the backlash?" Naruto asked. Karin then shook her head. "I thought so."

The next one to try was Hinata. However, she looked rather hesitant. "Uh, Naruto-kun, it is okay for you to teach us this? I mean, you said it is Tsunade-sama's secret technique and..."

"Don't worry! Mom told me I can teach it to my friends if I want to!" Naruto assured, grinning widely. Then his grin disappear and added: "But please don't teach this to other people without asking me first, okay? And you can't teach this to Sasuke! I don't want to give him more weapons to use against me!"

"Actually, if Sasuke-kun wanted to learn this all what he had to do is copy it with the Sharingan," Sakura flatly stated, much to Naruto's horror. Noticing the blonde's distress, the pinkette added: "But I don't think he will. Sasuke usually favors ninjutsu and armed combat over bare fists."

"Well, let's hope that he doesn't think about doing it. Come on Hinata, show me what you can do!"

The Hyuga nodded, and walked towards the rock. Clenching her fist, she gathered chakra, remembered Naruto's warning about the backlash, and punched the rock with all her might. She managed to make a crack slightly bigger than Karin's, and unlike the redhead she managed to avoid hurting her hand.

"Well done, Hinata!" Naruto cheered with a big smile.

"T-Thanks...you know, I think I may find a way to combine this w-with the Gentle Fist..." Hinata noted, mostly to herself. She was already working to combine elemental ninjutsu to the Gentle Fist, and if she also managed to combine both...the results could be devastating.

"My turn!" Sakura confidently said as she walked towards the rock. After mentally checking all the steps of the technique, she punched the rock.

"WHOA!" three voices said in unison.

Sakura managed to make a crack in the rock twice as big as Karin and Hinata's, plus she managed to pretty much sink her whole fist into the rock. Everybody, including Sakura, couldn't believe what just happened.

"Holy shit...that was amazing!" Naruto shrieked, utterly perplexed.

Dumbfounded, Sakura slowly removed her fist from the hole she just created. She stared at her unharmed hand for a whole minute, while her brain tried to process what just happened. Once her actions started to sink in, Sakura's mouth curved into a huge smile.

"Wow, look at this!" Sakura beamed, pointing at the hole in the rock. "Oh boy, I can't wait to show this to everybody else back in the Academy! Ohhhhhhh, I can't wait to have a rematch against Ino! Let's see how does she like the new 'pink punching bag'!" Sakura said, followed by a rather disturbing laugh.

"Uh...Naruto? Do you think she's going mad with power?" Karin asked, visibly worried.

"Well...I believe it's the rush of having a new technique. It should wear off soon," the blond replied, as he continued watching Sakura making holes in the rock.

"And if she...doesn't?" Hinata asked fearfully.

"YES! YES! I'M SAKURA THE UNSTOPPABLE! SAKURA THE INVINCIBLE! TREMBLE, EVERYBODY, AND DESPAIR! YOUR DOOM HAS COME TO THIS WORLD! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!" After reducing the rock to rubble, Sakura then decided to take down a few trees.

"Dad said that the Land of the Crescent Moon is a really nice to place to live," Naruto replied, just as scared.

…

Fortunately, just like Naruto said, Sakura didn't went mad with power, and calmed down the moment she exhausted her chakra after taking down a dozen trees. After saying their goodbyes and agreeing on a date for their next training session together, the four children headed for their respective houses.

On his way home, there was something that caught Naruto's attention. Sitting alone on a small pier on the Naka River was no other than Sasuke Uchiha, his hands crossed under his chin, looking absentmindedly at the orange and yellow reflection of the descending sun in the water.

Sasuke was never the more social person to begin with, but since the Uchiha Coup D'etat three years ago, Sasuke had become even more quiet and asocial. Talking to him had the same effect as talking to a wall, and he usually lashed out at those who insisted on making him talk.

Then again, Naruto could never understand what the boy was going through. Not only he had lost almost his entire family in a single night, but on top of that the standing of his once proud clan was lower than dirt. Itachi got a pass, since there were multiple witnesses to his acts and how he was instrumental in stopping the insurrection and saving the Third Hokage. But Sasuke and Shisui were pretty much the new village pariahs. And while Shisui managed to ignore the cold stares, murmurs and the passive hostility, Sasuke was too young and didn't have the emotional maturity to deal with that. And, as such, he decided to close himself from the world.

He had seen Sasuke like this many times, but for some reason never had the courage to go and try to talk to him. But given how he helped Sakura today, Naruto thought that maybe helping Sasuke wasn't beyond his power. Making his decision, the blond Jinchuriki walked towards the youngest Uchiha.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke didn't even turned back to look at him. "Go away, idiot. I don't want to spar with you now."

"What? Oh come on, you didn't even let me finish! I don't want to fight you, just talk."

"I don't want to talk either," Sasuke scoffed.

"You know, you've been pretty cranky since...well, you know..." Naruto rubbed his arm and looked sideways –even if Sasuke wasn't even looking at him–.

"And you think you can help me?"

"Yes, of course I can!" Naruto excitedly replied.

"Alright. Tell me, did you ever lose most of your family in a single night, yet you have absolutely no one to blame for their deaths, and on top of that people want you to pay for their crimes?"

"Uh...no. I'm afraid not."

"Then we have nothing to talk about. Now leave me alone."

"But I know what it feels being blamed for stuff that it's not your fault!"

This made Sasuke to finally turn around. "Really? How?"

"Uh, did you forget that I have the Kyubi sealed inside me?" Naruto asked as he pointed as his stomach. "There are a lot of people who fear me, because they believe that I will let the Kyubi out one day and destroy Konoha. Others hate me for the people they lost during the attack, even if I'm merely the Kyubi's container. My parents told me that they hate me because they need something to vent their hate, and I'm the easiest target. And that's what the people who lost their loved ones during the insurrection, like Ino, are doing with you and your remaining family. And you suffer because you want to lash out at somebody, but you don't have anybody to vent your frustrations."

"What about you? Don't you get frustrated? Don't you want to lash out at the people who mistreat you and hate you?"

"Of course I do! Many times! But I have something else that helps me deal with it: my family and my friends. And I believe you have that too."

Sasuke looked down, pensive. Suddenly, he felt really guilty for the cold treatment he had been giving both Itachi and Shisui, despite the fact that they only wanted to help him. Maybe he should make something to compensate them.

"And why are you telling me this? Do you want to be my friend all of sudden?" Sasuke asked, skeptical.

"Yeah," Naruto's smile was sincere. "If you have a problem, you can count on me to help you."

Sasuke remained a few seconds silent, looking at his feet.

"I...I'll think about it," Sasuke muttered. He then stood up, placed his hands on his pockets, and walked away. "I need to go home now."

Naruto watched him go. Well, that went better than what he had originally expected.

…

 _Many Months Later_

And once more, the school year came to an end. Naruto and his eleven classmates managed to pass the exam, which, besides the usual theory, included the three basic E-Rank jutsus (even if they were also present in the exam of the previous year), taijutsu, and kunai and shuriken toss. This meant that all of them would pass into the next course next year, which hopefully would be their last, before finally becoming a real ninja.

After being congratulated by Iruka, the twelve kids gathered their gear in their backpacks, and left. As usual, Naruto was walking with Hinata and Haku.

"Hey, today my dad is going to give me some new training, wanna tag along?" Naruto asked his two friends.

"I'd love to, but I can't. My family and I are going to celebrate Neji-niisan graduating and becoming a ninja," Hinata said, a bit down. "But now that we have a few weeks off I'm sure we can find time to hang out again, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked at her, puzzled. "How do you know that Neji passed already? The final exam has been just now!"

"Neji-niisan is a prodigy, and thus I believe it's unlikely he failed the exam. In fact, he was even aiming to graduate as the Rookie of the Year."

Naruto let out a whistle. He already knew that Neji was strong, but not to that point. Pushing those thoughts aside, he looked at the Ice Ninja. "What about you, Haku?"

"Like Hinata-san, I also have plans. Today is Friday, which means that I can visit Zabuza-sama in jail. One more year, and he'll be out of prison," the girl-looking boy replied. " Maybe another day."

Naruto looked down. "Man, what a drag. Well, in that case-WHAT THE HELL!?"

When the trio exited the Academy, they were greeted by an impossible image: despite being two in the afternoon, the sun was setting. And on top of that, they could hear the sound of waves crashing, despite the fact that the nearest beach was more than two hundred kilometers away from Konoha.

"This is...mostly unusual," Haku said, inspecting the scene.

Hinata activated her Byakugan. "This doesn't appear to be a genjutsu, my Byakugan can't see through it."

Before Naruto could say anything, he was interrupted by a pair of loud voices that came from somewhere near them. He could swear they came from within the Academy.

" _It was thanks to you that I could graduate, Gai-sensei!"_

" _Nonsense! It was you who did all the hard work! I only gave you some pointers!"_

" _Gai-sensei!"_

" _Lee!"_

" _Gai-sensei!"_

" _Lee!"_

" _Gai-sensei!"_

" _Lee!"_

"Okay...I think I'm getting out of here before things get even weirder..." Naruto said as he trailed off. Haku and Hinata did likewise.

…

 _Konoha Prison_

Haku was sitting on a table, flanked by his legal guardians, Yugao and Hayate, who were close behind him. At the other side of the table was Zabuza, wearing the prison uniform, with shackles and both his wrists and his ankles.

"Good afternoon, Zabuza-sama. How have you been since I last came to visit you?" the Ice Ninja asked.

"Same as always. The food is trash, the company is even worse, and I can't start a fight without being thrown into solitary confinement for a week. But other than that, I'm fine," the Demon of the Mist replied.

"This will end soon. Next year I will be a ninja, and the Hokage will have to release you under probation."

"That's if he keeps his word."

"Of course he will!" Yugao slammed her fist on the table. "How you dare to doubt the word of the Hokage!"

"Trust me girl, being a Kage isn't something that makes him deserving of my trust, or anybody's trust, for that matter. I learned that the hard way."

Hayate cleared his throat after coughing a few times. "I don't know how things are in Kirigakure, but in Konoha we tend to keep our promises and deals."

"Well, it's just that I know how much you guys like Bloodline Limits, and Haku's is especially powerful. I really find hard to believe that he will let us go that easily once I finish my probation."

"Like Hayate-kun said, things here are different. Do as you're told, and there won't be any troubles," Yugao said.

"We'll see," Zabuza then redirected his attention to Haku. "What about you? Are they treating you good?"

Haku's mouth curved into a smile. "Yes. I made a few friends in the Academy, Yugao-san and Hayate-san are really kind to me, and I can show my powers without being afraid of being persecuted. Konoha is a nice place."

"It's good that at least one of us is enjoying their stay here," Zabuza mentioned. _"Smart. Really smart, Jiraiya."_

Haku seemed to catch Zabuza's thoughts, and his expression turned serious. "But that doesn't mean that my loyalty towards you has wavered in the slightest. Once you finish your probation, I will go follow you should you choose to leave Konoha."

Zabuza smirked, baring his sharp teeth. "Good to hear that."

They continued talking for quite some time. Haku talked about the training he was getting from both the Academy and his legal guardians, to which Zabuza constantly claimed that he would make a much better job. Zabuza also told him the little novelties that went in prison from the last time the Ice Ninja came to visit. Until they finally hit the forty five minutes mark, and Zabuza was brought to his cell.

While they headed back home, Yugao couldn't hold her tongue about certain topic. "You know, Haku-kun, I never understand how such a kind boy like you can be so loyal to such bloodthristy criminal."

"I told you that Zabuza-sama save me from-"

"Yeah, we know," the purple haired woman interrupted. "But still, the way he talks about you, as if you only existed to serve him and your feelings didn't matter...why does that never bother you?"

"It's a small price to pay, compared to my previous situation."

"What about Yugao-chan and myself? Didn't we treat you good during these years?" Hayate asked.

"Yes. You've done an admirable effort taking care of me, and I will always be grateful for that."

Hayate frowned. "Yet if you have to choose between Zabuza or us, you'll choose him."

"Undoubtedly," Haku's answer left was definitive.

"But why? That's what we can't understand," Yugao said with pleading eyes.

"Because he was the first to acknowledge me. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. That's why I have a debt with him that I will never be able to pay."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes. He is the most important person to me."

"I see then. And do you think he loves you back?"

Haku averted his gaze. "That's irrelevant."

"You didn't answer my question." Yugao wasn't going to let the issue go so easily.

Haku stuttered something unintelligible before he gave his answer. "I...I don't know. I think he does."

"And do you want him to love you?"

Haku felt as if he was trying to force the words out of his mouth. "...yes."

"Then, why don't you ask him that the next time we come to visit him?" Hayate suggested.

"I...I'll think about it. Can we talk about else now, please?" Haku asked with pleading eyes.

"Yes. I believe we give you enough hell for that. So, do you want to have dinner at home, or do you want for us to go out?"

…

 _Training Ground Three_

"Alright Naruto, this year will be your last at the Academy, so we will make sure that by the time you graduate, you're good enough to become a Chunin. The only thing you'll need then will be experience, and that will come with the missions," Jiraiya explained. "Now, show me what you can do before we move into something new."

Naruto and Jiraiya spend half an hour sparring, while the Toad Sage made comments about things that Naruto had improved and others that he needed to work out. Then, he asked Naruto to make him a demonstration of his ninjutsu skills, first the three E-Rank jutsus –Naruto had finally learned to do the Body Replacement without needing to do hand seals– and later his few wind jutsus.

"So, how it was?" Naruto asked, expectant.

"Pretty good. But then again it's no surprise, given that you have such an awesome teacher like myself. I am the Hokage after all," Jiraiya said, with a self-aggrandizing air. "Though your mom helped as well."

Naruto was about to retort, when a realization dawned on him.

"Hey, I just realized something," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes at Jiraiya. "Shouldn't you be at the Hokage's tower? How can you have so much spare time to train me?"

"Oh, you noticed?" Jiraiya asked with a foxy grin. "You took your sweet time. And before you start throwing accusations, the answer is that I'm not the real Jiraiya, but a clone. The real me is back at the tower, working."

Technically, the real Jiraiya was in a secret room in the tower writing the next Icha Icha installment, while another couple of clones worked on the paperwork.

"A clone? But...you're...you're...I mean, I can touch you!"

"You mean that I'm solid? Yeah. Because I'm not a normal clone, but a Shadow Clone. Not only I'm solid, but I possess all the knowledge and jutsus from the real Jiraiya. And all the knowledge I gain will be send to Jiraiya once I'm dispelled."

"Whoa, that jutsu it's so cool! And how durable are you?"

"It depends, but Shadow Clones are usually rather fragile, and a strong hit is enough to dispel them. Still, Jiraiya's clones are rather sturdy, and nothing less than a stab will dispel them."

"I see. And do the pain of the clones feel go back to the original too?"

"No. Just the knowledge."

"Okay, then let me try something!" Naruto said as he pulled out a kunai from his pouch.

"Hey kid, what are you-"

But the Jiraiya clone didn't time to react before Naruto sank a kunai on his chest, exploding in a cloud of smoke. Ten minutes later, Jiraiya –or better said, another clone– reappeared.

"Seriously brat, don't do that again!" Jiraiya shouted in a scolding manner. "We're wasting a lot of time! Not to mention that seeing you trying to kill me was disturbing as hell!"

"Can you teach me that jutsu?" Naruto asked, starry eyed.

"This is a forbidden jutsu that is only taught to Jonin," Jiraiya replied. Naruto's stars vanished from his eyes. "But then again, it's due its heavy chakra cost. And since you have way more chakra than the average Genin, I don't see why you shouldn't."

The stars returned once again to Naruto's eyes. The Toad Sage explained the process, which was surprisingly simple for being a forbidden jutsu. Once Naruto heard the explanation, he formed a cross with his index and middle fingers from both hands, and made his first attempt.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Fifteen Naruto clones appeared from just as many small cloud explosions. Jiraiya looked at the display, speechless.

"Holy shit, brat! I knew you have a lot of chakra, but this is way too much!" Jiraiya shouted in shock, unconsciously stumbling back. "Hell, I have pretty big chakra reserves and I can't make more than six clones!"

Naruto grinned. "I can do more if you want."

"No, it's okay. Boy, if I knew this, I could have taught you this jutsu way earlier. This is going to accelerate your training big time."

Naruto tilted his head. "Come again?"

"Brat, did you forget already what I said about the original retaining the knowledge of the clones?"

"Wait, so that means...I could have five clones learning five different jutsus at the same time, and thus I'd learn five jutsus in the time it takes to learn just one?"

Jiraiya smiled. "You got it right."

Naruto looked as if his birthday had just arrived. "Oh boy, this is awesome! Now I'm going to be the most awesome ninja who ever lived in no time! Come on, teach me something else!"

"I like your enthusiasm, kid. Your dad was just as eager to learn as you are. And thus, I believe it's about time you learn a jutsu that it's pretty much a family tradition. How do you like the idea of summoning an animal companion to help you in battle?"

…

 _Many months later_

And once again, a new school year began.

One of the perks of Jiraiya's reform was the introduction of optional subjects, which would help the future Genin to choose their specialization as soon as possible. That means that, for a couple hours, the students wouldn't be together in the same classroom or training ground.

 _Medical Ninjutsu Course, Konoha Hospital_

"Welcome everybody to my class. I'm sure everybody knows me, but I'll introduce myself nevertheless. My name is Tsunade Senju, and as you guessed, I will teach you medical ninutsu," the Slug Sannin announced, staring at her five students. "Now, why don't you introduce yourselves and tell me why are you interested in learning medical ninjutsu?"

"I think I will go first," Sakura said. She cleared her throat. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I know that medical ninjutsu requires a fine chakra control and intelligence, traits I'm sure I posses. As for my motivation, I believe it's a good way to help my teammates in battle and make myself useful."

"Nice introduction, kid. How many times did you rehearse it in front of the mirror?"

"Five times-I mean, none! What I said came from the bottom of my heart!"

Tsuande smirked, amused. "Sure, I believe you. What about you?" she asked, looking at Ino.

"My name is Ino Yamanaka. I also think I have what it takes to be a medic. My reasons for wanting to be a medic is that ninjas are mostly known for killing, but I believe that saving lives is important too. And unlike forehead girl, I didn't rehearse this."

Sakura shot his former friend a murderous glare.

"A noble thought, indeed. Who wants to go next?"

"How about me?" Karin suggested, raising his hand. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. I already have an innate healing ability, so I think I could greatly benefit from learning medical ninjutsu."

Tsunade merely nodded, and looked at her remaining two students.

"M-My name is Hinata Hyuga, though y-you already know who I am," Hinata said a bit sheepishly. "I think my Byakugan can be a great tool for a medic-nin, plus just like Ino-san said, we ninjas should help people in ways other than killing."

"Girl, you have no idea how much I wanted to get my hands on a Hyuga. But the rest of them seem to think that there's nothing beyond the Gentle Fist," Tsunade commented. "But then again, a tool is just as good as the person using it. Don't think that having a Byakugan makes you a medic already."

"O-Of course not!"

Tsunade then looked at his last student, who took the hint and spoke.

"My name is Shino Aburame. Like Karin, I also know medical ninjutsu. But then again, our clan's medical jutsus involve using our insects to repair our bodies, and thus non-Aburames are quite reluctant to be healed this way. And since I have an extensive knowledge of human anatomy, I believe I have a good base to learn mainstream medical jutsus."

"Good to have somebody in my class with a Y chromosome. I don't know why most men are so unwilling to learn medicine," Tsunade mused to herself. "Alright, now that introductions are over, let's get started. The first thing you'll learn is the Mystical Palm Jutsu, the basic healing jutsu, and the one you will use the most. My knucklehead of a son, who has an average chakra control and zero aptitude for medicine learned this jutsu in two weeks, so I expect you to learn it in less than one. Now open your books on page 7, and read..."

...

 _Chakra Flow course, Training Ground Eighteen_

"Welcome to Chakra Flow course. My name is Hayate Gekko, and I will be your teacher," the Special Jonin said before coughing a couple times. "You know, I wasn't expecting this many people to attend this class."

Hayate's students looked at each other a bit puzzled. They were Naruto, Sasuke, Haku and Tamaki. Was Hayate expecting less than four people?

"In case you're wondering, last year I only got one student. A girl named Tenten, do you know her? No? Oh, nevermind then," Hayate coughed again. "Okay, now I'll explain you the basics of chakra flow. Like the name implies, it consists in channeling your chakra through a weapon to increase it's power, as well as adding it other attributes. Now watch this."

Hayate then tossed a kunai at a bullseye in a tree stump. The kunai's point stabbed itself in the middle.

"Now, watch what happens when I charge the kunai with my chakra before tossing it," Hayate showed the kunai, which had a faint blue glow, and tossed it against another bullseye.

Except this time, the kunai drilled itself into the stump, making multiple large cracks. Naruto and Tamaki opened their mouths in awe, while Sasuke and Haku merely nodded.

"As you can see, good chakra control is essential to master this art. What I did was channel normal chakra. If you learn elemental chakra, you can coat your weapons in fire or electricity. Now take out a kunai or a shuriken –yes Haku, a senbon is also fine– and try to do it yourselves. Don't get frustrated if you don't get it at the first try."

 _..._

 _Elemental Ninjutsu Course, Training Ground Eleven_

As many teachers expected, this was the optional subject with the most students. All of them actually. Iruka himself was the instructor. Behind him were five opened boxes with scrolls on them. The boxes were labeled with the kanjis for "fire", "water", "earth", "wind" and "lightning".

"I'm glad to see all of you here. You know already me and I know all of you, so we can skip the introductions and get down to business," Iruka pulled a small sheet of brown paper from a pouch of his flak jacket. "Does anybody knows what is this? Yes, Naruto?"

"A Chakra litmus paper. It's used to find out your elemental affinity. You channel chakra into the paper, and you can guess your affinity based on how it reacts."

Iruka smiled. "Very well, Naruto. I believe you have been introduced to the basics of nature manipulation, right?" the teacher asked. Naruto proudly nodded. "Does anybody else knows the basics of nature manipulation?"

Sasuke, Haku and Hinata raised their hands.

"Okay. As you can see, there are some boxes behind me. Said boxes have some D-rank and C-rank jutsus. Your task for today is to pick one and try to master it. The rest of you, take a litmus paper from me and see which is your affinity. If the paper burns, is fire. If it gets wet, is water. If it turns to dust is earth. If it splits in two then is air. And if it wrinkles is lightning."

Shikamaru, Choji and Tamaki got fire. Karin, Kiba and Shino got earth. Ino got water.

"Uh...Iruka sensei, I think I have a problem here..." Sakura said as he walked towards him.

The teacher smiled. "That's why I'm here. What's wrong, then?"

"Is just that my paper...it did something weird...can you give me another one? Maybe the one you gave me was defective."

Iruka titled his head, puzzled, but decided to comply the pinkette's request and gave her another paper. After she channeled her chakra once again, the paper got wet, but then it crumbled into a paste.

"See? This is what happened before!"

"Oh my..." Iruka looked at the remaing of the paper in surprise.

"What is it? There's something wrong with my chakra?"

Iruka smiled in a reassuring way. "There's nothing to worry about, Sakura. In fact, this is pretty good."

"Huh?"

"The paper got wet, indicating water, affinity, then crumbled, indicating earth affinity. That means that you have two affinities. Which is extremely rare outside Bloodline Limits."

Sakura's worried face morphed into a smile of triumph.

"Two affinities? Oh yes!" the pinkette pumped her fists.

"Alright, now that everybody knows their affinity, I will teach you the basic control exercises that you'll need to master before you can learn any elemental jutsus..."

…

Time passed. Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. And before anybody realized, it was the end of the school year, which would mean the Final Exam. Like the other exams, this one had written portion, which involved subjects such as math, physics, history and geography. The ninjutsu portion consisted on showing the teacher a jutsu other than the three E-Rank ones. Most people used their clan jutsus. Karin surprised Naruto with an Uzumaki secret jutsu called Adamantine Chains. Sakura used the Chakra Scalpel –which Naruto taught her– and Naruto himself used the Summoning Jutsu to summon a little red toad wearing a black jacket named Gamakichi. Other two portions consisted on taijutsu spar against a teacher, an obstacle course, and tossing kunai or shuriken against moving targets. And lastly, there was also a portion for each optional subject taken.

All the students passed without much trouble. The position of Rookie of the Year, which was close between Sasuke and Haku, went to the former. Hinata was the top kunoichi, with Sakura being a close second. Iruka congratulated each of his students at the same time he gave them their desired forehead protectors, signifying the fact that they were now real ninjas. He also told them to come back tomorrow to know their teammates and their Jonin-senseis.

At the Academy's entrances, the twelve new ninjas were being congratulated by their clans and families. Naruto was a bit dejected that Jiraiya and Tsunade couldn't come, since they were busy at the moment, but at the very least, Shizune and the twins were for him.

"Congratulations, Naruto-kun! We all knew you'll make it," Shizune happily said as she patted Naruto on the back.

"I can't wait to show this to mom and dad!" Naruto cheered, proudly pointing at the forehead protector on his head. "It look cool on me, doesn't it?"

"Hey, can I see it?" Hagane asked, as he reached for Naruto's forehead.

"I want to see it too!" Kaida said as well.

"Yes, but I asked first!"

"But Naruto-niisan likes me better than you!"

"That's a lie! Naruto-niisan, you like me better, right?"

"Enough you two! You won't see anything if you don't behave!" Shizune angrily chided. The twins shut up, and lowered their heads in shame. "Now come on, today we will dinner somewhere special to celebrate your graduation."

"Yay! Icharaku's!" Naruto and the twins said in unison.

"I said 'somewhere special', not the place you go every day, Naruto-kun."

Meanwhile, Hinata was also showing her forehead protector to her mother and little sister.

"The entire clan will be proud of you, Hinata," Hikari sweetly said, as she caressed her daughter's cheek. "And top kunoichi no less!"

"Hinata-neechan, can I see your forehead protector?" Hanabi asked as she made puppy dog eyes.

Hinata smiled at his sister, and handed the precious headgear to her. "Of course, Hanabi-chan. You'll see how in no time you'll get yours too."

Another kunoichi near the Hyugas was also showing her prize to her parents.

"See this? I'm a real ninja now! And I almost became top kunoichi! Not bad for somebody who doesn't have a clan, uh?" Sakura waved her forehead protector in front of her parents.

"We always knew you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, dear," Kizashi, Sakura's father said.

"We're really proud of you, honey," Mebuki, Sakura's mother, said as she hugged her.

While Sakura hugged her mother, she couldn't help but glance at certain black haired boy who, just like everybody else, was showing his forehead protector to the remains of his clan.

"Rookie of the Year, uh? Just like your big bro!" Shisui said as he ruffled Sasuke's hair.

"I want to restore the honor of the clan. And by doing that I need to do my best in order to show the village what the Uchiha clan is made of," It was refreshing see Sasuke happy for once.

"Now you will have plenty of opportunities to prove yourself and the clan. Come on, we have to celebrate your graduation at the top of your class," Itachi suggested as he and the other two Uchihas walked away.

Near Sasuke, Yugao and Hayate were also congratulating their quasi-adoptive son, Haku, who was showing them his headband.

"Really impressive kid. It's a pity that you didn't become Rookie of the Year, but oh well," Yugao said as he patted his back.

"Thank you," Haku replied, smiling at them. "Now if it's not much of a bother, could we go to the Hokage's office? This is the proof that I graduated, and thus the Hokage will have to release Zabuza-sama."

"That won't be necessary, brat," a voice behind them said. A voice Haku knew too well. The Ice Ninja turned around and saw Zabuza, no longer wearing the prison uniform, smirking at him from behind his mask. "Surprised to see me?"

"ZABUZA-SAMA!" Haku cried as he threw his arms around Zabuza, taking the swordsman completely by surprise. "You're free at last!"

"What the hell?" Zabuza asked in shock as he held his hands upwards, as if Haku was made of fire.

"Hey, big guy, why don't you try hugging the kid back?" Hayate suggested, while repressing a cough. "Maybe you even like it."

Going against his better judgment, Zabuza awkwardly wrapped his arms around Haku, and patted his back a couple times.

" _What the hell is this place doing to me..."_

…

 _Undisclosed location_

In an underground location, a vast man-made cavern decorated with statues of snakes, three men were present, two of them having a conversation, while the third one listened intently. Two of them had silver hair, with one of them also wearing glasses. The last one was taller than the other two, had pale skin and long black hair. The latter man spoke first.

"So, tell me, Mizuki-san, what is your reasons to join my humble organization?"

Mizuki was bent down on one knee, looking at the floor. In front of him was a man whose immense power was only rivaled by his even greater ambition. This man could give Mizuki all what he ever wanted, or he could end his life right here. The former Konoha teacher had to choose his words carefully.

"Because I believe that we're the same, Orochimaru-sama. Like you, I'm a man not bound by petty morality. Like you, I'm a man that will stop at nothing to achieve my goals. Like you, I'm a man who wants to become stronger at any costs. And like you, I also left Konoha when I realized that that place had nothing more to offer."

Orochimaru couldn't repress a smirk. "You certainly has some guts, Mizuki-san, comparing yourself, a mere teacher, to somebody like me."

Mizuki gulped. He needed to fix this _fast_."At no point I said that we were equals, Orochimaru-sama, but that we have similar mindsets. That's why I believe that my place is at your side."

Orochimaru chuckled. He certainly enjoyed watching that lowly man squirm in a pathetic attempt at making a good impression. Orochimaru had already made his mind, since you can never have enough foot soldiers or guinea pigs, but he decided to pressure him a little more, just for his own amusement.

"And tell me, what could you offer to me and my organization to be accepted on it? Our numbers might pale in comparison with the great villages, but even we have standards."

Mizuki smirked, and reached for his bag. "That's why I brought a present that I'm sure you will enjoy."

Upon seeing the bag's content, Orochimaru's yellow eyes expanded considerably. He took a step forward to check the item better.

"The Forbidden Scroll of the First Hokage," Orochimaru said in awe, passing a hand through the much desired item. Then he glared at Mizuki. "So it was you who had it all this time?"

"Yes. I stole it during the Uchiha insurrection. They were so busy dealing with the Uchihas, that nobody thought about keeping the scroll safe. Stealing it was a child's play," Mizuki threw his shoulders back in pride.

"So that's why the scroll wasn't there when I went to steal it," Orochimaru calmly said, and suddenly, all trace of color disappeared from Mizuki's face. "And you took no less than four years to bring it to me. Guess that the jutsus here were too complicated for your simple mind, huh?"

Mizuki knew he was screwed, and not in the fun way. His skin started to sweat bullets. Stammering, he tried to find an answer that would save his skin.

"Uh...sorry, I didn't thought that...uhh...eh..."

Orochimaru's mouth formed an unnerving smile. "But you did bring the scroll to me in the end. And like the old saying goes, all's well that ends well, right?"

"So...you aren't going to punish me?"

"No, Mizuki-san. In fact, from this day onwards, you're now a ninja of Otogakure. Since you were a teacher, I believe you'll have no trouble training a squad of young recruits, right?"

"Of course not, Orochimaru-sama. I'm eager to start working for you."

"Good. Kabuto, walk Mizuki-san towards his bedroom, please."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama," the bespectacled ninja said, as he and Mizuki walked away.

Alone, Orochimaru couldn't help but stare in awe at the object in his hands, the very reason he wanted to be Hokage to begin with. This would accelerate his plans greatly...but he also had to be cautious with the Akatsuki. It would do him no good if they realized that this scroll was in his possession now.

...

Tsunade sighed in relief when she finally arrived home after a particularly long shift at the hospital. She hated missing Naruto's graduating ceremony, but she simply couldn't leave in the middle of a delicate surgery, which turned out more complicated that the initial diagnosis suggested. Anyway, at least she could give Naruto her congratulatory gift. She only hoped that Naruto wouldn't be too upset with her.

The living room was empty, and so was the kitchen. She was about to go upstairs when a sound in the backyard caught her attention. And indeed, she saw Shizune in a light taijutsu spar with the twins, which immediately ended after her children and apprentice noticed her presence.

"MOM!" both white haired kids said in unison as they rushed to her.

"Hey mom, Naruto-niisan is a ninja now! They even gave him a headband!" Hagane excitedly commented as he tugged his mother's jacket.

"I know. I don't have any doubts that Naruto passed the exam without much trouble," Tsunade replied.

"Hey, now that you mention it, how is that you don't have a headband, mom?" Kaida asked.

"It's somewhere in my room. I don't use it because I find it uncomfortable," Tsunade told her daughter as she ruffled her hair. Then she turned at Shizune. "Where is Naruto?"

"In his bedroom," was the black haired kunoichi's answer.

"And...how is he?" Tsunade asked, feeling a bit uneasy.

"He was a bit upset that neither you nor Jiraiya-sama showed up, but I believe he understands why. I don't think he'll be mad at you," Shizune replied, trying to sound reassuring.

Tsunade sighed, though she wasn't completely relieved, at least not until he talked with her eldest son. "Alright. I'll go to see him and give him his gift."

"Gift? Do you mean...?"

Tsunade merely nodded.

…

"Enter!" Naruto said after somebody knocked the door. He had an idea of who could be.

And just like he expected, Tsunade entered his bedroom.

"Hi," Tsunade timidly said. "First of all, I'm sorry for missing your big day, Naruto."

Naruto simply smiled at her. "It's okay. I know that your work at the hospital is important and sometimes you have to stay until late. And dad's the Hokage, so that goes without saying."

Tsunade smiled back at him. "I'm glad that you're not mad at me," the Sannin then sat in the bed alongside him. "So, you're a ninja now, how do you feel?"

"Truth be told, the same as yesterday."

"Soon you'll start taking missions. Are you nervous?"

A foxy grin appeared on Naruto's face. "Of course not! This is what I was born to do!"

Tsunade couldn't help but giggle a little at the display. "I'm glad that you're so confident. That's good. But do not get too overconfident. That can get you killed in our line of work."

"Of course! You don't have to worry about me, mom!"

There was a moment of silence. Tsunade keep staring at Naruto, whose smile never left his face for a single moment.

"Anyway, besides that, I also came here to give you a gift. You know, for finishing the Academy and becoming a ninja."

Naruto grew excited upon hearing the word "gift", as his mind raced through the possibilities. "Really? What is it!?"

Without uttering a word, Tsunade removed the necklace from her neck, and placed it around Naruto's. All the enthusiasm from the blond jinchuriki disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming sense of awe.

"Mom..." Naruto said in an uncharacteristically low volume. "The necklace of the First Hokage...why?"

"Don't you like it?"

"No, no! I didn't mean that!" Naruto quickly stuttered as he shook his hands in negation. "It's just that...shouldn't you give this to Hagane or Kaida? This crystal has the chakra of the first Hokage, just like them...besides, they're your real kids..."

Tsunade's expression hardened. She then grabbed Naruto by his shoulders, forcing him to look her into her eyes. "Naruto, listen to me. Maybe you didn't come from my body, but you're my son as much as the twins, and I will not let anybody say otherwise. Besides, with that necklace, now all my children have the chakra of my grandfather with them."

For once, Naruto was at a loss for words. "I...thank you mom..."

Tsunade's stern expression was replaced by a warm smile. "You're welcome, kiddo. Now make me and the village proud."

"You can bet I will!" the jinchuriki replied, with one of his trademark wide grins.

...

 _The next day at the Academy_

Iruka looked at his now former students with pride. They were sitting on their usual seats, for what will be the last time. The teacher was afraid that Jiraiya's educational reform will turn into a slaughterhouse, and while many students ended up dropping out due to the increased standards, these twelve kids persevered until the very end and came out triumphant.

" _Turn out Jiraiya-sama's idea wasn't so hare-brained after all. This kids will be way more prepared for the future than if we stuck to the old model."_

Clearing his throat, Iruka spoke. "I told you yesterday already, but let me congratulate you again. It has been great having you as my students, but now, somebody else will take my place, somebody who will be able to teach you according to your growing needs.

"You will be organized into four man cells, composed by three Genin, and a Jonin, that will be your commanding officer, as well as your teacher.

"In the past, we used to make the teams based on grades, so the average grade of each team would be more or less the same as everybody else in order to have balanced teams. But Hokage-sama thought that this idea was stupid, so he suggested to create specialized teams based on the skills of its components. Some people like it, others preferred the older system, but it doesn't matter. It's what the Hokage wants, and his word is the law.

"And without further ado, these are the team formations..."

* * *

 **Author's Note: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUN!  
**

 **Yeah, I know I'm a S.O.B. for finsihing the chapter without revealing the teams yet, but I wanted to build up some expectation, I didn't want the team formations to overshadow the other events of this chapter, and to give you some time to speculate. Will the teams remain the same? Will there be new teams? A mix of both? You only need to wait one more week for that.**

 **(BTW, Team Gai is going to be the same as canon, with Neji, Lee and Tenten)**

 **Okay, now let's talk about one of the most prominent characters on this chapter: Sakura.**

 **A fellow writer I recently befriended described Sakura as an "epic fail of a main character", and I couldn't agree more. Kishimoto said in an interview that the idea behind Sakura was to create a "normal" character, somebody without any kind of dark past, clan history, inherited powers or stuff like that, that the audience could relate to. The problem is that such characters are usually rather boring to read about if you don't give them something interesting to do (besides being a love interest). Sakura could have been a "triumph of the common people" kind of character, somebody who rises to prominence despite lacking the advantages children of clans have. Similar to Rock Lee, you know.**

 **Most fics that aim to "fix" Sakura merely make her stronger and more active in fights, but that's just half the problem. As I highlighted during her and Hinata's talk, Sakura doesn't seem to have any kind of dream or goal to become a ninja like pretty much every other people her generation (even if most of them become ninjas out of family tradition, but that's something). So in my opinion, giving her a motivation besides impressing a boy was a must. Really, something as simple as proving yourself will do the trick.**

 **So after fourteen chapters, we finally reached the beginning of the manga, and broke the 100K words barrier. It was about time :)**

 **So, while you wait and speculate the team formations, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	15. The Beginning of their Ninja Journey

**Authro's Note: Okay, something I need to clarify. Just because I gave Sakura both water and earth affinity doesn't mean that she will develop Wood Style, or that she's secretly a Senju, or stuff like that. Kaida will be the only character in this story to naturally possess Wood Style. Other characters will acquire this ability by splicing Hashirama's DNA, just like in canon.**

 **Now, enjoy the new chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15:**

The Beginning of Their Ninja Journey

or

 _What do you mean we're not real ninja yet?_

Everybody listened intently to the teacher as he revealed who will be their teammates for the foreseeable future.

"And without further ado, these are the team formations:

"Assault Squad, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, and Haku Yuki."

"AW YEAH!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed both Hinata and Haku in a hug on each arm. Haku merely chuckled, while Hinata turned red like a tomato.

" _I'm in the same team as Naruto-kun...I can't believe my luck...!"_ Hinata thought, unmolested by Naruto's arm wrapped around her.

"Naruto, enough!" Iruka angrily shouted. Then he continued reading. "Medical Squad, Sakura Haruno, Karin Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha!"

"Yes! I'm with Sasuke-kun!" both Sakura and Karin gushed at the same time. Noticing what just happened, they glared and hissed at each other.

" _There was a time I would have killed to be in the same team as Sasuke, now I feel lucky I'm not with him...come on Sakura, can't you see he's dangerous, and not in a kinky way?"_ Ino thought while she glanced at both Sakura and Sasuke.

Sasuke raised his hand. "Iruka-sensei, there has to be a mistake. Not only I'm not a medic, but there's no way I can be in the same team as those two! I mean, I can tolerate one, but TWO!?"

"I can assure you that there are no mistakes, Sasuke. If you have any question, talk it with your Jonin-sensei when she arrives," Iruka then turned his eyes back to the list. "Animal Squad, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Tamaki!"

"I'm with the fleabag? I demand another team!" Tamaki asked as she looked at Kiba in disgust.

"You should be honored to be in the same team as me, apprentice of a crazy cat lady!" Kiba spat back.

Shino didn't say anything, just let out a long sigh.

Iruka groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose. _"On second thought, I'm glad you guys are now somebody else's problem."_

"And lastly, Tactical Squad, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi and Ino Yamanaka."

Shikamaru high-fived Choji without either of them had to turn at each other.

"Those are the teams. If you have a problem with them, go complain to the Hokage. Now, wait here. Your Jonin-sensei had been warned, and will come to pick you up any moment," Iruka announced before leaving the classroom.

Five minutes later, just as the teacher had said, a Jonin entered the room. A black haired woman that Naruto, and to a lesser extend Sasuke, knew very well.

"Hey, Shizune-neechan!" Naruto enthusiastically called, waving at her. "Are you a jonin sensei?"

Shizune smiled at him. "Yes. I thought it would be a nice experience."

"That's awesome! Are you my team's sensei?"

"I'm afraid not, Naruto-kun. It's forbidden for a Jonin to be the sensei of a team with a close relative on it," noticing that Naruto's disappointment, she added: "But don't worry, I know your sensei, and I'm sure you'll like her. Now, members of the Medical Squad, can you come with me?"

Sasuke, Sakura and Karin got up from their seats and followed the black haired kunoichi out of the class.

" _Of course, Konoha's second best medic would be the leader of the medical squad,"_ Sakura thought in realization.

Ten minutes later, two Jonin arrived at the same time. One of them was a tall man with short, spiky black hair and a beard of the same color, and tan skin. He had a cigarette on his mouth. The other was a woman with long raven hair and deep crimson eyes that could be easily mistaken for a Sharingan.

"Tactical Squad, with me," the man said.

"Assault Squad, come with me," the woman added.

Both teams got up from their seats and followed their senseis out of the classroom, leaving the members of the Animal Squad alone.

 _An hour later_

"I believe they forgot about us," Kiba complained. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"Maybe our sensei is late...?" Tamaki said.

"No, late would be fifteen or twenty minutes. I mean, the other senseis only took ten minutes to arrive while we have been waiting here for almost an hour."

"I suggest patience," Shino spoke. "This man is a Jonin, and thus somebody serious worth of his rank. I'm positive that he'll have an acceptable reason for not being on time."

 _Two hours later_

Tamaki was asleep on her desk. Kiba was groaning in annoyance.

"Where the hell is this guy!?"

"Regardless of what I said before, I'm starting to believe that either our sensei forgot about us, or the Hokage forgot to tell him about us. In either case, an unacceptable behavior from either our sensei or the Hokage," Shino commented, a little irritation seeping through his usual stoic monotone tone.

That moment, the door opened, revealing a tall man with silver colored, gravity defying hair, whose lower part of his face was covered by a mask.

"Yo," the man laconically said.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Kiba yelled at the man, abruptly waking Tamaki up.

"Oh, sorry about that. I kinda forgot how to arrive here. You know, it's been a while since I was an academy student," the man said, giving the three Genin an eye-smile. "I believe that you're the Animal Squad?"

"By virtue of being the only remaining team present, yes, we are," Shino replied.

"Alright, then come with me. And once again, sorry for being late. It will never happen again."

The three Genin had the impression that that was a huge lie.

…

 _Training Ground Ten_

Shikamaru, Choji and Ino were sitting on the grass, looking at the tall bearded man in front of him, who had informed that this training ground would be now where they will be training from now onwards as a team.

"Alright, before I explain you the role of this team as a whole, why don't you introduce ourselves to each other, you know, to be better acquitted," the man said as he gave his cigarette a puff. "I'll start. My name is Asuma Sarutobi. I like to train, hang out with my friends, and play shogi," Shikamaru perked up upon hearing this. "I dislike bullies, and those who doesn't get take their roles as a ninja seriously. My dream is to make a name of myself, marry a nice woman, and start a family."

It was Ino who perked up upon hearing the last bit of information. Her mouth curved into a huge smile "Do you have somebody in mind already?"

"I don't think I have to tell you that," Asuma replied.

Ino's grin grew even wider. "That mean yes, then. Was that that pretty woman that came with you? I noticed the looks she was shooting at you."

" _Man, if I knew that this girl was so much into gossiping I would have my trap shut,"_ Asuma thought. "Why don't you share something about you? That way we should be even."

"Why, of course," Ino chirped, before clearing her throat. "My name is Ino Yamanaka, future heir of the Yamanaka Clan once I'm eighteen. I like shopping and gossiping," her face considerably soured before continuing. "I dislike traitors and murderers. And my dream is to become a great kunoichi so I can lead my clan properly so we can keep Konoha safer."

Asuma remembered that Ino lost her dad during the Uchiha insurrection. While she didn't made any specific references, it was easy to guess who she was thinking when she talked about "traitors and murderers."

"If you work hard, I'm sure you'll achieve your dream," Asuma then turned to Choji, who was munching some chips, and nodded at him. The Akimichi took the hint.

"My name is Choji Akimichi. Eating is what I like the most. While I have some favorite foods, I'm also open to taste new things. I dislike people who judge others based on their appearance. And my dream is to become a great ninja, just like my father."

"Well, maybe you could moderate a little on the food if you want to achieve that goal," Asuma said, making Choji to frown at him, but didn't stop eating his chips. The Jonin then stared at Shikamaru, who replied with a long sigh.

"My name is Shikamaru Nara. I like playing Shogi and watching the clouds. I dislike...well, pretty much anything that requires some sort of physical effort on my part, if it's not a life or death situation. And my dreams for the future...guess it would be to have a quiet life devoid of complications, and maybe have a family as well."

"Interesting. Maybe you and I should play Shogi sometime," Asuma said, earning a shrug from Shikamaru as if saying "sure, why not?" "And maybe I could do something about that laziness of yours."

Shikamaru gave another shrug, this one meaning "you're welcome to try".

"Alright, so the four of us form the Tactical Squad. The role of this squad will be taking care of missions other specialized teams wouldn't be qualified for, such as infiltration, reconnaissance, captures, dealing with enemies that won't go down with just brute force, and so on.

"It is no coincidence that you three were chosen for this squad. Members of the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans being on the same team is a tradition that goes back fifteen generations, but I'm sure you're already aware about that.

"Now, I must tell you something. Despite what Iruka might have told you, you're not Genin already," this earned a loud "WHAT!?" from Ino and Choji, and a soft "eh" from Shikamaru. "Before you're officially Genin, I must give you my approval. And before I can do that, I have to test you first."

"What kind of test is going to be, Asuma-sensei?" Choji asked, after apparently finishing his bag of chips.

"A simple spar. You three against me. The teamwork of your three clans is downright legendary, and I want to check if you're going to live up to said legend," Asuma explained before finishing his cigarette, dropping it at his feet, and stepping on it to put it out completely.

The three Genin got on their feet, and prepared for the fight.

...

 _Training Ground Nine_

Just like Asuma's team, Shizune's team were sitting in front of their sensei, though in their case they were sitting on a makeshift bench made out of a fallen tree, Sasuke in the middle with Sakura and Karin at each side. And just like Asuma, Shizune proposed to introduce themselves to each other.

"My name is Shizune Kato. I like medicine, helping others, cute animals, and to visit cultural heritage sites. I dislike drunks and gamblers. My dream is to become a great kunoichi and live up to Tsunade-sama's legacy. Well, now you know a little more about me," the adult medic-nin said with a warm smile. "Who wants to go next?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like...well, cute boys," she said, glancing at Sasuke, who didn't react. "I also like medicine. I dislike people who judge others without getting to know them, and my dream is to prove that I can become a great kunoichi despite not being born into a ninja clan."

Without waiting for Shizune to say anything, Karin started her introduction, slightly upset that Sakura got to introduce herself first. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. I like perfumes, medicine, and having a permanent home. I dislike rude people. My dream is to restore my clan to its former glory, and be strong enough so I don't have to worry about people wanting to hurt me or my family."

Shizune nodded and smiled, then looked at Sasuke, who groaned in return.

"Let's get over this already. My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training and getting stronger, and when I'm not doing that I like to take long walks. I dislike people who hurt those I care about. And my dream is to become the strongest ninja this village has ever seen, as well as to restore the honor of my clan."

"Well, now that we all know a little more about each other, how about I explain you the role of this team?" Shizune asked. Sasuke raised his hand. "Yes, Sasuke?"

"This is a medical squad, and I can see that you, Sakura and Karin are medics. But I'm not a medic. Shouldn't somebody like Ino or Hinata be here instead of me? I think I belong to the Assault Squad or even the Tactical Squad. Clearly there has been a mistake when the teams were formed."

"Jiraiya-sama told me you'd said that. And no, there were no mistakes with the team placements. If you allow me to explain how this team will work, you'll understand why you're here instead of a more...offensive-oriented team."

"You have my attention then."

"Alright. The Medical Squad is mostly a Search and Rescue team. Our duty includes searching disappeared people, healing the wounded and rescue people from dangerous areas, among many others. When working alongside other squads, our role will be to support them.

"Now Sasuke, as for your presence here. You see, for obvious reasons, medics tend to be the first ones being targeted by the enemy forces. Since most of the time medics will be healing and assisting others, they will be unable to defend themselves and thus vulnerable to enemy attacks."

Sakura and Karin imagined a chibi version of themselves healing a random Konoha ninja, only to be ambushed by an enemy who stabs them in the back multiple times, making their spirit leave their lifeless bodies.

"If that happens, not only we lose a medic, but the person he or she may be healing. Your role is make sure that such thing doesn't happen."

"So I'm an escort?" the Uchiha asked.

"Exactly. I'm glad you got it."

Sakura and Karin replayed the same scenario as before in their minds, except this time a chibi Sasuke appeared and defeated the enemy ninja before he could harm either of them, and posed heroically. Sakura and Karin stared at Sasuke with heart in their eyes as the wounded ninja they were treating died due the lack of medical assistance, causing his spirit to leave the body.

"However, there is something you should know: you're not real Genin yet," Shizune revealed, much to her students shock. "You still need to go through one last test to determine if you're worthy of being part of this team. If you fail, you will be sent back to the Academy."

Sasuke's initial shock was short lived. "I've taken quite a few tests already. I'm not afraid to take one more."

"Sasuke-kun is right, whatever you have planned, we can go through it!" Sakura added.

"Eh, what she said," Karin said.

"Alright. See the small forest behind me?" Shizune asked, motioning back. "There's a medical training dummy hidden somewhere among the trees. Your task is finding said dummy, treat its injuries, then bring it here. I will attack you from time to time. But don't worry, I will hold back. Now go!"

The two girls and the one boy rushed into the forest.

...

 _Training Ground Seven_

Just like the two teams before, Kakashi asked their Genins to introduce themselves.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first?" Tamaki suggested.

"Alright, I guess it would be fair," Kakashi said. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like many things. As for things I dislike...I don't feel like talking about them. And my dreams...well, I have dreams just like everybody else. There, now you go."

"Wow, not only he's absurdly late, but he doesn't tell anything about himself other than his name," Kiba snarled exasperatedly. Akamaru growled as well.

"Excuse me, Kakashi-sensei, but you can't expect us to tell you personal information about us if you're not willing to share anything about you with us in return. Why? Because while trust is important on a team, trust is also a two-way road. You can't ask for trust if you don't trust others yourself," Shino explained.

Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds as he processed the bug user's elaborated rant.. "How old are you again?"

"Twelve. But I fail to see how's that relevant to the matter at hand."

Tamaki shifted in her seat, and looked at Shino. "I believe Kakashi-sensei thinks you don't speak like a kid our age should."

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with my manner of speech. And if you thing there is something wrong, then, like kids our age usually say, deal with it."

Kakashi let out a sight. "Okay, let's start over again. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like books, dogs and training," this elicited a smirk from Kiba and a frown from Tamaki. "I dislike people who abandon their comrades. And my dream...well, I'm not entirely sure, guess it would be to make up for all the mistakes I made in the past and all the people I failed. There, are you happy now?"

"What mistakes?" Tamaki asked, leaning forward.

"What people you failed?" Kiba asked, interested as well.

"Sorry, that's all you're going to get from me right now, so don't push your luck. Well Kiba, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Alright. My name is Kiba Inuzuka, and this is my best friend, Akamaru!" Akamaru happily barked upon being acknowledged. "I like dogs, take long walks, running, and meat! I dislike cats," Kiba shot a glare at Tamaki. The girl merely stuck her tongue at him. "And my dream is to reach higher than any Inuzuka ever did, like being Hokage!"

"Interesting," was all that Kakashi said. He then motioned at the only girl in the group. "Shall you introduce yourself?"

"Sure. My name is Tamaki. I like playing with my cats, buying new clothes, and climb high places. I dislike dogs, especially those who bark constantly the moment you get near them. And my dream is for one day to start a clan on my own, and make a name for myself."

"Nice introduction," Kakashi said, with his trademark eye-smile. "Now, since that's out of the way, let's-"

"Actually, I believe I didn't introduce myself yet," Shino interceded.

"What? Oh my, I'm sorry! I guess I'm not feeling that hot today," Kakashi replied in an irritatingly jovial tone.

"You know, forgetting about one of your students is not a mark of a good sensei," Shino glared at Kakashi from behind his shades. "Nevermind. My name is Shino Aburame. I like entomology, medicine, and nature. I dislike people who hate or kill insects for no reason. My dream is to discover a new or very rare species of insects, as well as advancing the field of entomology."

"Okay, now that everybody has been introduced, let's get down to business. Given the name of the team, it should be obvious what you all have in common. Kiba has his dog, Shino his insects and Tamaki cats...where are your cats, Tamaki?"

Tamaki half-expected that question. "I don't have them with me all the time, they're with Grandma. If I need them, I can use the Summoning Jutsu."

"Interesting. So young, and with a Summoning Contract?"

"Eh, it's not that big deal," Tamaki said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Another kid of our class, Naruto, can summon toads. What about you? For being the leader of the Animal Squad you don't have any animal with you either."

"Summoning Jutsu," was all what Kakashi answered, thought it was enough to satisfy his students. "Anyway, we're getting off track. From time immemorial, many ninjas had used animals as companions to aid them in battle. Regardless of how powerful a ninja becomes, there are abilities that he or she will never have, but animals do have. This led many clans, such as the Inuzukas, to specialize in breeding animals and develop a fighting style involving them.

"And thus, the main role of the Animal Squad will be to take care of missions in which human ninjas would be insufficient, such as tracking, searching for hidden objects, and so on. Our secondary role will be to offer support to other teams. Do you have any questions? No? Okay. In that case, then you should know that you're not Genin already."

"How can that be, if we graduated from the Academy?" Shino asked, as he adjusted his glasses.

"Because the graduating the Academy is a prerequisite to take the real Genin test. And if you fail it, you'll go back to the Academy."

"Oh come on! You can't do that!" Kiba protested, shaking his fists.

"Trust me, I can. Now, let's proceed with the test," Kakashi then pulled from a pocket two small bells. "Do you know what is this?"

…

 _Training Ground Eight_

Just like the three other teams, Naruto, Hinata and Haku were sitting around their sensei, who was studying them intently.

"Well, look at that. This year we're going to have not one but two Genin teams that are majorly female. It's good to see more women taking the path of the ninja," Kurenai then stared at Naruto, and smiled at him. "Given that you were raised by the strongest kunoichi who ever lived, I'm sure you won't have any problem being the only boy in the team." However, much to her confusion, Naruto started to chortle. The red-eyed woman frowned, and placed her hands on her hips. "Did I say something funny, Naruto?"

"As a matter of fact, you did," Naruto said between giggles.

"Kurenai-sensei...despite my appearance you should know that I'm actually a boy," Haku interceded.

Kurenai stared at the Ice Ninja for a few seconds, and as his words sunk in, her eyes grew while her irises shrunk. A faint blush flashed on her face. Her hands then flew to her face.

"Oh my...! I'm so sorry! I mean, given your name and the way you look...!" Kurenai spluttered

Haku, however, smiled. "It's okay, Kurenai-sensei. A lot of people mistake me for a girl. Guess that the way I dress doesn't help."

" _If that happens often, then no wonder he doesn't look upset at all. Still, I can't believe I did that..."_ the Jonin thought.

"Eh, it's more common than you think. When I went to Suna a few years ago I also saw a guy who looked like a woman," Naruto shared in an almost apologetic tone.

"Okay, okay...let's forget about this and...how about we get to know each other better? I'll start. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I like going out with my friends for a drink during the evenings. I don't like people who thinks that I'm weak or useless just because I'm a woman. And my dream is to become a kunoichi of renown, like Tsunade-sama. Or at least attain a level of skill close to hers. Now that you know me, who wants to go next?"

"Oh, me!me!" Naruto said, frantically waving his hand at her. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! I love ramen, learning new jutsus, gardening, my friends and my family! I dislike the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen to cook, as well as people who are mean to others. And my dream is to become the best Hokage who ever lived!"

Kurenai chuckled. "Huh. And here I thought that my ambitions were grandiose. Who wants to go now?"

"I believe I will," Haku said. "My name is Haku Yuki. I like Konoha, Yugao-san, Hayate-san, Zabuza-sama, and the friends I made at the Academy. I don't like people who hate others for reasons outside their control. I don't mind people mistaking me for a girl, but as of recent it's starting to become kind of annoying. My dream is to help Zabuza-sama end the current Mizukage's tyranny and restore peace to the Land of Water."

Kurenai took note of the girl-looking boy's words. His vocal loyalty towards the rogue swordsman was worrying. But then again, he said he liked Konoha. She decided not worry about that for the time being, and looked at the only member of her team that didn't introduce herself yet.

"H-Hi, my name is Hinata Hyuga. I like..." she trailed off, glancing quickly at Naruto while blushing a bit, something both Kurenai and Haku noticed, but Naruto missed. "...I like pressing flowers, gardening, and hanging out with my friends. I dislike rude and mean people, as well as the division of my clan. My dream...is to become a great kunoichi so I can succeed my mother as a clan leader someday, and help her to undo the rift in our clan."

Kurenai smiled at the little Hyuga's introduction.

"Okay, now that introductions are over, I'll explain you the function of this team. As the name implies, we're an offensive unit, with Haku focused on ninjutsu, Hinata on taijutsu, Naruto on a mix of both, and myself on genjutsu. Our job will be mostly focused on combat. Pretty simple as you can see."

"Alright! When are we going to start doing missions?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, about that. Well, you see, you're not Genin already. You still have to pass one more test of my choice. If you fail, you will be send back to the Academy." Kurenai answered.

Naruto took a few moments to process his sensei's words, but when he did, his reaction was both instant and predictable. "WHAT!?"

Haku's face soured. _"Then if I don't pass this test...Zabuza-sama will go back to jail?"_

"Hey, don't give me those looks. I saw your Academy profiles. This should be piece of cake for you."

"S-So, what is g-going to be the t-test, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"I'm glad you asked," Kurenai then produced a storage scroll, and unsealed an old, rusty body armor. The body armor used to be blue, but the color was now almost completely faded. It had multiple dents and scratches. But what drew their attention were the two huge red and white bullseyes painted in the front and the back of the armor. Kurenai started to put the armor on. "For this test, you'll need to hit either of the bullseyes with a weapon or a ninjutsu attack. You have three hours. To give you guys a chance, I won't use ninjutsu nor genjutsu. Any questions?"

Hinata raised his hand. "The three of us have to hit you?"

Kurenai shook her head. "No, if either of you hit the bullseyes, all three will pass the exam. More questions?" the Jonin asked. Her Genin remained silent. "Alright, in that case, let us commence!"

Kurenai made a hand seal, and she suddenly vanished as if she was made of dust.

"...the hell?" a very confused Naruto asked.

"I-I believe t-that was a g-genjutsu..." Hinata said, thought it was more a guess.

"Wait, so she wasn't even here to begin with?"

"It seems so," Haku concluded as he got up and grabbed a handful of senbon. "Come on, we need to pass this test."

"Yeah, but where did she go?" Naruto asked.

"My guess would be among a group of trees," Haku then turned to Hinata. "Hinata-san, we will need your Byakugan to locate her."

The Hyuga nodded, made a hand seal, and activated her doujutsu.

…

Just like Haku had guessed, Kurenai was hiding on the canopy of a big and lush tree. She felt a bit disappointed that neither of them noticed that she had casted a genjutsu on them while they were talking, but then again the kids weren't used to deal with this kind of illusions. Unfortunately, as good as Jiraiya's Academy reform was, genjutsu was once again barely covered, and the little practice was more about dispelling than casting them.

Anyway, she was sure she could teach at least one of her students the art of illusions. While Naruto's chakra control still needed some polishing before he could use genjutsus, Hinata and Haku were perfect. Though she also discarded Hinata when she remembered that the Hyuga heiress was also training in elemental ninjutsu and medicine besides the Gentle Fist, leaving Haku, who seemed to focus mostly in ninjutsu, as the most suitable candidate.

A whirring sound Kurenai identified as shuriken snapped her of her thoughts. She immediately jumped out of the branch she was resting on before the steel stars embedded themselves into the wood, and landed on a small clearing. Her three Genin appeared shortly afterwards, and surrounded her.

Kurenai smirked. "I must admit, you found me earlier than I thought."

"With Hinata's Byakugan it was piece of cake," Naruto said, as he made a hand seal. "And with this, passing this exam will be even easier. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Twenty Naruto clones appeared from smoke, forming a circle around the genjutsu mistress. "GET HER!"

Kunai in hand, all Narutos charged forward. Kurenai also pulled out two kunai of her own, and started to slash the orange-clad clones while she dodged their almost telegraphed swings. Some clones that did not charge pulled out some shurikens and threw them at her. Kurenai grabbed one of the clones and used him as a human shield while attacking the others. In a couple minutes, the clones were no more.

Haku decided it was his turn to attack, and threw a trio of senbons at his sensei. Kurenai turned around and deflected all of them with a kunai. From the corner of her eye she saw Hinata ready to strike her with a palm strike. She grabbed Hinata's wrist just before she could touch the Jonin, and threw her crashing against Naruto.

Haku started to make hand seals, but before he could complete the sequence, Kurenai was already in front of him. The raven-haired woman sunk her knee on the Ice Ninja's gut, knocking the wind out of his stomach. And just like she did with Hinata, she grabbed his wrist and tossed the kimono-wearing boy against a tree.

"Tsk, tsk, such a disorganized attack..." Kurenai shook her head in disappointment. "You will need to do better than that if you don't want to return to the Academy!" she said before leaping away.

…

After getting back on their feet, the three Genins decided to regroup, and plan a better strategy, given how attacking her at random produced such a disastrous results.

"Alright, anybody got an idea?" Haku asked.

Naruto nodded. "I believe that Hinata should attack her head on, while we wait for an opening and try to attack her from the distance."

Hinata looked at Naruto surprised. "M-Me, attack Kurenai-sensei? But w-why?"

"Because you're the best at taijutsu here! It isn't obvious?" Naruto explained. "While you keep her distracted, Haku can attack her with his needles and ice jutsus while I use my clones and wind jutsus."

"We will provide you cover so you can get close to her," Haku added.

Hinata looked at her male teammates. They both were placing their trust on her. Despite Hinata wanting to protest, a part of her told her to keep going, and that she could lead the team to success.

"A-Alright," the little Hyuga said, nodding.

Scanning the area with her Byakugan, Hinata found Kurenai standing on a clearing surrounded by several trees. The perfect spot for an ambush. Almost too perfect. While it smelled like a trap, Hinata didn't see any. Or maybe she was taunting them by choosing such a disadvantageous terrain. Nevertheless, they decided to take the risk and attack.

Haku was the one to initiate the attack. He took from his pouch a storage scroll with water sealed on it, and unsealed its contents. A large puddle was former at his feet. Kurenai didn't detect his presence yet. Or she did but pretended not to. Nevertheless, it was time to attack. Haku formed the required hand seals.

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Using the water of the puddle, Haku formed several ice spears that floated above him, and flew at Kurenai. The raven haired Kunoichi performed several backflips while avoiding the deathly ice attack. Naruto saw it as the perfect chance to attack.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Kurenai found herself once again surrounded by orange-clad clones. All of them pulled out shurikens and tossed them at her. Kurenai rolled into the ground, expertly avoiding the ninja stars, which ended up hitting the clones instead, dispelling most of them.

"Such recklessness. If those were your teammates instead of mere clones..." Kurenai shook her head in disappointment as she quickly destroyed the few remaining clones.

"Hinata, now!" the last clone shouted before being dispelled.

The Hyuga heiress leaped from her hiding spot at the top of a tree and landed in front of Kurenai. The two women started to trade blows. Thanks to Naruto and Haku attacking from afar, the Genjutsu Mistress was forced into the defensive.

Seeing an opening, Kurenai kicked Hinata in the gut, and dashed at Naruto, who was about to throw more shurikens at her. Kurenai grabbed him by his wrist, and tossed him against a tree. She was about to move towards Haku, when the corner of her eye caught Hinata doing hand seals. Suddenly, Hinata's hands were crackling with electricity. The Hyuga dashed at her as fast as she could.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

" _She combined the Gentle Fist with elemental manipulation? Amazing. These kids are sure something,"_ Kurenai thought as she dodged Hinata's electricity-enhanced palm strikes. Unfortunately for her, her musings made her fail to see that Naruto was on his feet again and was making hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto trusted both his hands forward, forming a cone-shaped gale. Despite pouring a lot of chakra into it, he didn't manage to make it as powerful as he wanted. Still, the cone of wind managed to almost push Kurenai from her spot, and distract her long enough for Hinata to hit her in the shoulder with a palm strike in the shoulder, not only closing her tenketsu, but also numbing her shoulder with electricity.

"AAARGH!" Kurenai shouted as she fell on her knees and instinctively grabbed her shoulder with other hand.

"NOW!"

Haku leaped from behind, and fired a barrage of senbons at the Genjtsu Mistress. Kurenai tried to run as fast as she could, and while she managed to avoid most of them, a couple of soft thuds indicated that at least two of the needles found its mark.

"Haha, yes! We did it!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fist in the air. Haku and Hinata walked towards him.

Kurenai removed her armor, and confirmed that two of Haku's senbons had embedded on the bullseye on the armor's back. She sealed the armor again in the scroll, and walked towards the three Genin, who were still cheering for their victory. Upon seeing her holding her shoulder, Hinata immediately started to use the Mystical Palm Jutsu on it.

"Congratulations, you three, you passed the test," Kurenai praised, smiling, "Now you're real ninjas. See? I told you that it wouldn't be that hard."

"And it was thanks to Hinata!" Naruto claimed as he patted Hinata on the back. "Told you you could do it!"

"W-Well, it was a t-team effort...plus it w-was Haku-kun who dealt the killing blow..." Hinata stuttered as she averted her gaze.

"Hinata is right. You passed the test because you worked together, as a team should," Kurenai interceded.

"So, that was the meaning of the test, to teach us the vaule teamwork?" Naruto asked. "We already knew that!"

"Yes, but that's not all. So far, you only fought in friendly, controlled spars, and tossed kunais and shurikens and immobile tree stumps. This was meant to give you a taste of what you will find out there: fast moving enemies that will come at you with the intention to kill."

"So, what do we do now?" Haku asked.

"Take the rest of the day off. Starting tomorrow, we will take missions at mornings, take a lunch break, then spend a couple hours in the afternoon training. We won't do neither missions nor training during weekends, but please keep training on your own those days as well," Kurenai explained. "Meet me tomorrow at nine in the morning in the Academy for our first mission."

…

 _Hokage Tower, a few hours later_

Jiraiya was sitting at his desk, as usual. In front of Jiraiya were the Jonin-senseis of the four new Genin teams, ready to give their reports, as well as Iruka.

"Tactical Squad has my approval. While we still have some stuff to polish, especially regarding some of their personal priorities, I have faith that they will even surpass all their predecessors," Asuma proudly informed.

Shizune was the next one to talk. "Medical Squad also has my approval. All of them know their roles and they slipped into them perfectly. Maybe the teamwork could use some improvement, but in the future they'll be an invaluable asset."

"Animal Squad passed the test, though barely," Kakashi mentioned. "They do have a lot of potential, but they still need a lot of work."

"Assault Squad has my approval as well. They both have talent and barely need any incentive to work as a team. I just can't wait to see them in action," Kurenai said.

Jiraiya smiled, clearly pleased, and turned at Iruka. "What about that? For the first time in Konoha's history, the True Genin Test has a one hundred percent approval rate, as opposed to past thirty three percent."

"The results speak for themselves. Your educational reform was truly brilliant, Hokage-sama," Iruka replied.

"And it's thanks to you and your fellow teachers, for the great job you did preparing those kids for the future. Oh boy, I can't wait for the Chunin Exams to begin!"

"That will be in three months. Do you think they will be ready by then?" Iruka inquired. "While their abilities are impressive, there's no way they can get enough experience in such little time."

"Have a little faith in them, Iruka. The results may surprise you. Now, if there's nothing left to discuss, you're dismissed."

After the four Jonin and the single Chunin left the office, a pair of ANBU wearing masks of an owl and a tiger brought yet another Jonin, one Jiraiya last had seen four years ago.

"Well, well, well..." Jiraiya was looking at a file on his hand. "So, Zabuza. According to this report, except for getting a couple of fights during your fist year, your behavior has been mostly excellent."

Zabuza chuckled. "Glad to know that. Repressing my killing instinct wasn't an easy task, you know."

"Now that Haku successfully passed all the tests and became a Konoha Ninja, you're to do the same if you want to start to pay your debt with Konoha," Jiraiya snapped his fingers, and one of the ANBU handed Zabuza a Konoha forehead protector and a flak jacket. "While not mandatory, it will be mostly appreciated if you wore at least part of our official uniform."

Reluctantly, Zabuza tied the headband around his forehead and put on the flak jacket.

"Oh, and I believe this is yours," Jiraiya then tossed Zabuza a sealing scroll.

Unsealing the scroll, Zabuza's eyes widen in surprise when he saw his trusty Executioner Blade back in his hands. "You kept it all these years? I thought that you would have given it to somebody else, or sell it to other villages."

"Eh, Konoha doesn't have much of a swordfighting tradition. It will be better in your hands. Now, are you ready to start working your ass off for the village?"

"Sure. But first answer me something," Jiraiya listened to Zabuza intently. "Aren't you worried that once I get out of this village, I never return?"

Jiraiya smirked in satisfaction. He was dying for Zabuza to make that question. "Ah yes. It would be extremely imprudent on my part to letting you out of the village without some kind of leash, right? That's why, before taking you out of prison, my ANBU put you to sleep, and I carved a special seal in your chest. I can activate said seal to give you a heart attack."

Zabuza raised a nonexistent eyebrow, and smirked under his mask. "Right. And you expect me to believe that?"

"If that's the case, then you won't mind if I do this," Jiraiya made a hand seal, and all of sudden, Zabuza fell on his knees, his hand instinctively clutching his chest. He felt as if an invisible hand was crushing his heart to pulp. Even if the effect was short lived, the consequences weren't. "As you can see, I can kill you whenever I want, with a mere hand gesture, from a fifteen kilometer radius. This seal is designed so it only reacts to my chakra, meaning that I'm the only one who can activate or remove it. Well, guess that you could remove it if you find a seal master of my caliber or greater...but good luck with that.

"The seal is also linked to a special map which pinpoints your approximate location. As you can see, you can't escape from my grasp. I will only remove that seal once you complete your probation. Now, are you ready for your first mission?"

Panting heavily, Zabuza slowly got back on his feet, with the help of the ANBU. "I guess...so..."

"Good. Here it goes," Jiraiya tossed Zabuza another scroll.

The Kiri Swordsman unfurled the scroll and read it. His face morphed into a mask of incredulity. "A C-Rank mission? Is this some kind of joke?"

Jiraiya frowned at Zabuza. "If it was a joke, you'll be rolling on the floor, laughing, because besides being a talented writer, magnificent charmer and a kick-ass ninja, I also happen to be gifted comedian. This is a test. You've been four years in prison, and I must check that your abilities didn't get dull."

"I was in jail because YOU send me there!"

"Details, details. Now, Owl, bring in the client."

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the ANBU said before leaving.

A minute later, he returned with the aforementioned client. A gray haired, glasses-wearing middle aged man. He wore a sleeveless v-neck shirt with an obi, pants and a pair of sandals. He also carried a towel around his neck and wore a pointed hat on his head. There was a bottle of sake on his hand.

"Zabuza, this is Tazuna-san, master builder of renown. Your mission will be to escort him to his homeland, the Land of Waves, and protect him until he finishes the construction of the bridge he and his men are working on."

"I doubt this guy could even build a toy bridge," Zabuza skeptically mentioned as he eyed the visibly inebriated man.

Jiraiya ignored Zabuza's remark. "Tazuna-san, this is Zabuza, one of our more...recent recruits. You'll be safe as long you're close to him."

The drunk bridge builder scanned Zabuza with his reddened eyes, his mouth agape. He couldn't decide if he was more afraid of his alleged escort or the powerful man that was after his head.

"Well...guess that the Hokage wasn't lying when he promised me some muscle...boy, you're scary," Tazuna slurred as he eyed Zabuza, his words being coated in terror.

"Thanks," Zabuza replied, unaware that Tazuna's words weren't a compliment.

"Now, you should better get going. Good luck on your first mission, Zabuza," Jiraiya said, waving Zabuza goodbye

Zabuza snarled before leaving, and dragged a very scared Tazuna with him.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So here are the new teams! What do you think about them? Did you like my reasons for making such teams?**

 **As you can probably guess, I put a lot of thought while making the teams. First, I had to choose if I put Naruto and Hinata in the same team, or if I kept Team 7 (and by ende the rest of the teams) untouched. Doing the former allowed me to focus more on Hinata, at the expense of Sasuke and Sakura, while the latter would give the chance to fix the mess that Team 7 was in canon, but I couldn't focus on Hinata as much. In the end, I choose the former. There was also the issue of the third member. Besides Haku, my other option was Sasuke, but in the end I chose Haku because I wanted the three new Genin on a different team each, and I believed that the Medical Squad needed a powerhouse like Sasuke, as opposed to a glass canon like Haku. Besides, like the reviewer Ziltoid said, with both Naruto and Sasuke being more powerful than they were in canon, a team with both of them would be too overpowered.**

 **And while a lot of fanfics put a lot of thought on Naruto's team when they decide to change it, they had the habit of leaving the rest of the teams as completely random and without any kind of team dynamic, and I wanted to avoid that. For example, the fact that I brought Tamaki over other characters (like Sai, for example), wasn't a coincidence. I noticed that Hinata was the only Genin of Team 8 that doesn't use animals, so I thought I could made Tamaki into a cat ninja and place her with Kiba and Shino. So far, I only read a single story in which the author actually put some thought in all the new teams, not just Naruto's.**

 **Also, kudos to Ziltoid as well for guessing that Shizune would be the fourth Jonin-sensei (I told you guys I had plans with her back then when I teased her possible death ;) ). Speaking of Jonin-senseis, Kurenai's choice was the result of an elimination process rather than a deliberate choice on my part. Team Gai and Team Asuma were left the same, so Gai and Asuma weren't an option. I thought that Kakashi would be the best suited to lead the Animal Squad, being the only one who regularly uses animals (Gai also has a summoning contract, but he hardly uses it), and Shizune was obviously better placed on the Medical Squad, and that only left Kurenai. Though then again, I do like her a lot, and it's a pity how underdeveloped her character was in canon compared to other senseis. A reviewer suggested Yamato, but let's say that there's already somebody who needs Yamato as a teacher more than Naruto.**

 **Also, to all the reviewers who were concerned about what was going to happen to the people of Wave since I said that the Wave Arc wouldn't happen...I told you I had a plan for them, didn't I? So in one of my ironic twists, Zabuza will end up playing the role of Tazuna's protector instead of his killer.**

 **Now I have to give you some bad news: thanks to a combination of my muse going on vacation and the new chapters becoming each time longer (the first few chapters were 4k-6k words long, while the newer chapters are in the 8k-11k words range), I'm publishing chapters faster than I'm writing them, which means that in a couple months I will run out of already written chapters and won't be able to update as regularly as I do now. That's why from now onwards, new chapters will be posted once every two weeks instead of once a week, so I can have more time to write between updates and I can still upload new chapters on a regular schedule. Sorry.**

 **Also, to increase the quality of this story, I'd like to have a beta reader. So if somebody (preferably a native english speaker) wants to help me, tell me. That way, you'll get to read the new chapters earlier than everybody else.**

 **So we will see again in two weeks. In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	16. First C-Rank Mission, Part I

**Author's note: Woohooo! the 400 reviews barrier has been shattered! Shout out to JLdark for being the reviewer #400! Let's see how long until we reach the 500 mark.  
** **Hi there, my loyal readers! I know it has been a relatively long wait, but here you have a new chapter of this story you love so much. Let's see how Naruto and co. do now that they're finally ninjas.**

 **This is the first chapter which has actually been betaread, by gio08. Thanks for your job, and I hope it improved the story.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16:**

First C-Rank Mission, Part I: Clash in the Rice Fields

or

 _What could possibly go wrong?_

Placed on one of the shelves among a couple books, a vase, photographs and other ornaments, there were two pictures that decorated the living room of the Senju Residence. Both of them were pictures of a group of four people, consisting on an adult and three children.

The first one was a picture of Naruto, Hinata, Haku and Kurenai. Hinata was in the middle, with Naruto at her right and Haku at her left, and Kurenai behind all of them. Everybody was smiling: Naruto had a foxy grin while he gave the camera a thumbs up. The others' smiles were more subdued, but they still radiated happiness nevertheless.

The second one was a picture of Sakura, Karin, Sasuke, and Shizune. Sasuke was in the middle, with Sakura at his left and Karin at his right, both forcefully hooking their arms around his, as well as pulling the boy to their respective side. Behind them was Shizune, with either hand on both Sakura and Karin's shoulder. The three girls were warmly smiling at the camera, while Sasuke had a sour expression, as if saying "kill me".

It was tradition for the newly formed teams to take a picture of the first day they're formed and be given as a memento for both students and sensei. Tsunade spent quite some time looking at those two pictures after waking up. The one with Naruto reminded her of her old picture of Team Sarutobi, which was in black and white due the technology of the time. The one with Shizune made her regret not taking on a Genin team. Jiraiya often mentioned that training a Genin team was an amazing experience.

Sure, she had trained Shizune, but the young woman's upbringing was everything but normal.

"Mom? Breakfast is ready!" Kaida shouted from the kitchen.

"Coming!"

As expected, everybody except Jiraiya, who had already left about an hour ago, was sitting at the table, eagerly eating breakfast before getting ready for the day. Tsunade sat her usual seat, where a couple of slices of toast with strawberry jelly were placed on a plate, and an apple close to it. Shizune was eating a bowl brown rice, while the kids were eating cereal.

"So, today is your first day as a real ninja, and as a Jonin-sensei," Tsunade commented after taking a bite from her toast, while looking at both Naruto and Shizune. "How do you feel?"

"I can't wait to get my first mission! Dad told me that he had something already prepared that befits my skills!" Naruto cheered.

Tsunade and Shizune exchanged a look. There was a glint of pity on the young medic-nin's eyes, while Tsunade's gleamed with almost sadistic joy. They didn't trade words, but they understood each other perfectly.

 _"I think I should tell him..."_

 _"No way! Let him find it by himself, just like everybody else."_

"Well," Naruto emptied his bowl, brought it to the sink and quickly cleaned it. "I'm going to meet with my team for my first mission!"

"Be sure to tell us how it went!" Tsunade said as he waved him goodbye.

"Boy, this sucks!" Kaida protested as she crossed her arms. "Naruto-niisan goes to do missions, while we still have to go to the Academy!"

"Trust me, Kaida-chan, if I were you, I wouldn't be jealous of Naruto in the slightest," Shizune replied as she finished her meal. She also brought her bowl to the sink. "I better get going too, I would hate to keep my team waiting. It's going to be bad enough when they find out what kind of missions they are going to do."

After waving Shizune goodbye, Hagane looked at her mother, puzzled.

"Mom, what's wrong with the missions Naruto-niisan and Shizune-neechan's team are going to do?" the white haired kid asked.

Tsunade almost chortled. "Kid, a better question would be what's _not_ wrong with those missions."

…

After meeting with his team on Training Ground Eight, Team Kurenai walked towards the Academy, where the Mission Assignment Desk was. The three Genin were rather excited to finally start taking missions –though Naruto was the one who showed it the most– and cheerfully discussed about them what their first assignment would be. Kurenai didn't say anything, but she simply looked intently at them with a small amused smile.

Upon reaching their destination, they were greeted by Jiraiya, sitting on a desk flanked by the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and their former Academy teacher, Iruka Umino. Sitting on nearby desks were people none of the Genin were able to identify.

"The Assault Squad is here and ready to kick ass!" Naruto loudly announced while he and his team entered the room. "Come on dad, give us something worth of our awesomeness!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "You know, Naruto, the part I like the most about you is your enthusiasm. That will take you far," Jiraiya replied, smiling at him. For some reason, there was something about said smile that made the Jinchuriki feel uneasy. He then tossed a scroll at Kurenai. "All the details of the mission are there. I trust you will be able to complete it within the day. Come back to collect your payment once you're done."

Haku raised an eyebrow. "Within the day? It must be an extremely easy and simple mission if it can be completed in such a short amount of time."

Naruto's grin didn't falter. "Or maybe it's that dad knows that our team is so great that we will do much faster than other teams?"

"So, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata chimed in. "What is our mission about?"

…

An hour later...

Naruto, Hinata and Haku were painting the fence of a house. Neither of them looked particularly happy.

"You know, I wasn't expecting that somebody would hire a whole ninja team for such menial task," Haku commented as he soaked his brush in white paint.

"Y-Yeah, me too. I wasn't expecting to do the big missions on the first day, but this is...too little," Hinata agreed.

Unlike her students, Kurenai wasn't painting, but merely watching them. "Come on, don't complain. I had to do this kind of missions when I was a Genin."

"So it's like a rite of passage? But my point still stands. Why does somebody would hire a ninja for doing this instead of a civilian worker?" Haku asked.

"If you want to know so badly, ask the client. People hire ninja for just about any task. Said tasks are ranked based on their danger and difficulty. You're Genin fresh out of the Academy, so naturally you're going to get the easiest, most simple and least dangerous missions, at least until you become more experienced," Kurenai explained.

"But why does the Hokage accepts these kind of missions? I believe it's a waste of our talents and our formation," Haku replied.

"Yes. Besides, we can't improve as ninja by doing these kind of tasks," Hinata added.

"These missions also have the purposes of building teamwork, building bonds with people of the village, as well as making the civilians know that we're here to serve and protect them," Kurenai then glanced at Naruto, who despite his loud protest over the nature of the mission, remained uncharacteristically silent once they got to work. Kurenai decided to push her luck. "You know Naruto, I was expecting you to complain nonstop about doing this, yet you haven't open your mouth once. While I must say that your change of attitude pleases me, the fact that it happened so sudden worries me a little."

"Eh, it's okay. This may be a waste of our skills, but it's so simple it actually gives me time to think," Naruto replied.

Kurenai sighed in relief and smiled. "That's a good thing. And what are you thinking right now, may I ask?"

"My revenge on dad for giving us this shitty mission. It's going to be the stuff of legends. Do you think that burning down the Hokage Tower would be too much?" Everybody stopped what they were doing and stared at Naruto, eyes wide in shock and mouth agape. "Okay, I get it, too much. I'll tone it down."

…

 _Hokage's Office, A few days later_

Once again, Jiraiya and Zabuza were face to face against each other. The Hokage noticed that Zabuza was carrying a large bag that he didn't have the moment he left. Jiraiya broke the silence with a single word.

"Report."

"So far, the mission went without incident, though the information provided by the client was faulty," Zabuza stated.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, and leaned forwards. "Please elaborate."

"You see, that Tazuna was in the sights of a very powerful man. Some shipping tycoon named Gato, or something," Zabuza began. "Who wanted him dead because the bridge threatened his business in some way, and the bastard keep sending thugs to kill us. At first I was happy that I had something to kill, but even that grew old, fast. Those guys weren't even ninja!"

"But you say there weren't incidents."

"No, of course not. There was nothing I couldn't handle. In fact, when the construction of the bridge was almost done, that ugly midget shows up with an army of more thugs in a pathetic attempt to threaten me. They're now sleeping with the fishes."

"Good to see that you completed your first mission without any trouble, then."

"Of course I did! Maybe the mission would have had more excitement if Gato hired an actual ninja instead of those thugs. I mean, the guy was loaded, and could afford it. Let me tell you something: had Gato hired me, that bridge builder would have been dead before he even set a foot on his little country."

"I'm sure of it. By the way, what is that bag you're carrying?" Jiraiya asked, since he grew tired of waiting for Zabuza to mention it himself.

"This? Oh, a little compensation I decided to take for the troubles. After I killed Gato, I went to his house and emptied his vault," Zabuza tossed the bag at Jiraiya, who opened it, and saw lots of rolls of money. "I hope this helps to accelerate my probation."

"When I said that you had a debt with Konoha, I didn't mean in the monetary sense, but yeah, this will help," Jiraiya pushed the bag aside. "Though I'm having a hard time believing that this is all Gato had."

"Because it's not. That's nothing but a fraction of all the money the short bastard had," Zabuza confirmed.

"Then where is the rest of the money?" the Sannin asked.

"I lost it on my way back," Zabuza replied matter-o-factly.

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You lost it," he deadpanned. Zabuza simply nodded. "You certainly have some guts lying so boldly to my face."

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "I'm not lying. And if you think I am, then you should prove it before flinging unfounded accusations."

"You know Konoha has an entire clan specialized in mind-reading jutsu, right?" Jiraiya asked. "Though I think I will let it slide this time, since I have more pressing matters than caring for money that I never had to begin with," Jiraiya concluded. After all, Zabuza had brought some of Gato's money to the village, while he could have hogged all of it for himself and keep it under wraps. "You're dismissed. I'll call you in a few days for your next assignment."

"I'll be looking forward my next mission, Hokage-sama," Zabuza replied, making a slight bow. "Though I hope I get something more fitting of my talents rather than a mere escort mission."

…

The next days didn't change much. The missions Team Kurenai would get usually involved carrying errands for some elderly people, chase down vermin and other pests, babysit children and gardening, among many others.

As expected, Naruto's team wasn't the only team to take this kind of missions, the other three teams had to endure them as well. It was noted that Kakashi's Animal Team managed to complete a mission literally a minute after they got it: the mission was to retrieve Tora, the Fire Lord's wife's cat, who would always try to escape at the first opportunity from her owner's suffocating embraces. Using the Summoning Jutsu, Tamaki summoned Tora in front of her. Whenever the cat escaped, Tamaki would be requested to summon her again.

After finishing their daily training routine, Shizune dismissed her students and headed for her next appointment, a date with Shisui Uchiha at Yakiniku Q. After ordering some food and drinks, Shisui felt like starting up a conversation.

"So, how is your team doing, Shizune-sensei?" The Uchiha asked in a playfully mocking tone.

"As expected, when you start with the D-Rank missions. They complain that this isn't what they had been training for," the medic-nin answered.

Shisui leaned forwards. "Does Sasuke give you some trouble?"

"He usually complains about these missions being a waste of his talents, but at least he carries them out."

"I was expecting that Sasuke would react that way, but it's good that he knows his place. We all had to go through that hell once, and now it's his turn to suffer," the one-eyed Uchiha said as he ate a piece of bread.

The medic-nin shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "Actually...I never did a D-Rank mission in my life."

Shisui almost choked on his food. "You WHAT!? How!? It's because you were Tsunade's apprentice? Yeah, it has to be that! Boy, that's some big-ass favoritism right there!"

"Hey, calm down!" Shizune held her hands up in defense. "The reason for that it's that I left Konoha with Tsunade-sama shortly after I graduated the Academy. But trust me, I had to do stuff just as bad, sometimes even worse, than the D-Ranks Genin do nowadays."

"I doubt they were worse than chasing that goddamned cat around..."

Shizune leaned forwards, and narrowed her eyes at Shisui. "One day, you will go drinking with Tsunade-sama. But you won't drink, oh, no. You merely will listen her ramble for two hours, then try to convince her to leave when she had too much, then drag her to her room and get her in her bed. And then you will eat your words."

Shisui smirked. "Maybe. But for the time being, this steak is the only thing I'm going to eat," the one-eyed Uchiha said as he started to cut the steak. "By the way, Sasuke met your little siblings today. He told me something about an incident. Care to elaborate?"

"Ah, yes, our latest D-Rank mission, babysitting the Hokage's kids. You see..."

 **FLASHBACK**

Shizune had decided to leave her Genin alone on the house with Hagane and Kaida while she ran some errands of her own. When she returned home, she was greeted by Sasuke lazily sitting on the couch, while Hagane was also sitting a couch, completely immobile.

"Hi, I'm back!" Shizune greeted upon entering the house. "I trust there wasn't any incidents while I was outside?"

"No. Everything has been fine here," the Uchiha replied.

Shizune then looked at Hagane, who was extremely still. "Hagane-kun? What are you doing?"

"I'm playing a game that Sasuke taught me!" the kid happily said, careful not to move.

"And what is that game?"

"A challenge to see how long can I stay completely silent and immobile. I've been like this for two hours! Though I'm not silent anymore. But that doesn't count because you ask me something."

Shizune exasperatedly stared at the Uchiha. "Sasuke..."

"What? He likes that game," Sasuke replied.

"By the way, where are the girls?"

"In the backyard. Kaida wanted somebody to spar with her, and Sakura and Karin volunteered."

"And why didn't you spar with Kaida-chan too? I thought you liked spars."

"I do, but against people I can learn something from, just like you, Shusui or my brother, not against some eight year old girl."

Shizune walked towards the backyard, and she heard the voices of Sakura, Karin and Kaida.

"That was very good, Kaida-chan!" a voice that sounded like Karin said.

"If you liked that, wait till you see this! Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

"Aw, how cute, she's emulating the First Ho-WHAT THE HELL!?" Sakura screeched as a tremor shook the house.

Shizune froze for a second, and rushed to the backyard, followed by Sasuke and Hagane. When they arrived, they saw that Karin and Sakura were suspended in the air with thick wooden vines wrapped around them. The two medic-nin apprentices looked between terrified and angry. Kaida smiled happily at them.

"Kaida-chan! What did we told you about using Wood Release in front of people who aren't family?" Shizune sternly asked, frowning at the little girl.

"But I wanted to show Sakura and Karin my power!"

"Still, you broke a rule. And you put my Genin in danger. You know you still can't control your Wood Release yet!"

"Oh come on, I did control it this time!"

"This time?" Sakura and Karin said in unison, shocked.

Shizune's scowl deepened. As guilt started to creep its way through her insides, Kaida's smile disappeared, and lowered her head in shame. "I'm sorry, Shizune-neechan, I won't do it again. But please don't tell mom!"

"I demand this mission to be re-classified into an A-Rank!" an angry Sakura shouted.

"Seconded!" Karin added.

 **END FLASHBACK**

"Now that Sasuke knows that there's a Wood Release user in the town, he's begging me to let him fight her," Shizune said while giggling a little. "But there's no way that's going to happen. At least not until she grows up."

"I wouldn't be so sure. Sasuke can be pretty stubborn," Shisui commented, leaning back.

"Oh, and by the way, don't tell anybody about Kaida's powers, okay? If word of her abilities get out-"

"The Hyuga Affair would be a joke compared what other villages would do in order to kidnap her," Shisui finished her sentence. "You don't have to worry about that, my lips are sealed."

"Good that I can count on you."

"That's a given. By the way, what about her brother, Hagane? Does he have that power too?"

"No. But Hagane has an uncanny affinity for natural energy, and he somehow can temporarily increase the power and chakra of those close to him."

Shisui let out a whistle. "That may not be Wood Release, but it's impressive nonetheless. The genes of Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama are sure something if they can produce those little monsters."

Shizune punched him in the arm. "Don't call my little siblings monsters!"

Shisui merely laughed. "Oh come on, Shizune-chan, I mean monsters in a good way. By the way, between them, and Naruto having the Kyubi...you're the only one in that house that's actually normal. No offense."

Shizune shoot him an apathetic look. "Shisui, after you spend a week living in that house, you'll realize that _somebody_ has to be normal."

…

To celebrate the completion of their tenth D-Rank mission, Kurenai decided to treat her team to dinner at Shushuya, one of her favorite restaurants. Naruto suggested going to Icharaku's but the red-eyed Jonin shot down the idea, since Naruto dragged them to that place quite often, and she wanted to go somewhere different.

Despite her best intentions, it doesn't seem that her Genin were much in the mood for celebrating anything. Probably because they thought that doing ten D-Rank missions wasn't something that deserved a celebration.

"So, Kurenai-sensei...how long until we get to do real missions?" Naruto asked, tapping his fingers on the table.

"These are real missions, Naruto," Kurenai pointedly replied. "All missions are important, since they generate income for the village. Don't assume that these missions are below you."

"But they are!" Naruto protested, throwing his hands in the air. "These missions could be done by my little siblings, who are freaking eight and they still go to the Academy! These missions are no different from the chores I do at home!"

"I must agree with Naruto-kun, Kurenai-sensei," Haku interceded, showing far more restrain in his frustration than his blond friend. "Zabuza-sama said that while we're doing these menial tasks, Genin in Kirigakure are committing assassinations."

"Genin in Kirigakure are also hired to hunt down people with Bloodline Limits like you," Kurenai harshly replied. Haku scowled. She knew that that was a cheap shot, but she believed it was a necessary one.

"Yeah, why can't we assassinate somebody?" Naruto pleaded.

"No."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Only a little!"

"No!"

"How can you assassinate somebody 'just a little'?" Hinata asked to no one in particular.

"Come on! We're the Assault Squad, not the Fence-Painter Squad or the Dog-Walker Squad!"

Kurenai sighed, as she massaged her temples. She had been trying her best to try to soothe the growing frustration within her team, but she knew that this could only get worse with time if she didn't do something.

"Okay, let's do this. For tomorrow, I will ask for a C-Rank mission, okay?" the raven haired kunoichi asked. A huge smile appeared on Naruto's face.

"Really!?"

"Yes. At first I wasn't sure, but maybe you're ready to take a slightly more difficult missions. But this doesn't mean that you won't get to do more D-Rank missions once we finish this one," Kurenai sternly added.

"It's okay. Doing D-Rank missions won't be so bad with some C-Ranks in between," Haku mentioned.

"I will have to judge your performance first before I request more C-Ranks. But then again, I'm sure that you won't disappoint."

…

The next morning Team Kurenai was once again at the mission assignment desk. Jiraiya had already prepared several missions for them to choose.

"Ah, glad to see you came here back for more," Jiraiya said with an unnerving grin. Naruto would swear he was enjoying his suffering. "I have a few more D-Ranks with your name on it!"

Naruto shot his adoptive father a murderous glare, but Kurenai stepped in before the blonde could do or say something stupid.

"Actually, I believe my team is ready to do a C-Rank mission, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You think so? It's not even been a month since they graduated."

"I believe their skills are enough to handle any C-Rank mission, Hokage-sama."

"It's not their skills I'm worried about. Maybe they should polish their teamwork a bit more before venturing out of the village?"

"Their teamwork is mostly excellent, Hokage-sama. My three students get along rather well, and have no trouble acting as a single unit when the situation requires it."

"I see." Jiraiya started to dig through a pile of scrolls. "If your evaluation of their abilities is as you say, then this shouldn't be much of a problem." Jiraiya then tossed a scroll at Kurenai. While she read it, he continued talking. "We've recently received a request to protect a village in the Land of the Rice Fields that has been repeatedly attacked by bandits. Besides protecting the village, your job will also be catch those bandits and turn them in to the local authorities."

"Alright! Finally something worth my skills!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air.

"Now, don't get overconfident. Bandits might not be much of a threat to ninja, but they can still present some danger if we're careless," Kurenai chided Naruto. "Okay, go and pack what you think will be necessary for the mission. We will meet at the village's northern gates in an hour."

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" the three Genin said in unison before the whole team left.

Jiraiya leaned back on his chair, and let out a defeated sigh. Something that was obviously not missed by his main councilor and assistant.

"Something wrong, Jiraiya?" Sarutobi was one of the few people who wouldn't address Jiraiya as a Hokage. Not out of lack of respect, but familiarity and the fact that he would always see the Toad Sage as his student.

"I knew that this day would come, but...I wasn't expecting it to be so soon," the Sannin replied.

Sarutobi chuckled. "Ah, yes. I remembered the first time Asuma had his first mission outside the village. I know that you're worried, and it would be unnatural if you weren't."

"It's not just that. I wouldn't be that worried if Naruto was a normal child. But Naruto has a huge bullseye painted on his back. If Tsunade-hime's words are to be believed, somebody encouraged a clan to rebel against us just to create an opportunity to kidnap Naruto. And now...he will be outside the village's protection, with only his sensei and teammates to watch his back."

"You can't protect that kid forever, Jiraiya. If I remember correctly, it was you who told me that we should have faith in the next generation. Now I tell you that you should have faith in that Naruto will come back home safe and sound."

"I can't think in anything to refute that. And I hate it more than anything," Jiraiya said, gritting his teeth a little. "Man, Tsunade-hime is going to kill me when she finds out."

"Don't underestimate Tsunade like that. I'm sure that she knew that this was going to happen sooner or later the moment Naruto became a ninja."

"Still, that woman can be quite emotional at times," Jiraiya let out another exhausted sigh. "Boy, you have no idea how thankful I am for the fact that we will host the next Chunin Exam."

…

 _Konoha Hospital_

Tsunade was in her office doing some paperwork, when somebody knocked the door. She was a bit surprised, given that she had no appointments until at least an hour.

"Come in!"

Much to her surprise, Naruto entered the office.

"Naruto! What are you doing here?" the Slug Princess asked. "Not that I don't like seeing you, but...you're not sick, aren't you?"

Which would have been a reason to worry more than usual, since Naruto never got sick.

"What? Oh no, not that!" Naruto replied, chuckling. "Dad finally gave my team a worthy mission. We will be going to the Land of the Rice Fields to protect some villagers from bandits. Kurenai-sensei said that we will be around a week or so outside. So I came here to tell you goodbye. Though a 'see you later' would fit better since I'm not going to be out for so long, hehe."

Tsunade paled upon hearing Naruto's words. How did Jiraiya give Naruto a C-Rank mission so soon? She thought that he would wait at least a month before doing that. He probably gave up upon Naruto's insistence. The boy had been begging him day and night to stop giving him D-Rank missions.

But then again, Jiraiya wouldn't have complied if Naruto's Jonin-sensei wouldn't think he was ready for the task. She had to remind herself not to be so overprotective.

"Really? That sounds great," Tsunade said, making an effort to smile. "But be careful when you're out there, okay? Remember that there are people who are still after you."

"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine! Besides, I can't die yet, not before I'm the Hokage!"

Tsunade smiled, this time genuinely. She got up from her chair, and hugged her adoptive son. "I know you will. I'm sure you'll make me and your dad proud."

Breaking the hug, Naruto just smiled at her, and left.

…

Fortunately, the Land of the Rice Fields was close to the Land of Fire and Konohagakure, and since they didn't have to escort any civilians, they could go at a much faster pace. Kurenai had predicted that they would arrive at the town in question around four or five in the afternoon.

However, shortly before they crossed the border between the Land of Fire and their destination, the Genjutsu Mistress decided to make a stop for lunch and bring her students to visit a place of utmost historical and cultural importance.

"Welcome to the Valley of the End," she said, as she motioned at two huge statues, looking at each other while making a hand seal, separated by a waterfall.

The valley was rather unremarkable by itself. If you removed the statues, there was nothing but a barren gray land crossed by a small river. Though trees and other forms of plant life could be seen on its surroundings. For some reason, there was something about the valley that made impossible for plants to grow on it.

"I'm sure that you remember this place from the history lessons at the Academy, but I thought it would be nice if you saw it with your own eyes, given that it's on our way to our destination."

Many people referred to the valley as "the place where Hashirama and Madara had their final duel", but that would be false. A more accurate description would be "a byproduct of Hashirama and Madara's final duel". The fact that two people could shape the land in such way was a concept a lot of people, especially non-ninjas, had a hard time grasping.

"Weird. It's like...like I have already been here before," Naruto commented, as his eyes were fixed on the two statues.

"How is that, Naruto?"

Naruto was about to open his mouth, but something stopped him. A feeling. Coming from his gut. A mix of anger, frustration and grief. But for some reason, he felt like those feeling weren't exactly his, but somebody else's.

Somebody he shared his body with.

"I believe it was...him who was here."

Kurenai opened her eyes wide in shock, knowing full well what, or whom, Naruto was talking about. The possibility of aborting the mission crossed the Jonin's mind.

"And how do you know that, Naruto? Does he...talk to you?" the Jonin asked, biting her lip, as a tinge of worry crossed her body.

"No. It's like I could feel how he feels. As if our feeling sych...synz..."

"Synchronize," Hinata mentioned.

"Synchronize, yeah, that, thank you."

"Does this happen often?" Kurenai asked again.

"Actually, no. This is the first time I feel something like this. I believe that this place causes him distress, for some reason," Naruto explained.

Kurenai pondered his words. Not wanting to make anymore unnecessary risks, she urged everybody to finish their meals, and continue their trip. The last thing she wanted was to make something to influence the Kyubi.

"By the way Naruto, if you feel something unusual and think it may be due to your tenant, tell me, okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry, sensei."

…

Not an hour after leaving the Valley of the End, Kurenai's Assault Team arrived at their destination, Sawa Town. It was a farmer community surrounded by rice fields, just like the majority of towns of the country –hence its name–. Most of the villagers wore short sleeved linen shirts and short pants –ideal to work on rice fields– and coolie hats –used as protection against the sun and rain while working–. They guessed that the town probably had less than five hundred inhabitants.

The more they studied the villagers, the more they realized about something odd: most of them were either children, or people older than forty. There were no teenagers or people in their twenties/thirties.

Naturally, the presence of ninjas didn't went unnoticed among the farmers. Some were happy to see that the ninja they had requested had finally arrived, but others murmured about the young age of three fourths of the group, and wondered how they were going to protect them. While most villagers didn't dare to approach the foreigners, there was somebody who did: a short man in his early thirties, with short black hair and a soul patch, who wore the same clothes as the rest of his peers.

"Welcome to Sawa Town, foreign ninjas," the man greeted as he removed his hat and made a bow. "Are you the Konoha Ninjas that we requested to protect our home?"

"Indeed we are. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. These are my students, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga and Haku Yuki," the Jonin motioned to her Genin as she introduced them.

"Good to see that you're finally here. My name is Ryo Yuhara, mayor of Sawa Town. Please come to my house, and we will discuss the matter at hand there."

…

Kurenai and her three Genin were sat around a table on the kitchen in Ryo's house. A pregnant woman they presumed was Ryo's wife, served them some tea.

"Thank you, Emi," the man said to his wife, who nodded in return.

"I'll be in the garden if you need me," the woman replied before leaving.

"Ryo-san, you said that your village has been attacked multiple times, and that's the reason for us to be here. Before another attack happens, we're going to need as much information as possible," the Jonin said before taking a sip from her tea.

"Sure, ask what you want, and I'll try to be of as much help as possible," the mayor replied.

"For starters, their numbers. How many of them there are?"

"It varies from time to time, usually between fifteen and thirty. All armed with all kinds of weapons, such as swords, axes, spears..." Ryo decided to elaborate before Kurenai asked him again.

"Do any of them show aptitude for ninjutsu?" Kurenai asked once again.

"I believe not. I mean, they don't look like ninjas. Ninja usually wear some sort of badge that identifies their village of origin, just like your headbands," Ryo pointed at Kurenai's forehead protector.

"Not necessarily. There are still quite a few independent clans out there not affiliated to any village. These clans are the last remnants of the Warring States Period. Most people nowadays hire ninjas hailing from villages, leaving these clans with nothing but the poorest customers. I wouldn't be surprised if out desperation, one of these clans turned into pillagers just to survive."

"Still, they didn't look nor act like ninjas to me, nor use that fancy magic ninjas are famous for."

"Ninjutsu," Kurenai sharply corrected. "Magic is what street performers do."

"Oh, right, sorry."

"My I ask something?" It was Haku who spoke this time. Both Ryo and Kurenai nodded. "I saw that most people in this town are either children or middle aged. Where are the people of Kurenai-sensei's age?"

Ryo's mood became somber, his eyes reflected a deep sadness. "You see, most of the time those bandits come here looking for food or money. But sometimes, when they feel we don't have enough to satisfy their greed, they usually take some of our peers with them. Usually those older than eighteen but younger than thirty five."

"Do you know what they do with them?" Kurenai asked.

"I don't know, nor want to think about it," Ryo shuddered in disgust. "At first we thought they did it to increase their numbers, but we never see again the people they take with them."

"Haven't you tried to defend yourselves?" Naruto asked.

Ryo smiled sadly at the blond. "Kid, this is a farming town. None of us know to fight, nor have the disposition to. Our attackers are well armed and organized, and while we outnumber them, nobody wants to die fighting them."

"What about the Lord of these lands?" Hinata chimed in. "Shouldn't he make sure that such attacks doesn't happen?"

"Maybe he should, but for some reason he doesn't. These lands had always been peaceful. We always had our share of criminals like everybody else, but our Lord's soldiers and guards usually dealt with them. But during the past years, the bandit attacks have multiplied drastically, not only in our town, but in other towns as well. Many people traveled to the capital to ask our Lord for help, but they never returned. We think that they didn't even make it to the capital before falling prey to some ambush."

"This is unacceptable," Kurenai was trying her best to hold her anger. "Is a ruler's duty to keep his people safe. Once we deal with this problem, we will travel to the capital and ask what's going on."

Ryo's face lit up. "You'll do that? Because that would be wonderful! Though that wasn't included in the mission..."

"That's what differentiates ninjas from mere mercenaries. We may charge for our services, but we do work to make the world a little better."

"I'm glad my brother in law suggested the idea of hiring some ninjas from the Land of Fire, given that there is no ninja village in our country," the mayor said, smiling. "By the way, and I don't mean to disrespect any of you, but while you seem like a strong fighter, your students can't be older than thirteen. Are you sure they will be able to fight?"

"A reasonable doubt, but yes. Don't let their age fool you, these three may be children, but they have been trained and are ninjas in their own right. Once the bandits attack, you will see their abilities in action."

"Speaking of which, do you know when the bandits attack?" Haku asked. "Or do they attack at random?"

"No, I realized that they attack sometime around the first week of each month," Ryo answered.

There was a moment of silence while Ryo's words sunk in, and realized which day it was.

"Which means that they will attack sometime this week," Kurenai stated.

"Yes. That's why it's a good thing that you arrived here before the attack could happen," Ryo said.

"Fortunately, given the kind of threat we're dealing with, we won't need any time to make preparations such as traps. Now we better get some rest. Do you know any inn, or a place where we can stay while we're here?"

"Yes, Baiko's Inn. It's our best inn...by virtue of being our only one," the mayor chuckled.

…

Baiko, the owner of the inn, was graceful enough to not charge anything to them for staying there, given that they were there to save the town –though he did charge them for the food, claiming that his generosity couldn't get in the way of feeding his family– . The fact that they were his first customers in quite some time helped.

The inn was rather small. It was a two story building, the lower floor being something of a mix between a tavern and a dining room, and the upper floor being the bedrooms. Naruto shared a bedroom with Haku, while Hinata shared a bedroom with Kurenai.

The next morning, Team Kurenai was finishing their breakfast in the lower room, when the mayor, extremely agitated, burst in.

"Kurenai-san! They're here!" Ryo shouted while barging in. The four ninjas immediately tensed up.

"Alright. Keep calm, and try to get people out of the way, we'll be there in a couple minutes," Kurenai calmly instructed. She then turned at her students. "These guys may not be ninjas, but still be careful, this will be your first real fight. Check you have your equipment with you before going. I believe you can handle this, but I will intervene if things get ugly, understood?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei!" the three of them said in unison.

…

"Yes, I think this one is perfect, we will take her!"

"No! Not my daughter you monsters!"

"Shut up, you old hag! Or else tonight you'll be sleeping two meters underground!"

The four ninjas rushed towards the group of bandits. Their description matched Ryo's. Some of them were forcefully dragging people from their homes, ignoring the pleas of the distressed families. Others were looting stores, taking either goods or money.

The fact that they weren't even bothering to hide their faces and the way they acted, they clearly believed that they owned that town. However, soon they would find out how wrong they were.

"Hey, you assholes!" Naruto yelled once he was near enough to be heard. "Stop what you're doing, or else!"

"Hey, look at that," one of the bandits, a large, broad shouldered bald man, looked at Naruto. "A small kid with a very big mouth."

"Maybe we should teach you what happens to cheeky kids who don't respect their elders," a slim, brown haired man said, as he rubbed the blade of his sword.

"And who the hell do you think you are?" another bandit, this time of the few women, asked.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha, and these are my teammates Hinata and Haku! And if you don't leave these people alone, we're going to kick your asses!"

There was a moment of silence as the band of thugs processed Naruto's words. The silence was broken by a giggle, which turned into laughter, which was followed by an uproar laughter from the entire group of pillagers. Naruto gritted his teeth in anger.

"Naruto," Kurenai called him. Naruto turned at her. She smirked. "Are you going to let them laugh at you?"

Naruto smirked back. "You can bet I'm not!" he turned to the bandits again and made a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen Narutos appeared from clouds of smoke, and the bandits suddenly stopped laughing.

"CHARGE!"

The orange-clad army charged forward and engaged the whole band of bandits. Their shock was so big that some of them didn't even react to the attack.

"Defend yourselves, you idiots!"

"That brat is a ninja!"

"Hinata-san, I think we shouldn't let Naruto have all the fun for himself, right?" Haku asked, smiling at the Hyuga.

"R-Right! Let's go help him!" Hinata answered as she activated her Byakugan.

After the bandits recovered from the shock, they started fighting back and managed to destroy about half of Naruto's clones. However, they were so focused on fighting Naruto that they didn't notice Hinata landing near them. The Hyuga made several hand seals, and her hands were crackling with electricity.

"Lightning Release: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Thunder strikes! Two strikes!" Hinata's lightning-infused palm strikes immediately disabled a thug. "Four Strikes! Eight Strikes!" Other three thugs fell before her. "Sixteen Strikes! Thirty-Two Strikes!" Five more bandits were out of commission.

Haku decided it was his turn to act as well. His hands flew through hand seals. "Ice Release: Breath of Winter!" The Ice Ninja breathed deeply and released a huge cone of ice that covered in frost all who were touched by it.

Two of the bandits leaped into the air and tossed multiple kunai at the Konoha Genin. However, Naruto had already saw them, and his hands were forming several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto trusted both his hands forward, forming a cone-shaped gale. This time he managed to make it bigger than the one he used against Kurenai. The wind vortex not only stopped the kunai mid air, but also hit the thugs who had thrown them.

"ENOUGH!"

The three Genin turned around to see where the yell came from. At the top of one of the houses, there was one of the bandits –probably the only one still uninjured– with an arm around a little girl, and a kunai on her neck.

"Surrender now, of this girl dies!" the bandit yelled, as he pressed the kunai against the girl's neck.

Naruto laughed at him. "I don't see any girl there, just a bag of flour."

"What?" and much to the bandits shock, where the girl should be, there was a bag of flour. He scanned the people in the ground, and saw the girl on Hinata's arms. Before he could even react, Haku appeared from behind, and knocked him out cold.

The few bandits who were still on their feet wisely decided that those three kids were too much for them, and run for their lives, while Naruto, Hinata and Haku watched the scene proudly. Once they were out of sight, the villagers of Sawa Town loudly cheered.

"Boy, that felt good! Now I'm even angrier at dad for not giving me a mission like this earlier!" Naruto said, with a wide grin.

"Maybe it wasn't an assassination, but this beats pulling out weeds or picking up litter any time," Haku added.

"Plus we helped somebody in need. Now these villagers won't be afraid of being attacked and robbed anymore," Hinata said as well.

…

 _An hour later_

After helping clean the mess the bandits have made before being kicked out of the town, Kurenai, gathered her team.

"Now I'm going to go to the capital and request an audience with the Lord of these lands. You've showed that mere bandits are no threat to you, so you three should be able to protect this town while I'm absent. I guess I should be back in less than three days," Kurenai explained.

"Don't worry sensei, this town will be safe as long as we're here! Right guys?" Naruto asked. Haku and Hinata nodded.

…

 _A couple hours later, at the bandits secret hideout_

The few bandits that managed to return were kneeling in front of some unseen figure.

"You usually don't have much trouble gathering supplies and test subjects. What happened this time? Did the villagers get fed up and decided to fight you?" the man asked, chuckling.

"Worse than that. They hired ninjas to protect the town. They were just children, but...we weren't able to land a hit on either of them," one of the bandits fearfully explained.

"I see. If that's the case, I'll have to send somebody else more qualified than you. And since you failed to gather fresh test subjects for Orochimaru-sama's experiments...I guess that you'll have to take their place."

The bandits paled. They tried to run away, but before they could get on their feet, their world turned into darkness...

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, after the Uchiha Coup D'etat, we dive into the second multi-chapter arc. Fortunately, it won't be as dark as it predecessor.**

 **So, Naruto, Hinata and Haku have unwittingly poked with a stick Orochimaru's wasp's nest. What will they face, now that they made their presence known? Especially now since Kurenai is conveniently out of the picture. But that does't mean that the Genjutsu Mistress won't have her share of "fun", oh no.**

 **Anyway, I hoped you liked the beginning of this new arc, and don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	17. First C-Rank Mission, Part II

**Author's note: As we delve a little deeper into the arc, it's about time for Naruto, Hinata an Haku to face their first REAL enemies (those bandits were just a warm up). Also, some little foreshadowing of future events. Hope you enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 17:**

First C-Rank Mission, Part II: The Sound of Terror

or

 _The return of an old friend_

When Team Kurenai arrived at Sawa Town, there was an atmosphere of grief, sorrow and fear impregnating the air. People barely talked to each other, minded their own bussiness and focused on the matter at hand. Most of them were on the edge, as if they were expecting Death itself to claim them or their loved ones at any moment. And given the situation they were in, such behavior was anything but unusual.

But now...it felt like a whole new place. People would often happily and loudly greet each other. Children freely played in the streets. The townspeople behaved in a much carefree way, as if a huge burden had been relieved from their backs. Hell, even the sun appeared to shine even brighter than it did before.

The three Genins were now in a small grass field close to a river. Hinata and Haku were sparring against a bunch of Naruto clones, while the real Naruto was reading a book on fuinjutsu. While he was progressing at a very slow pace, he was now capable of making his own explosive seals and storage seals of small capacity. Now he was trying for something a bit more advanced.

 _Elemental Seals_

 _Description:_

 _As their name suggest, these kind of seals are closely tied to elemental ninjutsu, and thus a great mastery of said art is a prerequisite before attempting to create these seals. These seals can be as simple as storing a quantity of an element on a tag or a scroll –especially useful for Water Release or Earth Release users– to crate a seal that will unleash a jutsu once activated._

 _Components:_

 _1\. In the center of the seal, a kanji of the element in question. Fire (火), Water (水), Wind (風), Earth (土) and Lightning (雷)._

 _2\. A standard containment matrix around it (see page 25 for reference)._

 _3\. A standard chakra filter (see page 31 for reference)._

 _The central kanji must be infused with chakra of the selected element. The containment matrix, chakra filter and other additions can be infused with non-elemental chakra._

 _For instructions on how create more advanced elemental seals, please go to page 113._

 _Other Applications:_

 _Elemental Seals can be also carved into weapons to make it easier to channel elemental chakra into them. Containment matrix won't be necessary, since unlike paper, the sturdier material weapons are made of will be enough to contain the seal. Though adding a chakra filter is recommended in order to stop enemies from using your weapon against you. It's also-_

The experience from Naruto's clones upon being destroyed flowing through his mind snapped him from his book. He lifted his eyes from the book, and looked at both his teammates, who were looking at him expectantly.

"Already? Wow, you guys are good! They didn't last even five minutes!" Naruto then got up, and made a hand seal. Six clones popped besides him. "Maybe this will be a challenge worth your time!"

"Actually, I believe that the real Naruto joining the fight would be a better challenge, don't you think?" Haku suggested.

"Are you sure you can handle the real me? Alright, don't say I didn't warn you!" Naruto retorted as he walked towards Haku and Hinata, while a clone took his place studying fuinjutsu.

"Besides, Kurenai-sensei has started to teach me some low-level genjutsus, and I want somebody to practice them," the Ice Ninja explained.

"Why can't you practice with Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"T-The Byakugan c-can see through most genjutsus s-save for the strongest ones, Naruto-kun," Hinata explained. "And since I always fight with my Byakugan active..."

"Yeah, I get it," Naruto got into a fighting stance. "Alright, let's go!"

The spar began, Haku and Hinata versus Naruto. While everything was allowed, all three fighters were holding back. Naruto didn't use more than six clones, Hinata only used normal Gentle Fist as opposed to her Lightning-infused version, while Haku limited himself mostly to throwing senbons and casting genjutsus.

The first genjutsu made Naruto lose perception of reality, making it was if the world started rocking, as if Naruto was on a ship during a sea storm, causing Naruto to lose balance and almost fall to the ground before he managed to dispel it. The second one caused vines to grow and wrap around Naruto. Despite knowing it was a genjutsu, he was unable to move until he dispelled it.

The fight continued for a few more minutes, in which the group was unconsciously moving towards the river. And the spar finally came to an end when Naruto, in an attempt to fend Hinata, kicked her in the gut with more force than necessary, pushing her into the river.

"EEP!" She squeaked upon falling into the cold water.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled, and quickly jumped into the river to save her.

Fortunately, the river was very shallow –it only reached Naruto's knee– so there was no danger, but Hinata fell on her back, and got all her clothes soaked.

"Hinata! I'm so sorry!" Naruto mentioned as he grabbed Hinata's hand, and helped her out of the river. _"Hinata's hands are so soft...wait, why I'm thinking this?"_

"I-It's okay, Naruto-kun...this kind of things h-happen sometimes..." the Hyuga heired then looked at her dripping clothes. "But my clothes are all wet..."

"I think I can be of help. Please give me your coat, Hinata-san," Haku asked.

Hinata nodded, removed her coat and gave it to Haku. Haku placed a hand close to the coat, closed his eyes, and focused his chakra. The water started to slowly leave the coat in the form of tiny droplets, and gathered on Haku's hand while merging into a big watery sphere. After dropping the water ball on the ground, Haku repeated the process.

"This may take a few minutes. You better stay in the sun while I work," Haku advised.

While Haku worked to dry Hinata's coat, they sat down against an old fallen tree.

"Again, sorry for getting you all soaked, Hinata," Naruto asserted.

"A-And I told you t-that it's n-nothing, Naruto-kun. It's not l-like you hurt me or anything..."

"Thankfully. Still, I better hold back a bit more next time we spare. I don't want anybody getting hurt unnecessarily..." Naruto didn't realize that Hinata's wet shirt was clinging to her body, revealing her figure. Upon realizing what he was doing, Naruto blushed a bit, and quickly turned his head back.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Er...just must be cold with all those wet clothes! Do you want me to bring you a blanket?" Naruto quickly offered.

"Eh...okay, thank you."

 _"What the hell is happening to me?"_ Naruto thought as he walked towards his backpack.

…

After hours of running and leaping through endless grass fields, Kurenai saw a town in the distance, and decided that it would make a decent spot to rest a bit before continuing her journey. Her stomach was starting to complain through loud grumbles, and her legs were starting to get a little sore. Yes, it was time for a little break.

However, as the town came close to her sight, the Genjutsu Mistress couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong. For once, the ambient noise didn't change as she was getting closer, which would mean that there was nobody there. This assumption was supported by the lack of farmers working on the rice fields surrounding the town. And as she came closer, she saw that her fears were indeed a reality.

The town was a complete ruin. Half the houses had been burned to the ground, while the other half sustained heavy damage. There were broken glasses and pieces of wood scattered everywhere, alongside farming tools. The pools of dried blood didn't go unnoticed either. Still, there was something missing.

Because, despite the overwhelming evidence of the town being victim of an attack or incursion –Kurenai guessed it happened between three and six days ago– there were no visible bodies. If the attackers were a group of bandits like those her students fended off the day before, the Konoha Jonin simply couldn't imagine that they would care about the bodies.

Suddenly, a noise snapped Kurenai from her thoughts. A kunai appeared on her hand, as she immediately turned around and adopted a fighting stance.

"Who's there!?" the Jonin asked, not expecting anybody stupid enough to answer that question.

And indeed, nobody answered. But whoever was stalking Kurenai made a sound while they tried to move. That's all what the Jonin needed to pinpoint their location. Silent as the night breeze, the red-eyed woman burst into one of the less damaged houses, almost tearing the door from its hinges.

"Please don't hurt me!"

Kurenai immediately dropped her fighting stance when she saw a middle aged woman, wearing ragged clothes, sitting on a corner cowering before her. While she lowered her kunai, she didn't drop her guard just in case it was a trap.

"Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you," Kurenai walked towards the woman, who continued trembling. "M;y name is Kurenai Yuhi, I'm a ninja from Konohagakure. Who are you?"

The middle aged woman finally dared to make eye contact with Kurenai, and her body stopped shaking.

"My...my name is K-Kimi..." the woman stuttered. "Aren't you going to hurt me?"

"I believe I answered that question already," Kurenai helped the woman on her feet. "Can you tell me what happened?" Upon seeing how shaken the woman was, she added: "Take your time to catch your breath if you need it."

Kurenai picked a chair, and motioned Kimi to sit down. The Jonin even shared some of her meal with her, thinking that at least a partially full stomach would be of help. After a few minutes, Kimi was relaxed enough to talk.

"It started happening a few months ago...bandit gangs multiplied like rats...at first, they usually ambushed our caravans or those who traveled to other villages or to the capital...but then they started coming to our town, demanding goods and money...and sometimes they even kidnapped some of us...the mayor decided it was enough and gathered everybody to stand up against them...it was a mistake...when I came out, everybody was gone and our beautiful town is in ruins..."

Kurenai listened intently to the woman's words. The situation was extremely similar to what was happening in Sawa Town. For some reason, Kurenai thought that this was something more than a mere loose gangs. The more reason to reach the capital and contact the Lord of the land.

"How did you survive?" the red eyed woman asked.

"M-My husband hid me in the basement with our two grandkids...we've spent there the past two days...I came out to see it was safe...then I saw you and thought that you came here to finish us off..." the woman sobbed.

"Calm down. Like I said before, I'm not going to hurt you. Now, this is what you're going to do: there's another town a few kilometers to the southwest named Sawa Town. I know that it's dangerous, but I want you to pack whatever you can, pick your grandchildren and go to that town. That town is under the protection of my students, so you should be safe there," Kurenai reassured the older woman.

"B-But...it's too dangerous to travel these lands alone!" the woman protested.

"Listen, this town has been ravaged, so no bandit would have any interest in this area. Besides, there are too many open fields to set an ambush. If you set off in an hour, you should arrive at Sawa Town before nighttime."

"O-Okay...guess that it's too dangerous to remain here..." the woman cried. "Wait! Can you come with us? You're a ninja, right?"

"Unfortunately, I can't. I'm going to go to the capital and ask the Feudal Lord why he lets so many bandit gangs to run unchecked through his lands," Kurenai replied, sounding apologetic.

"I see...guess that I'll have to be brave, at least for my grandkids..." the woman wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked at Kurenai with a heartfelt smile. "Still, thanks for your help, Kurenai-san..."

"You're welcome. Now, if you excuse me, I need to resume my trip."

…

 _A few hours later_

Kurenai felt a tinge of relief when the walls of the capital of the Land of Rice Fields appeared in her sight. She hoped that it wouldn't take too long for her to have an audience with the Lord.

But, just as it happened with the town she stopped a few hours ago, she felt that there was something very wrong going on. It was the same, silently eerie atmosphere that was present before arriving to the destroyed town.

But it made no sense. Sure, those little towns were easy prey for bandits, with their lack of an organized and well-trained defense force. But the capital was a walled city protected by literally hundreds of soldiers. There's no way it could have befell to the same fate as the town she had been before. Hell, even if all the bandit gangs of the country joined forces under a single banner, they wouldn't be able to lay siege to the city.

But the evidence took no time in presenting itself. As she came closer, she could see the gates of the walls teared from its hinges. Every one of Kurenai's instincts told her to turn back and flee, that only death awaited for her in that city. But there were too many questions that needed an answer. That, and she was a Jonin, for crying out loud. She didn't get the rank for quitting when things got ugly.

Entering the city, she saw her fears confirmed once again: most of the buildings were either reduced to rubble, or extremely damaged. An intense smell of copper and burned wood invaded her nostrils. Debris, rocks, and broken glass was scattered across the ground. Pools of dried blood everywhere. But, unlike the little town, there were copious amounts of corpses littering the destroyed streets.

She couldn't help but having a brief flashback of Konoha right after the Kyubi was sealed. Only this was even worse, since plenty of people survived the Demon Fox's rampage. There was nobody here but dead bodies.

Still, remembering that she found a survivor on the destroyed town, Kurenai decided that maybe it would be a good idea to scout the city a little, and maybe with some luck she could find somebody who explained her what the hell was going on with this country.

 _"Why would somebody attack this country? The Land of the Rice Fields is a nation of farms. It's not a rich country, and possesses little strategical value. This makes no sense,"_ Kurenai thought as she inspected the ruined city. _"But what's most worrying is that somebody managed to launch an attack of this scale and keep it secret from the rest of the world. Hokage-sama needs to hear of this..."_

Suddenly, a noise. While the Konoha Jonin hoped it was a survivor, her instincts kicked in, and a kunai appeared on her right hand.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here," Kurenai was a bit startled by the voice, definitely male. "Some Konoha scum getting her pretty nose in our turf."

"Let's teach her what happens when you wander too far away from home.." another voice added.

"You know, I'm kinda glad that she showed up. This scavenging job was pretty boring," a third one said.

Looking around, Kurenai managed to track the voices to the top of a half destroyed building. There were four men, wearing a gray and black camouflage uniform. Their faces were covered by black balaclavas, which had a small metal plate on their forehead with a symbol the Genjutsu Mistress was unable to see.

It was obvious that these uniformed men were ninjas belonging to a village, but she was unable to identify which based on the clothes alone.

The black and gray clad ninjas jumped from the building, and landed on the ground, surrounding Kurenai. Now she could see that the symbol on their balaclavas was a musical note, a quaver to be more precise. Kurenai had no idea there was a ninja village with such a symbol.

 _"A quaver...Anko told me that Orochimaru was in the process of creating a ninja village somewhere, whose name was Otogakure...do these ninja belong to this village?"_

"Who are you?" Kurenai asked. "I didn't know that there was a ninja village in the Land of the Rice Fields."

"First of all," one of the ninja replied. "We are the ones that make the questions here. But regarding what you said...well, things change. Yeah, there wasn't a ninja village, but now there is."

"It was your village who caused this destruction?" Kurenai asked again.

"What did we tell you about asking questions, you Konoha whore! You're in our territory, so now you're coming with us! Our boss will have a field day with you!" another of the mysterious ninja shouted as she grabbed her upper arm.

Kurenai's reflexes immediately kicked in, and she quickly stabbed her kunai on the hand grabbing her arm. The man yelled in pain as he grabbed his injured limb and jumped back. His three companions lunged at Kurenai, who jumped back to put some distance between herself and her attackers.

"What do you plan to do with these lands?" Kurenai asked as he parried several kunai swipes from two of her attackers.

"Dead people have no business in asking pointless questions!" another ninja said as he threw a salvo of shurikens.

The ninja stars reached their mark, but in a poof of smoke, the Konoha Jonin was replaced by a log.

Kurenai appeared behind the ninja who tossed the shurikens, and kicked him hard in the back. "Your symbol...you're Oto ninjas, right? Do you serve Orochimaru?"

Two of the ninjas visibly flinched, making Kurenai realize that she was right. Still, that wasn't enough confirmation of her doubts. And she still had more questions.

"Come on, she's just one, and we're four! We should be able to beat her!" one of the ninjas yelled in frustration.

"Let's attack her from different angles at the same time!" another suggested.

"You know, shouting your tactics at your enemy is not the mark of a good ninja," Kurenai said, shaking her head. "Whoever trained you did a very poor job. If you got any training, that's it."

"SHUT UP!"

Kurenai thought about creating a couple Shadow Clones, but deemed it unnecesary. Despite being attacked from four different sides at the same time, she had no trouble fending off their amateurish swipes.

"This is getting annoying, you know. And I believe that my questions are rather simple," the Jonin jumped back a few meters while she make several hand seals. "But if you're not going to talk, then I have no reason to prolong this charade. Demonic Illusion: Underwater Burial!"

They didn't know how, but all of sudden the ruined city was transported to the bottom of the ocean. The attacking ninjas clutched their necks as they were unable to breathe and a torrent of water invaded their lungs. In a couple minutes, all four ninja lost consciousness due the lack of oxygen.

Meanwhile, Kurenai watched how her genjutsu made the balaclava-wearing ninja writhe in agony until they stopped moving altogether. The Konoha Jonin decided to inspect them and see if they had something that identified them, or at least identified the mysterious village they hailed form. However, her search turned out fruitless. All these men had were kunai, shuriken, some paper bombs, ration bars, and one of them was carrying a small first aid kit.

"Damn my luck," Kurenai cursed. "Well, maybe I should carry one of these guys back to the village. Maybe Anko may be able to make him talk before this snowballs into a bigger problem. But then again...no visible ninjutsu, mediocre taijutsu and skill in armed combat, and absolutely zero aptitude to dispel or even recognize a genjutsu. If these guys are an example of the ninjas this new village can produce, then there's nothing we should worry about," Kurenai mused to herself.

"Oh, don't judge all of us based on the performance of our lowest members," a new voice startled the Jonin, who turned around and saw another Oto ninja. This one was wearing the same clothes as the other four, except he was also wearing a dark gray light body armor, similar to Konoha's flak jackets. Kurenai deduced that he was either a Chunin or a Jonin. "You made quite a number on my men. But then again, they should know better than messing with a Jonin, right Kurenai Yuhi?"

Kurenai frowned, and stared at the Oto ninja's eyes. "How do you know who I am?"

"Anybody who bothered to read our bingo book could identify Konoha's top genjutsu specialist. Those bright red eyes are a dead giver," the Oto officer pointed at Kurenai's face.

"And you think you're tough enough to take on me alone?" the Genjutsu Mistress slipped into a fighting stance, ready for another short combat.

The Oto ninja smirked under his mask. "Who said I was going to fight you alone?"

The earth started to shake, in an almost impercetible way first, more noticeable with each second. With a loud crash, one of the half destroyed buildings collapsed completely, and from the cloud of smoke, a massive greenish gray snake appeared, its jaws wide open, ready to gobble the red-eyed Jonin.

Kurenai managed to shake off her shock and jump away just a second before the gigantic slithering reptile could get her, its fangs sinking into the concrete floor. Still, the gigantic snake gave her no room to breathe, and lunged at her again. This time, Kurenai jumped above its head, landing just on its neck. The Jonin turned around and tossed a volley of kunai and shuriken at the back of the giant reptile's head. The snake hissed in pain, but the attack didn't appear to cause much damage.

A painful flying kick to the side reminded Kurenai that the giant snake wasn't her only opponent. The Oto official started to make hand seals. Several crescent-shaped blades made of chakra appeared above him.

"Flying Decapitating Blades!"

The chakra blades shot themselves at Kurenai, who dodged them while doing a few backflips. Two of them managed to narrowly hit her, producing a couple of superficial scratches. Taking advantage of Kurenai's predicament, the snake lunged forward once again, it's jaws ready to devour the Jonin. She knew that if she was going to deal with two strong enemies, she should be in two places at the same time. She formed a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A single clone appeared from a cloud of smoke, and both original and clone jumped in opposite directions to avoid the snake's onslaught. The snake decided to chase the clone, so Kurenai went after the Oto ninja. She started to make more hand seals.

"Earth Release: Field of Stone Blades!" Kurenai slammed her hands into the ground.

Multiple huge spikes started to emerge from the ground. The Oto ninja jumped backwards multiple times to avoid them. When the spikes also started to appear behind him, he decided to jump to the roof of a nearby ruined building. Meanwhile, Kurenai's hand flied through hand seals once again.

"Earth Release: Flying Piercing Stone Blades!"

The stone spikes that Kurenai created before left the ground and floated menacingly, pointing at the Oto ninja's direction, who was getting ready to dodge or deflect them. Kurenai made a hand seal...and the flying spikes turned ninety degrees, and flied in the giant snake's direction. The snake, who was still chasing the clone, didn't realize what was going on until several spikes sank into its flesh. The snake hissed in pain, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 _"A summoned snake...now there's no doubt that this is Orochimaru's doing...now this land is under his control. That means that my Genin and the people from Sawa Town are in great danger! I have to go back as soon as possible!"_

"Now I have all the answers I wanted. This village you belong to was formed by Orochimaru, just like our intelligence reports said, though we weren't aware of its location, or its existence for that matter," Kurenai deduced, while staring at the Oto ninja.

"You're a smart girl, aren't you?" the Oto ninja chuckled. "But I obviously can't let you escape with such a sensitive information about us."

More camo-wearing, masked ninja appeared from the roofs of the semi-destroyed buildings. Kurenai couldn't deal with so many. Fortunately, she didn't need to.

"Were you going to let me go in the first place?" the Genjutsu Mistress asked.

"No," the Oto officer shrugged. "But now I have extra motivation to do so."

"Well, in that case..." Kurenai started to sink into the ground. "...good luck telling Orochimaru or whoever happens to be your immediate boss how you lost a spy."

"NO!" The Oto ninja panicked as he ran through hand seals. "Underground Shredding Blades!"

The Oto ninja slammed his hands on the ground, creating several semi-buried chakra blades, which moved towards Kurenai cutting through the ground as if they were shark fins cutting through the water surface. However, Kurenai disappeared before the chakra blades could slash her.

"Search the area, she can't be too far!" the Oto officer shouted. "Find her! Find her and kill her!"

…

Leaving the ruined capital behind, Kurenai dashed back to Sawa Town. She didn't care about being pursued –she was on an land controlled by the enemy, hostile ninjas could appear anywhere– but she was too busy thinking about what would be of her Genin if she didn't get back in time...

 _"Naruto, Hinata, Haku...please, stay safe!"_

…

 _A day later, at Sawa Town_

"Boy, I hope Kurenai-sensei comes back soon, because this is getting pretty boring..." Naruto groaned, both his hands behind his neck.

Naruto, Hinata and Haku had already finished their morning training, so they decided to take a walk. The first two days they had spend quite a few time exploring the town and getting to know their people, but Sawa was so small that such time was enough to see it completely. Not that a farming town was terribly interesting to begin with.

"I know that things have been pretty...quiet since we beat those bandits. But still, this beats D-Rank missions any time of the day," Haku commented.

"Besides, I-I'm sure Kurenai-sensei will be back soon...she said she wouldn't take more than three days to arrange whatever was necessary to stop this bandit attacks..." Hinata added.

"And all this spare time isn't that bad either," Haku then looked at Naruto. "You could use it to continue your fuinjutsu training, you know."

"I know. But I burned through my supplies faster than I thought, and I'm not somebody who can learn just through theory alone. Though I'm making some progress with my Wind Seal," Naruto said while walking.

"W-What is that, Naruto-kun?" the Hyuga asked.

"It's a seal I make. It's kinda like the explosive tag, only that instead of exploding, the seal releases a gust. Well, it's not that strong, but I'm not that good at sealing yet."

"Interesting. Would you be able to create seals based on other elements?" Haku asked.

"Well, yeah, but first I would need to master said element, you know? Explosive tags are pretty easy, since it's just to create an explosion with chakra, but for elemental seals, you actually need to infuse the seal with elemental chakra. So for the time being I'm just stuck with Wind Seals," Naruto explained.

"M-Maybe Haku-kun and I could help?" Hinata offered. "We do have different elemental chakras, so maybe we could help you make Lightning and Ice seals."

Naruto pondered Hinata's words, as his mouth curved into a smile. "Hey, that's...pretty smart! Yeah, I guess I could do most of the work, then show you how you can infuse the chakra into the seal. We have to try that when we get back at Konoha!"

Suddenly, the group saw a very distressed farmer running into them.

"Ninja-sama!" the farmer, a man in his forties, shouted as he stumbled towards them. "Thanks goodness that I found you!"

Haku helped the man on his feet. "Calm down. Tell us what happened."

"A trio of punks attacked us while we were working on the fields! I managed to escape, but I don't know what happened to the others! Please help us!"

"A trio of punks? Were they bandits?" Naruto asked.

"No, they didn't look like bandits...I think they were ninjas. They were wearing headband with a symbol just like yours, and had some freaky powers..."

Hinata frowned. "Other ninja? If that's the case, then this shouldn't be just a C-Rank mission...were you attacked by ninjas before?"

"No, just bandits, like those you beat up the other day, I swear!"

"Come on guys, why are we still here? These people needs our help now!" Naruto was shaking his fist.

"But we don't know how strong these ninja are! If we aren't careful, we may walk to our deaths!" Haku countered.

"I'm not going to let these people to die!" Naruto then turned at the farmer. "Take us to the place in which you were attacked!"

Haku sighed. Even if he really didn't want to engage enemy ninja without any kind of intel on them, he knew that there was no way to convince his blond teammate to stay. Better go all together, than let Naruto go alone.

"Alright, Naruto-kun, I will go with you then. Hinata?"

The Hyuga merely nodded, and they headed to the rice fields.

…

A few minutes later, they arrived at the rice field. It was apparently empty, save for a trio of farmers, to each other, sitting in the middle of the field.

"Of thank Kami, they look to be alive!" the farmer who asked for the Genin's help rushed to untie them, but he was stopped by Naruto. "What are you doing?"

"Don't rush in. This smells like a trap. Hinata?"

Hinata nodded, and activated her Byakugan, and inspected the fields. "There are several explosive tags hidden among the rice plants, forming a circle around the hostages. They're set so if one explodes, it will trigger a chain of explosions that more than likely will kill the hostages."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "That sounds as if they were expecting us..."

"Over there!" Hinata pointed to the right of the tied farmers. "There is a trio of ninjas hidden among the rice plants!"

"Those are some impressive eyes, girl. If I knew that we were going to face an Hyuga, we would have prepared a more elaborated trap," a male voice said as the trio of ninjas revealed themselves.

There were two boys and a girl. One of the boys had bandages covering most of his face, leaving only his left eye uncovered. He was wearing large poncho with long sleeves, a camouflage gray scarf, a straw raincoat protruding from the back of his scarf, and a metallic gauntlet on his right arm. His back was hunched, which made him look smaller than he actually was.

The other boy had spiky, black hair and dark eyes. He was wearing a beige shirt with two black stripes and three prints of the kanji for death down the front, and a camouflage gray scarf.

The only girl of the trio had very long black hair, almost reaching down to the ground, tied by a violet ribbon right near the end, and black eyes. She was wearing a pale green vest somewhat similar to a flak jacket, and camouflage gray vest and pants.

"Who the hell are you!?" Naruto asked, while pointing a finger at them.

"Actually, we should be the ones asking the questions, you loudmouth, given that you're in our territory," the boy with the spiky black hair replied.

"Your territory? But the Land of the Rice Fields doesn't have a ninja village!" Hinata said.

"Let me enlighten you, then," the bandaged boy spoke. "First, yes, there is a ninja village here. And second, this is no longer the Land of the Rice Fields, but the Land of Sound, since it belongs to Otogakure now."

"Wait, but...why are you attacking these farmers then? If you're a ninja of these lands, you should protect them instead!" Hinata cried.

"Enough with your stupid questions already," the raven-haired girl interrupted Hinata. "Dosu, Zaku, I think we should kill this trio of meddlers right now."

"Agree, Kin," the bandaged boy, Dosu, replied. "Come on, let's go!"

As the trio of mysterious ninja dashed towards them, the Konoha Genin slipped into their usual fighting stances.

"We need to drive the fight away from the hostages, or else may risk activating the explosive tags," Hinata noted. Her two male companions nodded.

"I'll create a Shadow Clone to remove the paper bombs and release the hostages," Naruto whsipered at them.

Once they were close enough, Zaku stopped, and aimed his holed palms towards the Konoha Ninja. "Decapitating Air Waves!"

Zaku shot from his palms an air blast at the Konoha Genin. Naruto flied through hand seals.

"So, another Wind User, huh? Let's have a competition then! Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto waved his arms in a cross, producing a powerful gust of wind, which clashed against Zaku's air blasts.

"My turn!" Haku said as he also formed hand seals. "By the way, thanks for choosing a battleground that gives me so much terrain advantage! Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

Using the water of the rice fields, Haku created multiple spikes of ice, which flied towards the trio of sound ninjas. Unfortunately for him, Dosu was already preparing a counterattack.

"Vibrating Sound Blast!" Dosu made a punching motion towards the incoming ice needles.

Dosu's sonic attack shattered Haku's ice spikes before they could land on their intended targets. After that, he held his right arm in front of his face, and dashed at Haku. However, Hinata intercepted Dosu before he could get to the Ice Ninja, and attempted to hit him with her Gentle Fist strikes.

If the rice fields granted Haku a boon thanks to his Water and Ice jutsus, it was a liability to Hinata, since she couldn't use her Lightnging jutsus without a huge risk of hurting her teammates or the hostages –or worse, set off the explosive tags–, and was forced to rely on the normal Gentle Fist that she was far from proficient.

Dosu dodged, or either parried with his gauntlet Hinata's palm strikes, until he saw an opening, and tried to punch the Hyuga in the face. Hinata, displaying her flexibility, bend backwards to dodge the hit. However, after doing so, she was hit by a wave of vertigo and nausea, making her fall on her knees and vomit.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled, while still trading wind blasts with Haku.

"W-What..." the Hyuga weakly said. "But...I..."

"You dodged my attack? Yeah, sure. But you didn't, nor couldn't, dodge the sound waves generated by my Melody Gauntlet," Dosu smirked under his bandages.

"Haku, defend Hinata!" Naruto shouted, in an almost commanding tone.

Haku nodded, and made multiple hand seals. "Water Release: Water Wall!"

The water around Hinata started to rise until the Hyuga was completely hidden, quickly forming a swirling water barrier around her.

 _"That barrier will last about a minute or so. Let's hope she can use that time to heal herself."_

Unfortunately for Haku, while he was thinking about Hinata, he didn't see Kin's flying kick until it was too late, and the Ice Ninja was sent back flying a few meters, landing on his back, making a splash.

"Sorry, sister, no time to stop to smell the roses," the raven haired kunoichi mocked as she pulled out a few senbons from her pouch.

"Actually, I'm a boy," Haku repeated for the thousandth time, getting up and also grabbing some senbons as well.

Kin raised an eyebrow. "Really? Oh well, it doesn't matter, given that you will be a corpse soon enough."

With Hinata weakened and hidden under a shield of water, and Kin engaging Haku, Dosu decided to lend Zaku a hand. Naruto, however, did notice the bandaged ninja dashing at him. Like he did with Hinata, he swinged his metalic arm at Naruto. However, the blonde already saw the effect it had on her female teammate, and knew that dodging it wouldn't be enough.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Multiple clones appeared in front of the blond jinchuriki as he jumped backwards. Most of them were dispelled by Dosu's sonic waves.

 _"Dammit, two versus one...with such destructive wide-area attacks, my Shadow Clones won't be of much use...guess that I'll have to call somebody sturdier than a Shadow Clone,"_

Naruto bit his thumb, and formed five hand seals before slamming his hands on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke appeared a toad roughly the size of large adult. It had dark green skin with numerous warts, a dull yellow belly, and yellow eyes. The toad was wearing a red samurai armor that was one size too small.

 _"Gamakazu is the strongest toad I can summon yet...hope he will be enough to deal with these assholes!"_

The armored toad looked around, inspecting the surroundings, before taking a look at the expectant Dosu and Zaku, and lastly to Naruto.

"Naruto...?"

"Gamakazu, I need your help dealing with these two punks! Can I count on you?" Naruto asked, almost pleading.

The toad smiled. "Sure! That good for nothing Jiraiya hardly summons me anymore, so I'm more than eager to fight again!" the toad clenched his fists, and adopted a fighting stance.

Zaku laughed uproariously. "Oh ho ho, this so good! You think that summoning a fat frog is going to be of any help against us?"

Gamakazu snarled. "First of all, I'm not a frog but a TOAD, remember that! And second, let's see if you laugh so much when I tear your arms and force you to swallow them! Naruto, let's go!"

Naruto jumped on the back of Gamakazu, and leaped into the air above the two Sound Genin.

"Water Release: Water Bullet!" The Toad's jowl puffed out, and released several watery blasts.

Zaku smirked confidently, not impressed by the toad's boast or attack. He raised his hands upwards. "Decapitating Airwaves!" once again, Zaku's palms released a concentrated blast of air and sound that stopped the Gamakazu's water bullets. However, just like Naruto had planned, doing so left him completely wide open. Forming a hand seal, he created multiple Shadow Clones that descended upon him.

Dosu, however, was ready to fend off the attack. He aimed his Melody gauntlet at the clones. "Vibrating Sound Blast!"

Dosu's sonic waves poofed most of Naruto's clones. But unfortunately for him, neither his nor Zaku's attacks managed to hit either Gamakazu or Naruto, and the blond was about to capitalize on this. He threw a shuriken while making several hand seals as fast as he could.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

The single shuriken flying down suddenly turned into three dozens. Without time to counterattack, the two male Sound Genin were forced to jump backwards in order to avoid the rain of metallic death. While Dosu managed to use his Melody Gauntlet to parry the shuriken he couldn't dodge, Zaku wasn't so lucky, and ended up with a few shurikens hammered into his arms and shoulders.

"Zaku! Are you okay?" the bandaged boy asked.

"RAAAAARGH! YOU ASSHOLE!" Zaku screamed as he removed a shuriken from his arm. "You will pay for that!"

Meanwhile, Haku was still fighting Kin. Senbons flew in every direction, some hitting their target, others hitting each other, and others missing. Haku managed to get a lucky shot, and three senbons lodged into Kin's right shoulder. She'd have to remove them if she wanted to use that arm. That would give Haku a window of opportunity to form some hand seals and use his powerful ninjutsu. However, when he was about to form the first seal, his hands phased into each other.

"What...?" Haku slurred, as he tried to form more hand seals, unsuccessfully. Then, looking around, he realized that there was something very wrong. Everything looked extremely blurry and shaky. He tried to move, and he nearly fell on his face. "What's...happening...?"

"You just fell victim of my genjutsu, sucker. Have fun trying to fight like that," Kin smirked at him.

Haku tried to make a hand seal to dispel the genjutsu, but once again his hands phased through each other. Though what in reality was happening was that he wasn't even brining his hands together, the genjutsu was messing up with his eyesight and depth perception, among other things.

"Any last words, pretty boy?"

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty-Two Palms!"

Upon hearing that, Kin paled and turned around, only to see an enraged Hinata ready to hit her. She wanted to block the attack, but it was too late.

"Two trikes! Four Strikes! Eight Strikes! Sixteen Strikes! Thirty-Two Strikes!"

The devastating attack left Kin nearly drained of all her chakra, and fell on her knees, pained and exhausted. Ignoring the fallen Sound kunoichi, Hinata rushed towards Haku. She disrupted his chakra to dispel the genjutsu he was under, then she applied her Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal his injuries and restore some of her energy.

"Are you okay?" the Ice Ninja asked.

Hinata smiled at him. "Shouldn't I be the one asking that?"

"I guess so. But yeah, I'm feeling better now. Thanks."

"I should thank you too for providing me with the cover I needed to recover myself. Shall we help Naruto-kun? He's fighting against two enemies. Oh, and Naruto-kun's clone has released the hostages already. There's no more need to hold back."

Haku's mouth formed an uncharacteristical smirk. "If that's the case..." Haku started to form hand seals while looking at Naruto duking out with Dosu and Zaku. "Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"

The water around Haku and Dosu started to freeze into large, sharp spikes. The two Sound Genin managed to jump in opposite directions before being impaled by the freezing spears. Dosu released more sound waves that easily shattered the ice, but upon doing so, he realized that Haku and Hinata had rejoined Naruto, and that Kin was lying on her back, unconscious, all while he had been separated from Zaku.

"Give up already, you're outnumbered, and your hostages have escaped long time ago!" Naruto angrily shouted, pointing a finger at Dosu.

The bandaged ninja frowned. On one side, he couldn't help but agree with the blond. On the other, this was his group's first confrontation with other ninjas. He couldn't allow their first fight to end in defeat. Otogakure had no place for weaklings. However, there was somebody who was about to make that decision for him.

"I've already seen enough," a new voice said, as somebody landed near the Oto ninjas with a loud splash.

It was a tall man with silver, shoulder-length hair, who was wearing a gray and black camouflage shirt and pants, and a bandanna-style forehead protector with a quaver on it. A Fuma Shuriken was strapped to his back. This man was somebody who Haku didn't recognize, but Naruto and Hinata did, despite not seeing him for more than four years.

"Mizuki-sensei...?" Hinata was taken aback by his appearance.

"What? No, it's our sensei, you bitch!" Zaku shouted at her.

"Zaku, I think that this Konoha kids used to go to the Academy in which Mizuki-sensei was a teacher before he joined our village," Dosu explained. He then smirked under his bandages. "What are the chances of such encounter to happen? It's a small world indeed."

"You traitorous scum! Not only you defected from Konoha, but stole the Scroll of Seals! Just wait until I tell dad!" Naruto's blood was boiling with anger.

Mizuki smirked as well. "For such thing to happen, first you'll have to get out of here alive, which I'll make sure you don't, demon brat," Mizuki then turned at Dosu and Zaku. "You three have done enough already. Get Kin and return to the base."

Zaku tried to protest. "But-"

"Don't question my orders!" Mizuki yelled, making Zaku flinch. "I don't need your help to deal with these trio of brats. In fact, I've been dying for something like this to happen. I never had the chance to test in a real combat the power Orochimaru-sama granted me."

Dosu picked Kin's unconscious body, and alongside Zaku, fled the scene, leaving their sensei alone against the Konoha Genin, who slipped into fighting stances.

"An unsealed Hyuga, an Ice Release User, and the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi," Mizuki smiled evilly as a pattern of chains of crescent-shaped marks started to spread around his skin. "If I manage to bring you to Orochimaru-sama, my reward will be even greater."

* * *

 **Author's note: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUNNN! Mizuki is back! And he has a cursed seal! Plus other abilities neither Naruto nor you, the readers, know about! Naruto easily defeated Mizuki in the manga, but this one won't go down so easily. Oh yeah, and I decided to give Mizuki a normal cursed seal because not only is a power-up I love, but I really disliked Mizuki as Tony the Tiger from the anime filler.**

 **One of the things I liked the most about writing this chapter was the debut of the Sound Genin. They're among my favorite villains. Too bad Kishimoto killed them so quickly, all of them had potential, especially Dosu. One of my minor goals, if you could call it that, is to try to give them a bigger role, or at least a bit more presence in the story.**

 **Anyway, while you wait for the clash against Mizuki in two weeks, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	18. First C-Rank Mission, Part III

**Author's note: The chapters of this arc are getting far less reviews than previous chapters. Let's hope that my writing isn't getting worse. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 18:**

First C-Rank Mission, Part III: The Snake pit

or

 _Genin and A-Rank Missions don't mix well._

Mizuki stood in front of the three teens –and a toad– with a wide smile on his lips.

"An unsealed Hyuga, an Ice Release user, and the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi." Mizuki smiled evilly as a pattern of crescent-shaped marks started to spread around his skin. "If I manage to bring you to Orochimaru-sama, my reward will be even greater."

Hinata gasped upon seeing such thing happening. "H-His chakra...!"

"What about it?"

"It's like...he has a s-second type of chakra coursing t-through his body..." Hinata mumbled. "An overwhelmingly dark chakra..."

"What you're seeing, little Hyuga, is nothing but a fraction of Orochimaru-sama's power. Power that will wipe you out like leaves in the wind!"

"Shut up! It's us who are going to kick your sorry traitorous ass! And when we do, we will make you return the scroll you stole four years ago!" Naruto shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the former Konoha teacher.

The silver haired ninja chuckled. "Ah Naruto, loudmouth as ever. Guess that nobody gave you a much needed beating to curb that aggressive personality of yours. Fortunately for you, I'll be more than happy to oblige." Mizuki said as he cracked his fingers.

"I'd like to see you try!" Naruto then jumped at Gamakazu's back again. "Gamakazu, let's go!"

"Alright!" The toad then leapt into mid air once again. Meanwhile, Naruto's hands ran through hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullets!"

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Mizuki jumped back in time to avoid the cyclone and the water missiles aimed at him, which made a huge splash upon impacting the shallow water. The former Konoha ninja made a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two Mizuki's appeared besides the original. "Now I can give all of you the proper attention you deserve!" The Mizuki clones tossed their Fuma Shuriken while the original made some hand seals. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The two Fuma Shuriken turned into two dozen, much to the Konoha ninjas' horror. Haku flew through hand seals as well.

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

A wall of ice rose from the water, protecting the Genin from the giant metallic stars. Even if none of the Fuma Shuriken touched them, the wall was shattered by the giant steel stars. But Mizuki and his clones had no intention of giving them any time to breathe, and were preparing more jutsu.

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"

A dragon head made of dirt, mud and stone rose from the ground, opened its jaws, and fired multiple mud projectiles at the Konoha Genin.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast!"

The Mizuki clones released a stream of fire from their mouths, igniting the mud projectiles. Haku, was going through hand seals once again.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A watery barrier was erected in front of the Konoha Genin and the toad, blocking most of the projectiles but failing to stop some of them. Fortunately, Gamakazu would take care of that.

"Water Release: Water Bullets!" Gamakazu's jowl puffed out, releasing a barrage of water missiles that clashed against Mizuki's fire attack, nullifying it completely.

"Come on, we have to get to him before he pelts us with more jutsu! Come on Hinata!" Naruto rushed forward, with the Hyuga behind.

"Haku-kun, provide us with some cover!" Hinata asked.

Haku nodded, and his hands went through more hand seals. "Ice Release: Thousand Ice Needles of Death!"

Though not as much as one thousand, Haku managed to create quite a few ice senbon, which flew at Mizuki. The Sound ninja and his clones tried to deflect the ice senbon with their kunai, but some of the ice projectiles found their mark. The wounded clones were dispelled, and the real Mizuki was left with a few ice needles piercing multiple parts of his body. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were already at a close combat distance.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen Naruto's appeared from clouds of smoke, and leapt at the silver haired missing nin. Even wounded, Mizuki was more than able to fend off the clone's onslaught, showing an impressive display of skills and strength. However, he was so focused on fighting the blond army that he completely forgot about the Hyuga Heiress.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!" Hinata quickly dashed towards Mizuki, ready to strike. "Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes!"

Unfortunately, before she could deliver sixteen strikes, Mizuki grabbed her by her wrist the moment she was about to strike him, and with an impressive force, he tossed her against a couple of Naruto clones, which were poofed immediately upon being hit.

"Hinata! Are you okay!?" The original Naruto quickly went to check if Hinata wasn't hurt, and to help her on her feet.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun. H-He's way stronger than he looks. That second chakra also increases his speed and strength. Fortunately, I closed some of his tenketsu." The Hyuga explained.

Naruto smiled brightly. "Well done, Hinata! Let's see if you can land all thirty-two strikes next time!"

"Like hell I'm going to let a 'next time' happen, you dumb brats!" Mizuki angrily yelled. The black marks on his skin started to glow with a fiery light, almost as if the markings were made of fire, and spread around the rest of his body. When the glow vanished, Mizuki had turned into a completely new being. "I didn't think I'd have to resort to the advanced level of the cursed seal, but if you insist on making me mad..."

In his Advanced Cursed Seal from, Mizuki had grown slightly larger and more muscular, to the point that the sleeves of his shirt were completely torn by his now thicker arms. His skin was now maroon, and his hair was much longer. His eyes were now yellow, with black sclera, giving him a demonic or otherworldly appearance. A pair a natural blades grew from the back of his hands.

But the biggest change by far was an additional pair of arms sprouting from his back, though rather than having hands, these arms ended in huge sickle-like blades, almost like the arms of a praying mantis.

"What the hell!?" Naruto yelled upon seeing Mizuki's new form.

Haku was so stunned he wasn't able to say anything.

And while the transformation left both Naruto and Haku shocked, it left Hinata, who watched it through her Byakugan, completely horrified. The Hyuga had seen how the second type of chakra invaded the body completely, assimilating Mizuki's natural chakra. The transformation also modified Mizuki's chakra pathway system, creating new tenketsu and chakra paths.

"Now brats...get ready to feel Orochimaru's power!"

Mizuki dashed at Hinata, and thrust his hand blade at the Hyuga's gut. Fortunately, Hinata was able to jump backwards while kicking Mizuki's face. Naruto created more clones and send them at the inhuman ninja, but Mizuki's mantis-like additional arms shredded them into pieces.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-san, get out of there, now!" Haku shouted.

While Naruto was tempted to ask why, his instincts told him to simply do what the Ice Ninja said, and both he and Hinata jumped in opposite directions. The inhuman ninja saw that Gamakazu's jowl was puffed out again.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

"Ice Release: Breath of Winter!"

Gamakazu released a powerful stream of water from his mouth while Haku released a cone of ice from his mouth that froze Gamakazu's jutsu, creating a barrage of frozen water. Though rather than being surprised, Mizuki merely smirked, and made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Cursed Flame Destruction!"

Mizuki exhaled a massive stream of blue fire from his mouth, pushing the water/ice combined attack back at Haku and Gamakazu, while evaporating the water of the rice field, and setting the rice plans on fire. Gamakazu disappeared in a poof when the heat was too much to take, while Haku used the Body Replacement Jutsu, leaving a log behind, which was soon burned to ashes.

"What do you think about my power, brats? This isn't something you can achieve by staying in Konoha. That place does nothing but hold back those who are great. That's the reason Orochimaru-sama left in the first place, and more importantly, the reason why you will die here!"

Naruto, Hinata and Haku quickly regrouped, while Mizuki advanced menacingly towards them. Hinata and Haku were visibly exhausted, while Naruto had some minor wounds. Much to their displeasure, Mizuki seemed to be fine and dandy.

"Do you guys have a plan? You guys should know that I only have chakra left for two, maybe three more jutsu." Haku mentioned.

"I believe I can keep the Byakugan active for a few more minutes, but my eyes are starting to sore." the Hyuga replied.

"Man, that cursed seal surely pumps Mizuki up." Naruto narrowed his eyes at the smiling inhuman ninja. "Hinata, do you think you can close all his tenketsu? That should stop that cursed seal as well."

"My mastery of the Eight Trigrams isn't further than thirty-two strikes so far. I don't think that will be enough for what you want. Sorry.." Hinata lowered her head.

"No, but maybe it can weaken Mizuki enough for Naruto and I to finish him off." Haku added.

"Yeah, we need to try that. Come on, Haku and I will keep Mizuki busy, you go and close his tenketsu!" Naruto said while patting Hinata on the back.

"I...I will do m-my best..."

The three Genin facing Mizuki, still advancing towards them with a smug smirk plastered on his face. They slipped into their usual fighting stances.

"Still want to fight? Stubborn until the very end. You guys should know when to give up." Mizuki laughed mockingly.

"No man or woman who can make me give up has been born yet! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Ten clones appeared around Naruto. "GET HIM!"

Mizuki adopted a fighting stance as the small army of clones charged at him. However, just when he was about to stab the first one with one of his blade arms, the clones jumped aside in opposite directions, leaving a small passageway, which Haku used to pepper the traitorous ex-Konoha ninja with senbon.

"You'll need more than those toothpicks to actually harm me, brat." Mizuki didn't even bother to remove the senbon from his body.

"How about this then?" All the clones pulled out a curved Fuma Shuriken and tossed them at Mizuki at the same time.

Mizuki however, used his increased agility to dodge most of them, and used his additional bladed arms to parry those he couldn't dodge. Unfortunately for him, this had the effect of being left completely wide open.

"Hinata, now!"

The Hyuga Heiress quickly dashed towards the maroon-skinned ninja, ready to strike.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms!"

"That again? Like hell I'm going to let you do it again!" Mizuki turned to grab Hinata's arm before she could deliver the first blow.

"Like hell we're going to let you stop her!" Haku flew through hand seals. "Ice Release: Thousand Ice Needles of Death!"

Mizuki had to use all his four arms to protect himself from the rain of ice spikes, leaving him vulnerable to Hinata's attacks.

"Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty-Two strikes!" the last strike was so potent that she pushed Mizuki a few meters backwards.

Naruto then used two clones to push him and gain enough momentum, and delivered a devastating flying kick to Mizuki's face, which hurled him backwards even further, making him fall on his back with a loud thud.

After a moment of silence, Hinata's Byakugan deactivated automatically and fell on her knees. Naruto immediately rushed to her.

"Hinata! Are you okay?" The blond asked, concerned.

"Y-Yes...I'm just a bit tired...I never had to fight and use the Byakugan for so long..." Hinata replied, panting a bit.

"You were amazing, Hinata! I knew you could do it!" Naruto congratulated as he patted her on the back.

Hinata blushed a little. "Y-You think so...?"

"Of course," Haku interceded. "If it wasn't for you-"

Haku was unable to finish his sentence as Mizuki's hand blade stabbed in his gut. Mizuki then pulled his natural spike from Haku's body, and hatefully kicked the Ice Ninja backwards. Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but stare at the scene, speechless. Mizuki looked at them and laughed.

"What? Did you thought that such a pathetic attack was enough to finish me off?" The former Academy instructor teased cruelly before moving to hit Naruto.

Acting on reflexes, Hinata moved to intercept the attack, but she was unable to block it in time and Mizuki's punch hurled her backwards, while her body spun violently. Naruto didn't had time to react before Mizuki sunk his knee into his stomach, before delivering a painful kick to the face, knocking Naruto on his back.

"Then again, the combo from that Hyuga bitch would have left me completely wrecked and with hardly any chakra. Thanks goodness I'm more than human now, hehe. Well...time to finish the job..." Mizuki cracked his fingers before moving towards Hinata.

Naruto struggled to get up, but between the emotional shock of his friends being beaten to death, and the physical strain of the prolonged battle, he was unable to move.

 _"So, this is how it ends...? Both my and I friends, killed on our very first mission outside the village, at the hands of a traitor...?"_

The jinchuriki never felt so angry before. Not only angry for being beaten by such despicable man, but the fact that he was unable to protect his friends. How was he supposed to become Hokage, the man who has to protect the whole village, when he couldn't even protect his teammates? His parents always warned him against the harsh realities of the ninja world, but he never truly understood them until now.

As he heard the soft splashes of water made by Mizuki's steps, he knew that their death was closer by the second. If he only was stronger...if he only had the means to save his friends like a future Hokage should...

 **'Naruto...'** The blond heard guttural voice inside his head.

 _'Huh?'_

 **'I can sense your anger... Your hatred...that man… Mizuki… You want to make him pay for what he did, right?'**

 _'What...who are you?'_

 **'That matters little now. What matters now is Mizuki. You want to kill him, right? For all what he did. Not just you and your friends, but your village as a whole.'**

 _'Yes! Yes of course I want to!'_

 **'In that case...'** Naruto started to feel a heat building up from inside his body. **'Take my power, and kill him! Kill him, and everybody who dares to stand in your way! Give into your anger! Let the world know the power of your hatred! Let's dye the waters of these lands red!'**

A red aura surrounded Naruto, and started to glow brighter each second. The water around the blond started to boil. The jinchuriki felt the pain of his wounds and the ache of his muscles slowly receding, as it was being replaced by pure energy. His body got on its feet on its own, as if he was being pulled up by invisible hands.

"The only thing that's going to end today... _IS YOUR LIFE_!" The feral ninja snarled at Mizuki.

Naruto's eyes were now blood red, with slitted, vertical pupils. His facial whisker marks were now bolder, and his teeth appeared to be bigger and sharper. The fiery red aura increased with each second.

Despite the display of power, Mizuki wasn't intimidated. "So, you finally show your true face, demon. But don't think this changes anything. I'm well aware of the limits of your power. You're only delaying the inevitable."

Naruto didn't reply, he merely shot forwards, ready to punch Mizuki's ugly grin. The Oto ninja was fast enough to catch Natuo's fist, but he wasn't fast enough to block Naruto's kick to his gut, which forced him to bend forward, something that the blond ninja capitalized by punching Mizuki in the jaw, hurling him backwards a few meters.

" **You're dead! You hear me!? DEAD**!" Naruto bellowed as he dashed forwards once more.

Mizuki quickly got up, at the same moment, Naruto was once again at hand-to-hand range, ready to deliver another punch. This time, Mizuki tried to impale the Konoha Genin with his mantis-like arms, but Naruto caught both sickle-shaped blades with his bare hands. His hands started to bleed, but Naruto didn't seem to be bothered in the slightest. Then, with an impressive show of strength, he tore the sickle-shaped blades off.

"RAAAAAARGH! YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Mizuki yelled in pain.

Naruto lunged once again, ready to impale Mizuki with his own blades. But in his state of unbridled anger, he was left wide open, vulnerable to Mizuki's hate-filled kick, which stopped Naruto's momentum and sent him hurling backwards. Naruto tried to get up once again, but Mizuki wasn't going to leave him any room to breathe, and kicked him once again. He then started to relentlessly kick Naruto until the red aura vanished.

"I have to admit...I underestimated the power of the Nine Tails...but that demon will soon be history once I kill you..." Mizuki raised his hand blade, ready to impale Naruto.

However, before he had the chance to claim the blonds' life, Mizuki saw a white and red blur flying at him, kicking him in the face and tossing him backwards.

"Don't you dare to touch my student, you monster!"

Mizuki got up, and after cleaning the blood from his broken mouth, he saw his attacker, an attractive raven-haired kunoichi in her late twenties. He took a few seconds to realize who this woman was.

"Kurenai? Oh, of course. Naturally, Konoha wouldn't let children run away unsupervised. I presume you're their Jonin-sensei, right?"

Kurenai frowned. "That's correct, creature! And you're not going to lay another finger on them as long as I'm here! And how do you know who I am?"

"Oh come now, you hurt me Kurenai. I knew that we weren't exactly close, but you should at least remember me given that we used to be classmates."

"Classmates? What are you tal-...wait a minute...Mizuki?" Kurenai narrowed his eyes at him, a bit puzzled.

"Bingo! I knew you were among the smart ones. As a reward, I will spare you from seeing your precious students die by killing you first." Mizuki chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try, you traitor!"

"Oh, I will do more than just try!" Mizuki's hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Cursed Flame Jutsu!"

Once more, Mizuki exhaled a massive stream of blue fire. Kurenai didn't waste time and made several hand seals as well.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Kurenai gushed an equally large stream of water from her mouth. Both elemental attacks collided, resulting in a cloud of steam. However, Mizuki's fire jutsu was starting to lose power, and thus losing ground to Kurenai's water jutsu. In the end, Mizuki was overwhelmed by the water attack.

The traitorous ninja tried to get up, but a wave of pain surged through his body when he tried to move.

 _'My body! What's going on? Where did all my power go?'_ Mizuki desperately thought, until he found the answer. _'The cursed seal. Kabuto told me not to overdo it. I have been using it for too long.'_

As he deactivated the cursed seal, his body started to regress to his original human appearance, the pain started to recede as well. However, he was starting to feel incredibly exhausted. He had no chance to defeat a well-rested Jonin in such circumstances.

"You left poor Tsubaki heartbroken, you know that, scum?" Kurenai angrily asked as he walked towards him, holding a kunai. "But it's okay. Once I take you back to Konoha, she will be able to break up with you properly. Right before you're executed for treason."

Despite his poor odds, Mizuki allowed himself to smirk, as his hand reached his tool pouch.

"While I might die one day, it won't be today. Nor will it will be by your hands, Kurenai. This land belongs to Orochimaru-sama, and those who dare to step foot on it will die, one way or another. Farewell." Mizuki them threw a smoke ball, and took advantage of the resulting cloud to escape.

Kurenai entertained the thought of chasing him, since he couldn't be too far, but in the end decided that helping her students was more important.

 _Two hours later_

Naruto opened his eyes. He blinked several times before his eyes could adapt to the light. Before briefly and hazily inspecting his surroundings, his mind drifted towards his last memory, the fight against Mizuki, and how the former Konoha ninja was about to kill both him and his teammates.

"Hinata! Haku!" He instinctively yelled.

Naruto felt somebody grabbing his hand.

"Calm down, Naruto. They're okay, as so are you." Kurenai softly reassured.

Naruto realized that he was on a bed, in the same room he had been spending the last couple nights. In the other bed was Haku, who apparently was asleep. Kurenai and Hinata were at both sides of Naruto's bed. The latter looked relieved to see Naruto awake.

"Wha...What happened?" Naruto managed to ask.

"Kurenai-sensei appeared and defeated Mizuki for us. Then she brought us back here." Hinata hurried to explain.

"Then Hinata treated both Haku and you. Haku had some serious wounds, but fortunately he's out of danger now." Kurenai continued. "It's a good thing that Hinata is a medic-nin in training. Guess that Tsunade-sama knew what she was talking about when suggested that all squads should have a medic-nin."

"Yeah, mom's awesome, isn't she?" A foxy grin plastered on Naruto's face. Said smile, however, was short lived, as his mood surely grew somber. "Kurenai-sensei, what about your trip to the capital? Is the Rice Fields Lord going to help us?"

Naruto and Hinata noticed that Kurenai's mood darkened as well when asked such question. She let out a heavy sigh. "I'm afraid that there won't be any help. This new village, Otogakure, has conquered the country. The capital is in ruins, completely deserted save for a few scavengers. Other towns have been ravaged as well. Hell, Sawa may be the only town left, and when word of our presence here gets out, it will suffer the same fate."

Hinata looked distraught. "Then...what are we going to do? We can't protect this town if more ninjas like Mizuki come again."

"There's no other option...the only viable course of action will be to escort the townspeople left here to the Land of Fire," Kurenai answered. "We will have to protect them from any attacks while they cross the border."

Naruto looked unsure, his resolve wavering for once. "Mizuki did quite a number on us, and he was just one. What if they send more ninja with those freaky mutant powers?"

"I wish we could ask for help, but I'm afraid that we don't have any means to contact Konoha other than sending a messenger bird, and that would take too long."

"Actually… there's a way to instantly send a message to Konoha." Naruto stated.

Kurenai's eyes shot open. "Come again?"

"Write the message first, I'll go get the messenger." Naruto said as he started to get up from the bed, only for a concerned Hinata to try and stop him.

"Naruto-kun, no! Mizuki gave you quite the beating, you need to rest first!" The Hyuga protested.

Naruto merely grinned at her. "Hey, it's okay! I recover from my injuries pretty quickly. Dad says it's because of the Nine Tails. Guess that something good should come out from having the fox thrust into my stomach, hehe."

"O-Okay then...but try not to exert yourself." Hinata warned him.

A few minutes later, Kurenai finished writing a scroll detailing their situation and requesting reinforcements. Naruto then bit his thumb and made five hand seals before slamming his hand on the floor.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke a small toad appeared. It was mostly red, with blue markings around his eyes and his head. A pair of goggles were hanging from his neck.

"Hey, Naruto!" The toad cheerfully greeted. "What can I do for ya?"

"Kosuke, I need you to deliver a message to dad. It's super important. As in, a matter of life and death important." Naruto remarked. He then turned to his sensei. "Kurenai-sensei, give him the message."

After staring for a couple seconds, Kurenai dumbly nodded and handed the furled scroll to the small red toad.

"Consider it done, Naruto!" Kosuke said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

After a couple minutes, Kurenai spoke. "Naruto, I don't want to badmouth your or Hokage-sama's summons, but...do you trust that that toad will deliver the message in time?"

"Actually, I'm pretty sure that dad is already reading that scroll as we speak." Naruto confidently replied.

Kurenai raised an eyebrow. "That fast? Do the toads have a way to teleport to Konoha?"

"As a matter of fact, they do." Naruto's statement took Kurenai aback. "You see, there's this weird pool thing in Mount Myoboku that connects with Konoha, which the toads can use to travel to the village when they need to. After Kosuke canceled the summon and returned to Myoboku, he uses the pool to travel to Konoha. Said pool can be used to appear at the side of a toad summoner that happens to be on Konoha, or to appear inside the Hokage's office if there isn't any."

"That's...something really useful." Hinata commented. "It's a good thing that Hokage-sama allowed you to sign that summoning contract before graduating."

"Dad said he wanted to have a way to keep contact with me when I was outside. I thought that he and mom were being overprotective...but now I have to admit that it came rather handy." Of course, Naruto would never admit that in front of Jiraiya and Tsunade.

…

 _Konoha, Mission Assignment Desk_

Jiraiya was handing the last missions of the day to the Genin teams. In an hour, he'll return to the tower to continue his daily doses of pain and misery, most commonly known as paperwork.

The door opened, and Jiraiya saw Asuma's team walking inside the room. Asuma looked rather content. Shikamaru was wearing his usual apathetic demeanor. Choji was busy devouring a bag of chips, and Ino looked a bit irritated.

"Well, well, Asuma's Tactical Squad! I'm so glad to see you here. Coming for a mission, I guess?" Jiraiya asked, already knowing the answer.

"You guess right, Hokage-sama," Asuma replied.

"Your Genin don't look too eager, though." Jiraiya pointed out.

"I know. But they just need to know that being a ninja sometimes means getting your hands dirty and do stuff you don't want to. Sooner or later, they'll understand that." Asuma said, taking a look at the trio of kids. "Now, what do you have for us?"

"Let me see..." Jiraiya started to look through the scrolls on the desk. "There's a house that requires a paint job… some medicine that need to be delivered to a town near Konoha, and a couple that wants somebody to pull the weeds from their garden."

Ino frowned. "Come on, those missions suck! Don't you have something better, like taking care of your kids? I promised Kaida-chan that I would try some new hairstyles on her."

"Yeah, and Hagane is a pretty good Shogi player, for being so young." Shikamaru noted. "Granted, he has never defeated me yet, but each game is becoming a bit harder to win."

"Sorry, but Hagane and Kaida already have another team babysitting them." Jiraiya informed.

Ino cursed something under her breath. She was about to ask which team it was when suddenly Kosuke, the messenger toad, appeared in front of Jiraiya with a scroll between his arms.

"Jiraiya, urgent message from Naruto!" The toad shouted, while pretty much thrusting the scroll into Jiraiya's chest. "He says it's a matter of life and death!"

Asuma noticeably tensed upon hearing the small toad's words. Ino remembered that Kurenai was Naruto's sensei, who was more than just friends with Asuma, regardless of how much Asuma tried to deny it.

Jiraiya unfurled the scroll, and started to read. His expression grew darker, which wasn't that surprising, considering the way the toad announced his entrance.

"Hokage-sama, what does the message say? Are Kurenai and her team okay?" Asuma asked, flinching a little.

"Bad news. Remember Otogakure, Orochimaru's hidden village we've been trying to find during the past years? Well… let's say that Kurenai found it."

"WHAT?" Asuma's shouted, startling his Genin.

"They're going to evacuate the town before they're attacked by rogue ninja working for Orochimaru, but they can't do it alone, and are requesting reinforcements."

"Then you have those reinforcements right here!" Asuma declared. His three Genin looked at him incredulously.

Jiraiya sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Asuma, I know that you and Kurenai are...close, but as you can understand, I can't send a team of Genin fresh from the Academy to a potential A-Rank mission."

"Why not? I admit that these three are still a bit green, but they have potential. Plus I will be with them all the time. Besides, didn't you raise the Academy standards so our Genin would be better prepared for these kinds of situations? And if you think we're not enough, you can always send more people with us. "

Jiraiya spent a few minutes pondering what to do. After the whole Uchiha debacle, their numbers have been reduced, most chunin and jonin were constantly on missions, and there were very few high ranked ninja in reserve. Before he could gather a better force, Asuma's team would have to do.

"Alright, you can go, but you won't go alone. Go to the north gate, you will meet your escort there in an hour."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Asuma said, bowing before the Hokage. "You three, go to your houses and pack what you will need for a week-long trip."

As they exited the building, Choji, who just finished his bag of chips, spoke up. "An A-Rank mission...isn't that a bit too much for us?" Choji asked.

"Given that it involves fighting against ninja of Asuma-sensei's caliber...yeah, pretty much." Shikamaru replied. "Troublesome."

"'Insane' is the word I'd actually use." Ino added.

"Come on, don't be so glum. Yeah, it's going to be a little dangerous, but everything will be fine as long as you stay close to me and do exactly as I say." Asuma said in a reassuring tone.

Meanwhile at the Mission Assignment Desk, Jiraiya had summoned a couple ANBU.

"What are your orders, Hokage-sama?" A bird-masked ANBU asked.

"Go to Torture & Interrogation and fetch our resident Orochimaru expert. Tell her I have a mission for her. Oh, and whenever Itachi Uchiha returns from his current mission, tell him that I need to talk to him about something of utmost importance."

…

The next day, Kurenai and the town mayor, Ryo Yuhara, were overseeing the evacuation of the villagers. The mood was somber and glum. As expected, many people opposed to leave the town in which their families lived for generations, but in the end they eventually saw reason. That didn't mean that they had to like it though.

"Well, this is going better than I expected." Kurenai commented, as she saw people getting all what they could from their soon to be former houses. "If they keep this pace, we will be able to leave by tomorrow morning."

Ryo sighed heavily. "To think that when I hired you, I thought that this was merely a bunch of bandit gangs roaming out of control...I can't believe that we're forced to leave our beloved home like this..."

"Your people is what matters, Ryo-san. But if it makes you feel better, think of this as a temporary solution. Once we deal with Orochimaru, you will be able to return to your previous lives," Kurenai tried to reassure.

That didn't help with Ryo's depressed mood, but he made an effort to smile. "I...well, I hope you're right...to think that my son won't be born here..."

"You can let this get you. Your people need you more than ever."

Ryo sighed once again. "I...I guess you're right. I need to be strong, for both my family and the people of this town."

"Good. We will make sure that all of you cross the border safe and sound." Kurenai then spotted a bunch of Naruto clones helping some villagers load some of their belongings on cart wagons. She then walked towards one of them. "I guess you're a clone, right?"

"Yeah." the clone replied.

"Do you know where the original is?" Kurenai asked. The clone merely shook his head. "In that case. Naruto, when you hear this, I want you to meet me on the rice field you battled Mizuki. There's something important I need to talk with you about." And with that, she delivered a quick hand chop to the clone's neck, dispelling it.

…

Five minutes later, Naruto and Kurenai were standing in what remained of the rice field that served as battlefield of the very first fight between Konoha and Oto.

"What did you want to talk about, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked, a bit nervous, as he rubbed his right arm.

Sensing her student's distress, Kurenai smiled. "You can relax, it's nothing bad." Her smile then disappeared. "Though it's an important issue, and if we don't discuss it now, it can snowball into a bigger problem."

Naruto swallowed. "And that would be...?"

"Shortly before I arrived, you were fighting against Mizuki. I couldn't see it properly since I was still too far away, but there was an...aura. A fiery red-orange glow surrounded your body. It disappeared when Mizuki got the upper hand of the fight, but even being so far away, I could sense an incredibly powerful and evil chakra coming from you. I think I don't need to elaborate any further to know what I'm talking about, right?"

Naruto averted his gaze. "…The Nine Tails."

Kurenai nodded. "Now Naruto, I want to make it clear that I'm not mad at you or anything, but this is something that needs to be addressed. First, answer me this: before this mission, was there any other time in which you tapped into the Kyubi's chakra?"

The blond shook his head. "No, never. My dad wanted to teach me how to use it, but then the whole Uchiha insurrection happened, he became Hokage, and didn't have as much time to train me as before, so we kinda skimmed that part."

"I see. Now I want you to remember what happened, and how you felt when you were fighting Mizuki and manifested the Kyubi's chakra."

"Eh...it's kind of blurry...I was rather boggled at the time..." Naruto replied, rubbing the back of his head.

Still, Kurenai wasn't planning on letting him go so easily. "Please make an effort."

"Okay...let me see...I was...rather angry. Angry at Mizuki because he was about to kill us, and angry at myself because I wasn't able to save my friends..." Naruto began. Kurenai listened intently.

"And what happened then?"

"I think I heard a voice..."

"What did the voice say?"

"I don't remember..." Kurenai frowned at Naruto, which made the blond raise his hands defensively. "It's true, I swear! If I remember I'll tell you!"

"We can go back to that later. What happened next?" Kurenai pressed.

"I...all I remember is that I wanted Mizuki dead. I already told you it's kind of blurry, but that's all what I remember. I wanted Mizuki dead. I felt like my body was moving on its own but...it didn't bother me. I wasn't in control of my body, but my body was doing what I wanted...this must sound super weird, right?"

"Absolutely not." Kurenai sharply replied. "For the time being, I heard enough. If you ever feel like that again, even if it's just for a fraction of a second, tell me, okay?" Naruto obediently nodded. "Once all this madness is over, we'll talk about this with Jiraiya-sama."

"I see..." Naruto looked at his feet. Then he lifted his head again, meeting Kurenai's crimson gaze. "What do you want me to do now?"

"For the time being, continue what you were doing. Help the villagers pack up their stuff, and stay alert if an enemy appears. Hopefully, we will be gone by the time they attack, and the reinforcements we asked for will be here to support us."

"Right!"

…

When they returned to the town, there was a surprise waiting for them, but mostly for Kurenai. Turns out that five ninja had arrived, two of which she knew very well. The apparent leader of the group was having a talk with the mayor.

"Asuma? Anko?" Kurenai asked out loud.

"Heeeeeeeey! Look who finally decided to show up!" Anko cheerfully shouted as she walked towards the Genjutsu Mistress. "First mission out of town, and you need to ask for reinforcements. You have some rotten luck, girl."

Kurenai frowned a bit. "This isn't my first mission out of Konoha, Anko."

"Well, it is as a Jonin-sensei. But I wasn't blaming you, you know."

Asuma finished his talk with the mayor, and went to greet Kurenai as well.

"Hey. Good to see that we arrived just in time, Kurenai." Asuma said, smiling at her.

Kurenai smiled back and wiped a strand of her hair from her face. "Indeed. I wasn't expecting you to show up." The red-eyed Jonin noticed Asuma's Genin team behind him and Anko. "Did you bring your students?"

Asuma simply shrugged. "The more the merrier, right?"

"This is a potential A-Rank mission. I'm surprised Hokage-sama allowed you to bring them here, given the risks."

"Hey, relax. They came here to help with the evacuation. If a fight breaks out, they won't take part on it. We will do all the heavy lifting," Asuma explained, hoping to reassure Kurenai.

Anko decided to intercede. "So, you finally found out this Otogakure we've been looking for years." It was less a question and more a statement. "We never thought looking in this country, since we didn't think there would be anything that would catch Orochimaru's interest. Guess we were wrong."

"We know it's somewhere on these lands, but I don't know its exact location. We'll need to send a team of spies to check it out once this is over." Kurenai replied.

While the adults talked, Ino decided to start up a conversation with her two teammates.

"Have you seen the way Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei looked at each other? They're SO going out, but for some reason they don't want to admit it." Ino said while glancing at the two Jonin, who were still talking.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Do you think it's appropriate to talk about that in a situation like this? According to what Hokage-sama said, we could pretty much end up fighting a Jonin."

Ino frowned at her Nara teammate. "You're such a killjoy, you know that?"

"I agree with Shikamaru. I heard that Naruto, Hinata and Haku nearly died fighting Oto ninja." Choji commented. "Thank goodness they're okay."

"Ugh, you guys are no fun." Ino scoffed, as she turned her head away. "Speaking of which… where are Naruto, Hinata and Haku?"

"Haku is still resting at the Inn, while Naruto and Hinata are helping the townspeople to pack their stuff." Kurenai told her. "Why don't you go and help them? I'm sure that they will appreciate a few extra hands."

Shikamaru groaned. "Boy, no matter where we go, we never get rid of D-Rank missions. This is all kinds of troublesome."

"Shut up and get moving, you lazy ass!" Ino chided, while she went to find her former Academy classmates, with Shikamaru and Choji following behind.

 _…_

 _Undisclosed Location, Land of the Rice Fields_

After being granted permission by its only occupant, Kabuto entered Orochimaru's private study. As the medic-nin expected, the Sannin was studying the Scroll of Seals. During those times, he warned all his minions to not disturb him unless it was important. The silver haired ninja hoped that his report was important enough.

"What news do you bring me, Kabuto?" The Snake Sannin asked in an oddly neutral tone, one that couldn't mask his irritation completely.

"Orochimaru-sama, the spies have returned." Kabuto announced.

"And...?"

Kabuto cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "According to their report, people of Sawa Town are preparing an evacuation. They plan to cross the border and settle in the Land of Fire. Konoha had sent another squad of ninja to help with their exodus."

"What kind of reinforcements did Konoha send?" Orochimaru asked.

"A team of five people, two Jonin and three Genin. According to their description, the Jonin matches the description of the Konoha ninjas known as Asuma Sarutobi and Anko Mitarashi."

Orochimaru perked up upon hearing that last name. He turned at Kabuto and smiled wickedly. "So Anko-chan is here? That makes things even better..."

"Do you still plan to engage them yourself?"

"Indeed. It will be a great chance to put these new eyes to the test" Orochimaru replied.

In his unabashed anticipation, Orochimaru's eyes flared with a red glow, revealing a pair of fully developed Sharingan.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And the snake comes out of his lair! Will our heroes survive an encounter against him?**

 **In before people points out the idiocy of sending out Genin to such a dangerous mission: like I stated in the chapter, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji are there to help with the evacuation, and are not supposed to fight. If a fight breaks out, it's the Jonins who will fight, while the Genin will escort the refugees. Plus remember that Konoha hasn't recovered quite yet from the losses of the Coup D'etat. But this is Naruto, and we know how things will turn out...**

 **As for Mizuki's blue fire, I remember that, the first Sasuke activated the advanced cursed seal, his chidori turned black, as opposed to the usual blue. The black chidori disappeared after that, which was a pity since I thought it looked pretty cool. So I decided to do something similar with Mizuki as well.**

 **And yes, I know Anko is just a Special Jonin. Kabuto referred to her as a Jonin for the sake of simplicity.**

 **Anyway, while you wait for the confrontation with Orochimaru, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	19. First C-Rank Mission, Part IV

**Author's Note: Ugh, I haven't written anything in weeks. Damn writer's block. Fortunately, I still have several chapters already written, but that may change soon if my inspiration doesn't return. Anyway, at least, this story now has become my most popular story in terms of views, favorites, follows, and reviews! Thanks a lot to everybody who helped this!  
**

 **Now, enjoy the ending of the Land of the Rice Fields Arc:**

* * *

 **Chapter 19:**

First C-Rank Mission, Part IV: The Escape

 _or_

 _Goodbye to the Land of Rice Fields_

After greeting their former classmates, Team Asuma was assigned to help the villagers with their luggage. With the six extra arms, and Naruto's Shadow Clones, they finished a couple hours before sunset. Since the evacuation wouldn't start until the next morning, the only question left was what to do in the meantime.

"Maybe we should get some training in, you know, to get ready before the inevitable Oto attack comes," Naruto suggested.

"From what your sensei told us, you barely came out alive from your latest fight, then you've been helping these people pack their stuff, and yet you still have energy for training?" Shikamaru asked incredulously. "Man, I get exhausted by just being near you."

"Maybe that's why he's so energetic, because he siphons the stamina and chakra of those around him?" Choji suggested half-jokingly.

"If that was the case, then Shikamaru would be unaffected since he has none to begin with," Ino replied. "But then again, I agree with Shika. Besides, tomorrow's mission is going to be insane. We should get all the rest we can."

"I agree with Ino...besides, I still haven't recovered completely from the battle with Mizuki..." Hinata mentioned, making a conscious effort to suppress the "-sensei" honorific.

"Speaking of which, I can't believe that guy ended up joining another village, and one created by Orochimaru, no less. To think that he used to be our instructor..." Shikamaru mused as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Maybe we will see him again, if he decides to finish the job." Choji mentioned.

"Heh, if that traitor's stupid enough to show his ugly face a second time, it will be ME who's going to finish the job." Naruto punched his palm vigorously. By the way he spoke, everybody guessed that Naruto actually wanted for Mizuki to show up again.

"We still haven't decided what are we going to do until we go to bed..." Shikamaru reminded everyone.

"How about some culinary tourism? This is the first time I've been out of Konoha, and I'd like to see what they eat in other countries." Choji suggested.

"There were only like two restaurants in the town, and both of them are now closed due the evacuation thing," Naruto explained, and noticed how Choji's mood soured.

"But that doesn't mean that we aren't going to have dinner." Hinata interceded, hoping to at least reassure Choji a bit, aware of the Akimichi's love of food. "In fact...why don't we have dinner now?"

"Yeah, that can work too." Naruto agreed. "Let's go back to the inn. That way, we can check on Haku as well."

While they walked the relatively short distance towards the inn, the group of five separated into two subgroups, boys and girls. Though a more accurate statement would have been Ino grabbing Hinata and dragging her away from the three boys, who were casually chatting with each other. Hinata wasn't sure what Ino wanted, but her unnerving smile made her a bit nervous.

"Okay Hinata, we didn't have a chance to talk after we graduated, so now you're going to spill everything." Ino demanded in an oddly commanding tone.

"Spill? W-What are you t-talking about?" the Hyuga Heiress asked.

Ino grimaced. "About the state of your relationship with Naruto, duh," the blonde replied as if stating the most obvious thing. "Come on, everybody knows that you have the hots for him, and you got lucky enough to be in the same team as him. I mean, I can see that you're not formally a couple yet, but I'm sure that you progressed in some way beyond the 'just friends' stage, right?"

Hinata turned extremely red, averted her gaze, started to fidget with her fingers while she tried to elaborate a response, but all that came from her mouth was inelegant blubbering. That was enough for the gossip-hungry blond.

"Nothing yet!?" Ino grimaced. "Come on girl, if you don't take the initiative, some other girl will take him away from you! While Naruto may not be my type, he's kind of cute, plus he's the son of two Sannin, which will increase the popularity factor, and thus, the number of girls after him."

"Well, i-it's that...N-Naruto-kun is my f-friend and I-I don't know if h-he likes me that way..." the shy Hyuga replied.

Ino wrapped an arm around Hinata's shoulders and her face came uncomfortably close to Hinata's. "Nonsense! You're a cute girl, and Naruto would be a dumbass if he doesn't realize what he has in front of his eyes. Unfortunately, we have more pressing matters at hand now, but once all of this is over and we're back home, we'll work to make sure that blond knucklehead notices you!"

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, indignantly. "Who's this blond knucklehead you are talking about!?"

Ino didn't realize that she had raised her voice that much, and that Naruto wasn't that far away from them. While he didn't catch the whole conversation, his ears perked up at those two words.

"N-Nobody!" Hinata quickly replied. "W-We're talking about a cousin of Ino t-that's been annoying her lately!"

Shikamaru, and even Choji, realized that Hinata was telling a huge lie. However, the blond merely smiled.

"Oh, if you say so. I believe you. I know that you would never badmouth me behind my back, Hinata," Naruto happily concluded, before returning to his conversation with Shikamaru and Choji.

Hinata sighed wearily. While it would have been heartwarming in any other circumstance, Naruto's blind confidence in her made her feel even worse. "I can't believe I lied to Naruto-kun like that..."

"Well, it was me who called him a knucklehead, not you." Ino reassured, her voice now being lower. She then grinned. "But did you see that? He trusts you a lot. That's a good sign."

"Ino...is there something I can do or say to make you drop this topic?" Hinata asked exasperatedly.

Ino's smile grew even wider. "Nope, nothing!"

…

 _Senju Residence, Konoha_

Upon arriving home, Jiraiya saw that Tsunade was already there. After greeting her, he decided to get to the point, and told her about Naruto's message. As he predicted, Tsunade pretty much exploded. Though given that the house was still standing, her reaction wasn't as...catastrophic as the Toad Sage had initially feared.

"So Naruto goes on his first mission out of the village, and he accidentally stumbles on Orochimaru's secret lair!" Tsunade shouted as she threw her hands in the air. "I knew that something would go wrong, dammit! I should have never given him that accursed necklace!"

"Listen, there's no way we could have known what was going to happen." Jiraiya tried to reassure her. "Besides, I already sent reinforcements. Naruto will be fine."

"You sent another rookie squad, and Orochimaru's former pupil. Kami knows how many ninja that snake has under his command." Tsunade countered.

"Hey, the Uchiha Insurrection did a number on our forces. That was the best I could come up with at the moment."

"Not the best. You could have sent me." Tsunade replied, as her frown deepened.

Jiraiya frowned in return. "Tsuande, no. We can't forsake our responsibilities whenever Naruto faces some danger. The life of a ninja is a dangerous one. We know it and he knows it. We are needed here."

"I...I know. But I can't help but feel worried...he's still a kid..." Tsunade rubbed her arms, as she averted her gaze.

"I'm worried too. But I have something that will alleviate some of those worries." Jiraiya said, and much to her confusion, he spread a map of the Elemental Nations in front of her. Then, the white haired Sannin made a hand seal, and multiple tiny symbols and kanji appeared on the map, most of them concentrated on Konoha.

"Jiraiya, what is this?"

"I have marked many people with a tracker seal that allows me to pinpoint their location on this map at any moment." Jiraiya pointed to a tiny symbol on the Land of the Rice Fields. "This is Naruto. The seals are linked to their life forces, meaning that if they died, they would not appear in the map, and I would feel the seal disappear."

"So, Naruto is still okay." Tsunade said, somewhat relieved. Then she frowned again when a realization dawned upon her. "Wait a minute, how many people did you mark with that seal? I hope I'm not among them!"

Jiraiya just chuckled. "I know better than that, Hime. The marked people are Naruto, Hagane, Kaida, and a bunch of people that haven't earned my full trust yet."

Tsunade's mood somewhat lightened. "So Naruto's safe for the moment. But that could change anytime soon."

"From what I know, Naruto and the others should return to Konoha. I also know that tomorrow one of my strongest Jonin will return from his mission, and I will send him as additional backup."

"You speak of Itachi?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya shook his head. "He was my first option, but sadly he won't come back in time. Fortunately, I got news that another group finished their mission, and send them a message to go to the Land of the Rice Field to assist Naruto's group. They're ANBU, so they should be enough."

"If you say so..."

Jiraiya then came close to Tsunade and kissed her on the cheek. "Come on hime, have some faith in Naruto. I'm sure that tomorrow night he will be back here in one piece, and we will laugh at how worried we were."

Tsuande sighed, but solemnly nodded. "Okay, I'll try not to get too worried."

…

 _Sawa Town, Next Morning_

The two Jonin and one Special Jonin were awake half an hour before the sun would rise, Asuma was up even longer than that since he had taken the last watch of the night. They woke up the six Genin and told them to wake up the villagers in return, so they could start the evacuation as fast as possible. The Genin did as instructed, but still it took almost an hour before everybody was ready to go. After taking one last look at their hometown, the residents of Sawa Town began their march.

Shikamaru, Ino and Choji were placed at the head of the caravan, which would serve as a reconnaissance force. Naruto, Hinata and Haku were placed in the middle, and between Naruto's clones and Hinata's Byakugan, they would make sure that the caravan wouldn't fall prey to potential ambushes. And lastly, Kurenai, Anko and Asuma were in the back, where it was more likely for an attack to come from.

The atmosphere was tense. Very tense. And it wasn't just the civilians. The ninja, both children and adults alike, knew that they were in hostile territory, and they wouldn't be safe until they reached the Land of Fire. Anko decided to start a conversation, not just to keep her mind busy, but to get as many details of Orochimaru as possible.

"So tell us Kurenai, what exactly did you see in the capital?" Anko inquired.

"The city had been completely ravaged. There was some signs of a fight, but it appeared as if it was the work of a colossal beast rather than an army of ninja." Kurenai recalled.

"That sounds awfully a lot like the job of a snake summon." Anko concluded. "More than likely Manda, the Snake Boss. Orochimaru never earned his respect, and had to offer sacrifices in order to appease him. I guess that he probably summoned Manda to destroy the capital and thus get on his good graces, killing two birds with one stone."

"That bastard..." Asuma growled. "Those poor people never had a chance to begin with, right?"

"Sadly, that appeared to be the case. These may as well be the last free citizens of the Land of the Rice Fields. Too bad we couldn't save more." Kurenai mentioned while she looked at the caravan in front of her.

Anko smiled a bit. "Hey, focus on the people you saved than on those you couldn't save. You did a great job."

Kurenai smiled in return.

"So, how long until we reach the border with the Land of Fire?" Asuma asked.

"I guess that a couple more hours should do, give or take a minute." Anko replied. "But I wouldn't put it past Orochimaru and his minions to ignore the borders and chase us into the Land of Fire."

"That would be a suicide. Orochimaru may be a madman, but even he knows that doing such a thing would be like declaring open war upon us." Kurenai interceded.

"Well, you guys kinda entered his domain first."

"Because we got a mission request from one of its towns!" Kurenai loudly protested. "If that bastard wants to use that to claim to other villages that Konoha invaded his-"

"Kurenai-sensei!"

A loud yell made the three Jonin to turn their head to the source of the voice, and saw Naruto, or rather, one of his clones, rushing at them.

"Naruto! What's going on?"

The blond stopped in from of the three adults, panting. "Hinata saw something with her Byakugan! A massive snake coming from behind!"

The three adults looked at each other, exchanging worried looks.

"How far?" Asuma asked.

"The range of her Byakugan is one kilometer, so I guess it would be that. But now it will be even closer. It will take a couple minutes for the snake to arrive."

Kurenai walked to the clone and grabbed him by his shoulders. "Naruto, Asuma, Anko and I will take on the snake. Your team and Asuma's Genin will protect the caravan while we fight. There might be a chance that this is just a trap to get us out of the way, so if you pick up more enemies or are under attack, send us a signal."

"Shikamaru knows a couple of fire jutsu, so that should work." Asuma added.

"Is that clear?"

"Protect caravan, call for help if we're under attack." the clone repeated.

Kurenai nodded. "Stay safe, and watch each other's backs." Kurenai said before she stabbed two fingers on the clone's neck, dispelling it.

The earth started to shake. The three adult ninja slipped into their usual fighting stances.

"Here it comes!"

The ground shattered as a massive, gray snake emerged from below. The three Konoha ninja leapt backwards, all of them making hand seals while in air.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!" Asuma expelled an expanding stream of flames at the snake.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!" Anko released flames shaped like a dragon that flew at the snake.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Kurenai motioned her arms forward, creating a huge gust of wind that increased the potency of Asuma and Anko's attacks.

The snake loudly hissed in pain upon being hit by the attacks, its skin catching fire. The reptile, however, quickly shed its skin and put some distance between them. At that moment, two figures landed on the giant snake's head.

"Kukuku...impressive display...I think you three will be more than enough to test my new abilities..." one of the figures said.

Anko's blood froze upon hearing the new voice. From atop the giant reptile was the unmistakable pale visage of Orochimaru, wearing the black and red Akatsuki cloak, smiling teasingly at her. Besides him was a glasses-wearing, silver haired man that Anko paid no attention to.

"Orochimaru?" Asuma asked, mildly shocked.

"I knew that he had conquered these lands, but I never thought that he would come out to fight us personally..." Kurenai replied, trying not to shake. She knew this was a foe in a league way above hers.

Anko noticed her friends' reaction and decided to intervene. "Don't be afraid of him! That's what he wants! Deep down, he isn't that strong!"

Orochimaru merely chuckled. "Not that strong? You hurt my feelings, Anko-chan." Orochimaru's lips formed a cruel smile. "But if you're so sure, you're welcome to fight me. The last time we saw each other I was on a schedule, but now I have plenty of time to spare. And I want to check how much have you grown since the last time we fought."

"Orochimaru-sama, what about the Genin and the civilians?" his lackey asked.

"Take care of them, Kabuto. Killing mere Genin and civilians won't be a good way to test my new strength."

"Right," Kabuto then jumped from the snake and dashed towards the bulk of the caravan.

Kurenai attempted to stop the silver haired Oto ninja, but in the blink of an eye, Orochimaru was in front of her, his expression unchanged. Now the three Konoha ninja were surrounded by the Sannin and his pet snake.

"I'm afraid I can't let you interfere with Kabuto's mission. But if you care so much about your students' well being, it should serve as a motivation to defeat me, right?" the Snake Sannin chuckled. "But even all the motivation in the world is useless without an equal amount of strength and the skill accompanying it."

"Listen, we don't need to defeat him. Just create an opening for one of us to leave and help our Genin." Asuma suggested.

"As much as I enjoy a good conversation, I believe this chattering has gone long enough." Orochimaru adopted a fighting stance, while the giant snake behind prepared to pounce them.

"I agree. But first, let's even playing field." Anko bit her finger and ran through hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, a giant snake appeared, though it wasn't as big as Orochimaru's, it looked visibly surprised upon seeing one of its own, a reaction which was mirrored by the second snake. However, the shock was short lived, as both snakes looked at each other, and nodded as if reaching some sort of unsaid understanding, before finally disappearing in a puff of smoke, much to Kurenai and Asuma's confusion.

"Smart. Really smart, Anko-chan." Orochimaru praised his former student, his smile remaining unchanged.

"Anko? What did you do?" Kurenai asked, a bit puzzled.

"Easy. Two summons of the same tribe can't fight each other. If two summoners are at odds, as is the case of Orochimaru and myself, then our summons will refuse to fight for us until the dispute is over. So neither Orochimaru nor I will be able to summon snakes as long as the other is present. And given that Orochimaru can summon stronger snakes, I deprived him of an advantage." the Special Jonin explained.

"Your constant underestimating of my abilities had some naive charm at first, but now it's starting to become irritating. It's about time I show you three the huge gap between our power." Orochimaru quickly motioned his arms forwards. "Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

A myriad of angry hissing snakes emerged from the Sannin's sleeves and flew towards the Konoha ninja, who jumped back in an attempt to avoid their poisonous fangs.

 _'Dammit, that bastard still has access to some snake-based jutsu...but if he can, then so can I!'_ Anko thought as she fend off the snakes.

Asuma's hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!" Asuma then exhaled a huge cloud of gunpowder that covered Orochimaru completely. Asuma made a hand seal, making the gunpowder to explode, engulfing everything within the cloud in fire. However, much to his shock, Orochimaru jumped from the explosion almost unscathed.

"Sword of Kusanagi!" Orochimaru opened his mouth, and a snake came out of it, which in turn vomited the sword in question, which flew at Orochimaru's hands. "Killing you will be a nice way to get revenge on my former sensei!"

Asuma quickly pulled out his chakra blades and parried an incoming swing from Orochimaru's sword. The two of them continued trading blows, Orochimaru acting more aggressive, forcing Asuma on the defensive. Fortunately for the latter, he had two kunoichi that could provide him some backup.

With a kunai in each hand, Kurenai dashed at Orochimaru, who quickly raised his sword to protect himself from the red-eyed woman's swings, and deliver one of his own. However, much to Kurenai's surprise, the Sword of Kusanagi cut through her knives like they were butter, and the kunoichi barely avoided being slashed by the legendary sword.

Thinking that such action left Orochimaru wide open, Anko pulled out a single shuriken and infused it with fire chakra before tossing it at Orochimaru. But before the flaming star reached the Sannin, Anko cast another jutsu in the span of a second.

"Shadow Clone Fire Shuriken Jutsu!"

Orochimaru, however, saw the attack, and in the blink of an eye, stabbed his sword on the ground, and formed more hand seals at an imperceptible speed.

"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"

A tornado formed out of nowhere, encasing Orochimaru and protecting him from all harm. The shuriken were unable to fly any further, their fire snuffled out by the powerful winds before being pushed outwards. The wind was so intense that it hurled the three Konoha jonin backwards as well. Fortunately for them, the wind barrier didn't last long.

"Kukuku...I was afraid that I would kill you without having the chance to test my new power..." Orochimaru said in an almost orgasmic tone. "I'm glad to see that that's not the case."

Anko was the first one to get back on her feet.

"How did you see my attack? I knew you were fast, but that...that was impossible, even by your standards..." Anko complained, frustrated.

"Because these eyes can see through everything, my dear student..."

At first Anko didn't realize what he was talking about, but it took no time for her to see it. Orochimaru's eyes were no longer yellow, but red. They also had three tomoe around the still slitted pupils.

Anko paled in shock. Orochimaru somehow had acquired the Sharingan. Their already low chances of survival had become even smaller.

...

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Kabuto jumped over the cone of wind generated by Naruto, and landed gracefully in front of his six rivals, while sporting a smug smile.

"If that's the best you have, then you may spare me the trouble and give up already." Kabuto taunted, not bothering to slip into a fighting stance.

After Hinata detected Kabuto coming after them, the six Genin decided to face him all together, and sent the refugees going, escorted by several Naruto clones. Hinata's Byakugan didn't see any more enemies coming after them, so she thought they would be fine. Hopefully, the clones would be enough until they reached the Land of Fire's border.

How were she and her friends going to escape this four-eyed menace? That was another problem she wasn't sure how to solve.

"Give up? Nobody has been born yet that can make me to give up on anything!" Naruto replied as he formed another hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Ten Naruto's appeared around him and charged at Kabuto, whose smile grew even bigger.

"You seem to be an entertaining bunch. I'm sure Orochimaru-sama won't mind if I drag this fight a bit for my own amusement." Kabuto said as he engaged the clones.

While Kabuto was busy with the clones, Haku pulled out a small scroll from his kimono and unfurled it on the ground. It was a sealing scroll with the kanji of "Water" in the middle. After making a hand seal, Haku stepped on the kanji, and water started to pour from the scroll, creating a large puddle.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was trying to piece a plan together as fast as he could. The Naruto clones weren't going to buy him much time.

"Alright, this enemy is easily as strong as our Jonin-senseis, so we need to tread extremely carefully. Naruto, Hinata and Choji are the best hand to hand fighters, so they should be at the front, while the rest of us support them from behind." Shikamaru started to explain. "We have the numbers advantage, so we should exploit that to its fullest. That means that we will attack him from every possible angle. With some luck, we might land some hits on him."

After Shikamaru finished explaining his admittedly not so good strategy, Kabuto finished off the last Naruto clone.

"Okay, let's see...I should make sure that the Jinchuriki, the Hyuga and the Ice Release user are incapacitated without receiving much damage." his sight then moved towards the other three Genin. "Hmmmm...you three look like the newest incarnation of the infamous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Given that your bodies are nothing outside the ordinary, I guess Orochimaru-sama won't mind if I'm not as considerate on you." Kabuto mused as he menacingly advanced towards the six Genin.

"Naruto-kun, I think that it would be wise to bring some reinforcements." Hinata interceded.

While Team Asuma didn't know what she was talking about, Naruto merely nodded. The blond bit his finger and made five hand seals before slamming his hand on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto hopped that Gamakazu would be enough to tip the scales in their favor. However, much to his horror, from the cloud of smoke didn't appear his usual summon, but a much smaller toad.

"Hi, I'm Gamatatsu! It's so great that somebody summoned me at last. Do you have some snacks?"

Gamtatsu was a chubby, happy-looking yellow toad, with orange markings around his eyes and lips. Like Gamakichi, he was also wearing a blue jacket.

"AAAAAAAAAARRGHH!" Naruto brought his hands to his head in horror. This was the last thing he needed. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? WHERE IS GAMAKAZU?"

 _'Naruto-kun didn't summon the intended toad?'_ Hinata inwardly asked. Upon glancing at Naruto, she realized there was something slightly off about Naruto. _'His chakra network seems...irregular. Maybe it was something Mizuki did to him?'_

"So you didn't want to summon me? Oh, what a pity..." Gamatatsu said, a bit downtrodden as he lowered his head.

"I'm sure Naruto-kun didn't want to hurt your feelings, but right now we're fighting a powerful enemy, and we need a combat-capable toad who can assist us." Hinata softly explained.

"Well...I never fought before...but I have some training...I can help if you want."

"Better you than nothing." Naruto conceded. Gamatatsu regained his carefree smile, and hopped on Naruto's shoulder.

Resigning to having Gamatatsu as his partner for the time being, Naruto faced Kabuto once again, who was ready to attack.

"Let's see how well Konoha train its Genin." Kabuto set his sights on Shikamaru, and dashed at him. "Let's start with you, Nara!"

"Of course he had to go after me first. So troublesome," Shikamaru formed a hand seal. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow extended towards Kabuto forming a somewhat think line. Kabuto merely sidestepped aside and continued his rush. The shadow split into multiple tendrils that tried to grab Orochimaru's second in command's shadow, but he dodged all of them expertly. In no time, he was in hand to hand range with the lazy genius.

"Disappointing. Now die!" blades of chakra formed from Kabuto's hands, and he thrust one of them at the shocked Nara.

Though rather than kill Shikamaru, Kabuto's attack hit an ice barrier that wasn't there a second before. Choji appeared behind Shikamaru, grabbed him, and jumped backwards, putting some distance between them and the silver haired man.

"Wait...that looks like Mom and Shizune-neechan's Chakra Scalpels! Does that mean this guy is a medic-nin?" Naruto pondered. "Guys! Do not let him touch you with that! They can cause internal damage!"

"This is my chance!" Hinata thought as she ran towards Kabuto while she made some hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata's hands crackled with electricity, and upon reaching Kabuto, tried to hit him with a lightning-infused palm strike. Kabuto parried her attacks, and tried to cut her with his Chakra Scalpels, but Hinata was able to block them as well. Meanwhile, Haku was preparing an attack.

"Ice Release: Multiple Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Suddenly, sharp icicles started to rain upon the Oto Jonin. He dodged some of them while shattering others. And the Konoha Genin weren't going to give him any time to breathe.

"Human Bullet Tank!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Once again, Kabuto was barely able to dodge the massive rolling meat boulder that had become Choji, as well as Naruto's wind jutsu. He was so focused in doing so that he momentarily lost sight of what Shikamaru was doing. And that moment was all what the lazy genius needed, as Kabuto suddenly found it nearly impossible to move. Looking down, he realized that Shikamaru had trapped him with the Shadow Imitation Jutsu.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu, success." Shikamaru announced, complacently grinning.

However, his grin was short lived as Kabuto started to overpower his jutsu.

"Congratulations for catching me, Nara, but that pitiful jutsu of yours is nowhere near enough to contain me." Kabuto said, not losing his cool one bit.

"Then maybe this will calm you down!" Ino made a hand seal pointing at Kabuto. "Mind Scream Jutsu!"

Just like the name of the attack implied, Kabuto felt as if somebody screamed into his eardrums, though it appeared as if the scream came from inside his head rather than outside. He tried to instinctively bring his hands to his head, but Shikamaru's jutsu didn't allow him to.

"Naruto, Hinata, Haku, attack him with everything you have!" Shikamaru shouted.

The three Assault Squad Genin nodded, and prepared for the attack.

"Wind Release: Toad gun!" Gamatatsu exhaled a huge stream of water, which was combined with a gust of wind created by Naruto.

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!" Haku formed an ice spear that flew at Kabuto.

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm!" Hinata thrust her palm forward, releasing a vacuum shell.

"And now, my turn," Shikamaru said as he ran through hand seals. "Fire Release: Shadow Fire Thread!"

Shikamaru exhaled a small fire stream that ran along his shadow in a straight line. The four attacks collided, creating a huge explosion.

"Woohoo! Nice one, guys!" Ino cheered, jumping and pumping a fist in joy.

Ino's mood wasn't shared by Hinata, who saw what really happened through her Byakugan.

"He somehow used a Body Replacement in the last second!" Hinata warned as she continued to scan the area for the silver haired man. "Haku-kun, he's right below you, underground!"

Haku jumped a fraction of a second before Kabuto's hands could catch his ankles.

"I'm going to admit that you brats are a bit stronger than I had expected." Kabuto said as he started to unearth himself. "But the game ends now."

"I agree," said a female voice.

Suddenly, a tree grew right behind Kabuto, its branches wrapping around the silver haired man, immobilizing him completely.

"What the hell, Wood Release?" Kabuto asked in shock, but further inspection revealed otherwise. "No, it's a genjutsu..."

"Very clever," Kurenai's voice said, as the red-eyed Jonin appeared before him from thin air. "But knowing that won't be of any help."

"What are you doing here? There's no way you and your two cohorts could have defeated Orochimaru-sama." Kabuto asked as he tried to break free from the branches that kept him in place.

"No, sadly, we didn't. I managed to get past Orochimaru's eyes to come help the Genin. But then again, I saw that they weren't doing so bad after all."

"Thanks, Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto replied, blushing a bit.

"What are we going to do with him, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"He seems to be some sort of lieutenant of Orochimaru's, which means that he has plenty of intel about him. We'll bring him to Konoha with us for interrogation." Kurenai made a hand seal. "Don't worry, this won't hurt. When you wake up, you will be in a cell in Konoha."

"Like hell I will!" and much to Kurenai's shock, Kabuto kicked her in the guts, no longer restrained by her genjutsu. Using that window of opportunity, he made a hand seal, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Kurenai-sensei, he's one hundred meters to the northwest, and running away in that direction! If you're quick you will catch him!" Hinata was quick to inform.

"No, that's what he wants." Kurenai replied as she stood on her feet. "I need to go back to help Asuma and Anko with Orochimaru."

"S-Should we go with you?" Ino asked, a bit afraid.

"No. Orochimaru is way too powerful for you, especially now. Return with the refugees, they should be pretty close to the border with the Land of Fire."

"But...what about you, Asuma-sensei, and that other woman?" Choji asked. "If this Orochimaru is that strong as you say..."

Kurenai smiled at the Akimichi kid. "Your concern is touching, Choji, but don't be afraid for us. We can take care of ourselves. Now go!"

Kurenai and the six Genin rushed in opposite directions.

…

As the third member of the Sanin, Orochimaru was considered one of the most powerful ninja that Konoha ever produced. Jiraiya was a genius of hard work who never gave up, and Tsunade was part of a lineage of powerful ninja, but Orochimaru was a prodigy. He was intelligent, strong, cunning, and most of the time, merciless. Very few ninja would dare to fight him.

The Sharingan was one of the most feared Bloodline Limits to ever exist, even to the majority unaware of its terrifying evolution, the Mangekyo Sharingan. With a mere glance, a Sharingan wielder could instantly copy a jutsu that would take a normal ninja weeks or even months to master, besides being able to predict the opponent's movements with fearsome accuracy.

So naturally, most people would think that fighting a Sharingan-wielding Orochimaru was a fool's errand. A suicidal fool's errand.

Asuma Sarutobi never felt like a biggest fool in his life than now.

His clothes had multiple cuts that reached his skin, some which leaked blood. His pair of chakra blades had been destroyed by a particularly vicious swing of the Sword of Kusanagi. Fortunately, he always carried a spare pair. He had pumped even more chakra into the blades to endure the hits better, but doing so made his chakra reserves to pummel.

He couldn't stay on the defensive all the time. If he wanted to survive –he had come to terms with the fact that there was no way they could win against him pretty quickly– he needed to attack as well. Hopefully Anko would be able to provide him an opening. He saw that the Special Jonin was making had seals. However, this slight distraction allowed Orochimaru to sink his legendary sword on Asuma's shoulder.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Anko exhaled once again a dragon-shaped stream of fire at Orochimaru, which nimbly dodged, while acting as if the attack was just a nuisance. Grabbing his injured shoulder, Asuma took advantage of this and jumped backwards, and ignoring the burning pain, started doing hand seals.

"Wind Release: Dust Cloud Jutsu!"

Anko would swear that he heard two voices shouting the name of the attack. Which proved to be true as both Orochimaru and Asuma exhaled a gust of wind with grey dust on it against each other, clashing in the middle. Unfortunately, Orochimaru's attack had more power, and pushed Asuma's backwards. Fortunately for Asuma, he wasn't alone.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Anko combined her fiery attack with Asuma's, creating a huge stream of fire with burning dust that quickly overpowered Orochimaru's attack. Unfortunately, the Sannin used a the Body Replacement, leaving a log in its place, which was promptly obliterated.

"He...he copied my jutsu!" Asuma exclaimed in disbelief. Now he knew how Kakashi's enemies must feel.

"The Sharingan is sure something, isn't it?" Orochimaru gushed as he appeared in front of the two Konoha ninja. "You don't realize how blind all of us are until you see the world through these magnificent eyes. Not that you will see much in the near future."

"Asuma! Anko!" Kurenai's voice called, as the red-eyed Jonin landed behind them. "The refugees and the Genin already crossed the border! We need to go!"

"Right! Asuma, do you need any help?" Anko asked to her male partner.

"My shoulder hurts like hell, but I still can go on. Let's go!" Asuma said, as he and the female Jonin prepared for their escape.

"How cute, the prey think they can outrun their predator," Orochimaru was genuinely amused. His smile, however, turned into a scary snarl. "Do you think you can escape from these eyes?"

"The Sharigan is far from invincible, you traitorous bastard!" Anko reached for her pouch, and pulled two smoke bombs, which she used to create a thick and wide smokescreen.

While nothing escaped the Sharigan, Orochimaru still needed to see his opponents, if they escaped his vision, the Sharingan was pretty much useless. And as much as it pained the Sannin to admit it, a mere smoke bomb was more than enough to neutralize it and create an opening to escape.

"You're merely delaying the inevitable." Orochimaru said, still amused, as he began the chase.

The Snake Sannin took no time to reach one of his so-called prey, Asuma Sarutobi. Asuma had suffered some serious injuries in his duel against the Otogakure leader, and thus was the slowest. He probably told Kurenai and Anko to go on without him born out of some ridiculous sense of chivalry. His pale hands flew through hand seals as he prepared a jutsu.

However, said jutsu never came to be, as he was interrupted by a barrage of kunai coming from his left flank. In no time, Orochimaru's Sharingan locked onto another pair of red eyes.

So they actually were preparing a trap, and Asuma was the bait. That meant that Anko wouldn't be too far either. Big deal, the result would be the same. From what he could see, Asuma seemed to care especially for that woman. He decided to target her instead, and maybe lure Anko as well. And, as expected, Anko reacted with another barrage of kunai aimed at the Sannin the moment he appeared to prepare a jutsu.

Orochimaru cursed on the inside. This was dragging on way too long. If he could summon snakes, then this hunt would have ended a long time ago. But as long as Anko was there, that wasn't an option. That meant that Anko had to go, even if her two partners wouldn't let him touch her.

Once again, Orochimaru shifted her target, expecting a preventive attack from Kurenai and Asuma. But said attack never came, and when Orochimaru cast his wind jutsu, Anko used the few seconds the Sannin had to slow down to increase the distance between them.

"Keep going! I can already see the border!" Asuma encouraged his female partners.

"Do you think that a border between countries means anything to me?" Orochimaru replied back as he increased his pace. "Such trivialities won't stop me! You won't live to see the dawn of another day!"

"No, but maybe we can stop you." a new voice said. "Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall!"

Orochimaru's chase was stopped by several wooden pillars emerging from the ground, forming a thick and tall wall that stopped the Sannin in his tracks. Several Konoha ANBU landed on the top of the wall and on tree branches, surrounding the Sannin.

"So, for the first time in years, you finally decided to show your face, Orochimaru," the leader of the ANBU squad, a man with brown hair who was wearing a cat-like mask, stated, while crossing his arms. "That will be your last mistake."

"Kukuku..." Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle. Despite the mask, he knew perfectly who was that man. "Ah, my old guinea pig. It's good to see you again. I see that you're making a great use of my gift."

"Your 'gift' resulted in the death of more than fifty children, monster. And that's just scratching the surface of your disgusting career. You have a lot to answer for," the ANBU captain retorted. The rest of the ANBU started to unsheathe their swords. The captain made more hand seals "Wood Release: Wood binding Jutsu!"

More wooden branches emerged from the ground and wrapped around the Sannin as, ironically, snakes around their prey. At the same time, about half the ANBU jumped from their positions and landed near the Sanin with their weapons drawn. Still, Orochimaru looked undeterred.

"I guess that there's no way I can win against these odds, right?" Orochimaru asked.

The captain smirked behind his mask. "You got it right."

"If that's the case, the best course of action will be a tactical retreat and try again under better odds. Farewell," and suddenly, Orochimaru melted into a puddle of mud, much to all the ANBU's frustration.

The ANBU were about to chase him but the captain stopped them. "Let him go. If we chase him now, he'll pick us off one by one. Let's go back and escort the refugees to a safe place."

All the ANBU nodded, and followed their captain's orders.

…

Hours later, the nine Konoha ninja arrived at Konoha. The sight of the gates was truly a gift for their sore eyes. Kurenai couldn't help but let out an almost exaggerated sigh of relief.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to see the village," the red-eyed Jonin exhaustedly commented. "First mission out of the village, and we run into freaking _Orochimaru_."

"I'm sure other ninja also had similar misfortunes during their first mission. Such is our life." Anko shrugged.

"And you three..." Kurenai turned to cast murderous glares at her team. "If I ever hear you complain again about doing D-Ranks, I'm going to use you as practice dummies for my A-Rank genjutsu, understood!?"

While Hinata and Haku nodded and whimpered, Naruto wasn't deterred. "Hey, we only wanted a little more excitement, none of us asked to fight against an S-Rank ninja!"

"Speaking of which." Shikamaru spoke up, while looking at his sensei. "Asuma-sensei, did you know that we would face ninja of such caliber? Because this was the first time we also left the village as well."

Asuma sighed, trying to suppress his guilt. "Yes. But my intention was to keep you from the fights. Your job would have been to help the other Genin escort the refugees, while Kurenai, Anko and myself did the heavy lifting. Of course, none of us were expecting that Orochimaru himself would show up."

"But all of us came out of that alive, and that's what it counts. Live today to continue kicking ass another day!" Anko cheerfully added.

"Given who we actually had to fight, I wasn't expecting you to be so cheerful, Anko." Kurenai commented.

Anko just shrugged. "I already told you that I'm good at seeing the positive side of things. If I wasn't able to...well, I don't think I could ever get out of the bed every morning. That, and the thought that that bastard will pay some day, preferably at my hands."

After crossing the gates, the Genin were dismissed, while the adults headed to the Hokage Tower in order to report Jiraiya the outcome of the mission.

…

 _Senju Residence_

"Hey, I'm home!" Naruto announced as he walked in. "Mom? Shizune-neechan? Kaida? Hagane?"

"Naruto!" the orange-clad boy heard Tsunade's voice as she entered the living room. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you back!"

"Hehe, it was nothing, mom. I know that the mission kinda went south, but in the end everything came out fine." Naruto replied with a foxy grin.

Tsunade sat in the couch and patted a spot near her, hinting Naruto to sit as well. "Come on, this was your first mission out of the village, tell me everything!"

"Okay! You see, after a day or so traveling, we arrived at this town that..."

Naruto's tale started harmless enough, but it quickly took a dark turn with the mention of Mizuki, the Academy teacher who fled from Konoha the night of the Uchiha insurrection with the Scroll of Seals in tow. If that traitor was working for Orochimaru, then that meant that the fallen Sannin had the scroll in his possession as well. But that was nothing in comparison to what happened next.

"Wait, wait, wait...you said that _Orochimaru_ personally went to fight you?" the horror in Tsunade's voice could be heard.

"Yeah, but Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei and Anko kept him at bay. By the way, he somehow had a sharingan despite not being an Uchiha. But then again, Kakashi-sensei also has one."

"Orochimaru has _WHAT_!?" Tsunade was close to hyperventilating. The fact that Naruto had survived this mission was a miracle.

"Calm down, mom! I already told you that everything went fine in the end. The ANBU arrived in time to drive Orochimaru away and escort the refugees to a safe place."

"Yeah, sorry, it's that...well, I was worried about you. This was the first time you left the village, and had to face one of the worst missing-nin of the entire elemental nations..." Tsunade forced herself to smile. "But let's be thankful that both you and your teammates returned in one piece. I'm sure this won't happen the next time. Still, what you told me about the Land of Rice Fields and Orochimaru was...worrying, to say the least. Your father needs to take some action against this, or else this could blow up in our faces."

…

 _Hokage's Office_

Meanwhile, Kurenai, Asuma and Anko just gave an oral report of the mission to Jiraiya, which was more or less nearly identical in essence to what Naruto told Tsunade, only with far more details.

"So, not only Orochimaru managed to acquire the Sharingan, but has his own country now," the white haired Sannin sighed heavily. "Things can never go right for us just once."

"What are we going to do, Hokage-sama?" Anko asked. "In my opinion, we should deal with this problem before it gets worse. I doubt Orochimaru will be able to withstand and attack from our forces, especially if we ask Suna for some help."

"While I share your idea, it's not that easy," Jiraiya replied. "Orochimaru might ask for other villages' help, arguing that we're abusing our superior military to stop an emerging village from developing, and it could devolve into a massive war. No, first we must show the world that Orochimaru is a global threat before we take any action against him."

Anko cursed under her breath, but nodded in resignation. "What do you suggest to do, then?"

"For the time being, we will send a team of spies to gather information about this new village. Once we have enough information on our foe, we will discuss our next course of action," Jiraiya stated. "Now, given the kind of mission you just came from, I believe you earned a few days off to rest. Come back for another mission once you feel your teams are at one hundred percent."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." the three Jonin replied in unison, and left the office.

Jiraiya got up from his chair, and looked through the window, pensive.

 _"So, the rumors were true. You created your own village. Alright Orochimaru, if you want a war between our villages, I'll be happy to oblige. Nothing will be more satisfying than beating you at your own game."_

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, another arc comes to an end. Fortunately, this will be far less controversial than the Uchiha Coup D'etat.**

 **The whole thing with the "two summons of the next tribe can't fight each other" is entirely my doing, mostly because there was no instance of two enemies that had the same summons fighting against each other. Well, there was (Orochimaru vs Anko, and later vs Sasuke) but they didn't summon snakes. In my opinion, I think it's logical for summons to refuse to fight their kind.**

 **Well, you guys know what comes next, one of the most popular arcs, as well as one of my personal favorites: the Chunin Exams!**

 **...truth be told, that's not entirely true. The next chapter perse will be a transition chapter, in order to set up the next arc. The chapter after that will be the beginning of the Chunin Exams. But hey, the next chapter will introduce a character that I like a lot, and that in my opinon, should have had way more focus in the manga before she died. Let's see if you can guess who she is ;)**

 **While you wait for the next chapter, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	20. The Troubles with Jinchurikis

**Author's Note: Okay, I thought that I didn't have to explain this, but given the number of reviews that asked this, I guess I have no choice.**

 **Orochimaru possessed one of the Uchihas he kidnapped the night of the insurrection, he didn't transplant their eyes into his skull like Kakashi or other people did. That's why he can activate and deactivate the Sharingan at will, and using the Sharingan for a long time doesn't leave him drained. I mean, isn't that what we wanted to do with Sasuke in canon? I mean, we do see trying to possess not only Sasuke, but Itachi as wel**

 **Now that's out of the way, I won't address this issue again.**

 **Also, this story has more than one thousand follows, and more than five hundred reviews! I was hoping to get to that number with this chapter, so i'm very please with it. Let's see how long it takes to break the one thousand reviews mark :)**

 **Now, enjoy the chapter, and see you at the author's notes at the bottom:**

* * *

 **Chapter 20:**

The Troubles with Jinchuriki

 _or_

 _Who would have guessed that the Demon Fox is a jerk?_

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya turned at him absentmindedly. "Hm?"

The blond jinchuriki and the white haired Hokage were resting under the shadow of a tree, after an hour or so of intense training. This time, Jiraiya had decided to come in person instead of sending a clone, and left Sarutobi to fill for him for the day, since there was something that he needed to do, something that a clone couldn't.

"What is your last name?" the blond asked.

"Why, Senju, of course. I thought you knew that" Jiraiya replied as if answering to something obvious.

Naruto frowned in return. "That's not what I mean, that's mom's last name!" he protested. "I mean your last name before you married. Which, by the way, how is it that you got mom's last name? In other couples, it's always the woman who gets the husband's last name. Is it because she's a Senju or something?"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that, but it's actually way more simple: the reason I got her last name when we married is because I never had a last name to begin with."

Naruto looked at him, eyes wide open in shock. "What!? And why not? You never knew about your family?"

"Exactly. By the way, why this sudden interest in me, Naruto?"

"I realized that I know a lot about mom's family, mostly thanks to history books, but I know very little about yours" he explained, then he frowned again. "Besides, you almost never tell me anything about you!"

Jiraiya shrugged. "You never asked. Besides, a man has to keep a little mystery, right?" he chuckled. "But then again, I didn't think my life before your birth was all that interesting."

"How can you say that? You are one of the Sannin, and trained my biological father! Besides, I will judge if it's interesting or not" Naruto sharply stated. "Now why don't you have a last name?"

Jiraiya cleared his throat to tell, in his opinion, the uninteresting tale of how he became a Konoha ninja. "Fifty years ago, the Elemental Nations were engaged in the First Ninja War. Sarutobi, my sensei, as Tobirama's student, was part of the seven-man unit with the Second leading it. There was this town whose name was lost to history, that Konoha ninja used to shelter and treat their wounded, before they were sent back to Konoha.

"So far, the Konoha ninja made a good job hiding their presence, but somehow, our enemies realized what Konoha was doing, and razed the village to the ground. When Sarutobi-sensei's unit went to the village as usual, they found nothing but scorched ruins, dead people, and a single survivor: a baby, not even a year old, with snow-white hair. Sensei took that baby, and brought him to Konoha, and he grew up in an orphanage. When that baby turned five, he learned about what happened to the place he was born in, the parents he would never know, and how he was saved by ninja. And thus, he decided to become a ninja himself."

"And that ninja was you, right?" Naruto excitedly asked.

Jiraiya laughed in return. "I believe that was obvious from the very beginning, don't you think so? So yeah, now you know why I don't have a last name, at least until I married Tsunade-hime. Though, like you said, even if I did have a last name, I don't think I would have to guts to make Tsunade discard her last name and adopt mine, given her family's importance, not only in Konoha, but in the ninja world as a whole."

"What about me? Maybe I should have been a Senju too" Naruto mentioned.

"Hey, the Uzumaki used to be a very strong clan before Uzushiogakure's fall. Besides, we thought that you should have something that linked you to Minato and Kushina" Jiraiya replied. "Besides, I'm sure that in the future, you will make the name Uzumaki famous again."

"And what about-"

"Enough talking!" Jiraiya interrupted Naruto, as he stood up from his resting spot. "We already chatted and rested enough. Now it's time to work on a very important matter."

Naruto stood up as well. "The Kyubi."

Jiraiya nodded.

 **FLASHBACK**

A few minutes after Asuma, Kurenai and Anko left, somebody knocked the door of his office. After telling them to come in, the person in question was Kurenai.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but there's something that I need to discuss with you in private. While I do trust Asuma and Anko, I think this is something I should talk with you and you alone. At least for the time being" the red-eyed Jonin said.

Jiraiya nodded, motioned her to take a seat, and made a hand seal. "The privacy seals are activated. Everything you say will never leave this room."

Kurenai took a few moments to mentally prepare before explaining her problem. "You see, there was an...unexpected incident during our mission."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "You mean another one?"

"Yes, poor choice of words. Anyway, I'll get to the point. Shortly before we arrived at Sawa Town, we stopped at the Valley of the End, since I thought it would be good for the kids to see a place with so much historical importance. And while we were there, Naruto noticed that the Kyubi was growing restless."

Jiraiya was taken aback a little. "Come again?"

"It was as if the Kyubi disliked the place. I decided not to take any risks and leave as soon as possible and tell you about this once we were back in Konoha."

"You did good, Kurenai. Don't worry, I'll check Naruto's seal to make sure that the Kyubi isn't up to something and-"

"Actually, I didn't finish."

"Of course. There is always more, isn't it?" Jiraiya threw his hands in the air. "Okay, tell me."

"During the fight with Mizuki, Naruto tapped into the Nine Tails' power. It wasn't enough to beat Mizuki, but it clearly changed him, and not for the better. Besides being more powerful, Naruto acted way more violent and reckless. Even feral, I should say."

Jiraiya sighed, and leaned back on his chair. "Yes, there was a chance that this could happen. The Fourth used the Four Symbols Seal since he wanted Naruto to use the power of the Kyubi at some point in his life, otherwise he would have used another seal that would had completely isolated the beast from Naruto. This, however, had the downside that the Kyubi has the ability to influence Naruto to some extent. According to what I could gather from other jinchuriki, strong emotions are a good way to manifest the power of a Tailed Beast. If Naruto was angry with Mizuki for harming his friends..."

"Yes, it looked to be the case when I arrived at the fight" Kurenai confirmed.

"I did plan to train Naruto on how to use the power of the Kyubi" Jiraiya mentioned. "But I always kept leaving it for another time due to my fear of what could happen. Then the Uchiha revolt happened, and then I became Hokage...but I guess that I just can't keep putting this off any longer."

"By the way, I believe that I should have asked this the moment I became Naruto's sensei, but do you have any advice on what should I do if something like this happens again?"

"Unless you're proficient with Seal Jutsu, or Mind Jutsu, I believe there's nothing you can do. But I will create a sealing tag that can suppress the Kyubi's chakra, should Naruto ever lose control again."

"Good to hear that, Hokage-sama."

"Is there anything more you want to discuss with me?" Kurenai shook her head. "If that's the case, then you're dismissed."

 **END FLASHBACK**

"Alright Naruto, let's get down to business. I've been putting this on hold for far too long, but we can't afford doing that anymore. Today, we will attempt to control the Nine Tails' chakra" the Sannin announced.

Naruto taken aback. "Really?.. Are you sure?"

"Given what your sensei told me, yes, we have no other options" Sensing his godson's worry, he added: "Don't worry, I already have taken countermeasures in case anything goes wrong."

"Okay...what do we do?" Naruto asked.

"First of all, let's sit down in front of each other" the Toad Sage instructed while both he and Naruto sat down.

"Now what?"

"Now, close your eyes. Breathe and exhale slowly. Relax every muscle in your body. Gather all the chakra you can, but don't force it, let it flow instead. Empty your head of thoughts. Once it's done, think on only one thing: the Nine Tails. Try to picture it inside your mind, and let your chakra drag you towards it."

Jiraiya's voice started to sound more and more distant. Naruto felt like he was falling asleep...but while somehow still being awake. It was an almost surreal situation. And to add to the weirdness, Naruto noticed that he was standing up, even if he didn't remember getting up. Confused, he decided to open his eyes.

Much to his shock, the Jinchuriki wasn't in Training Ground Three anymore with Jiraiya, but in what appeared to be a massive sewer. The floor was completely damp, yet Naruto didn't feel any wetness on his feet. There was nothing remarkable about that place, other than an equally massive gate that looked like the door of a prison.

Cautiously, Naruto approached the jail gate. The distance between the bars was big enough for Naruto to slip between them, but he didn't want to get inside the cell. As he got closer, he could hear something rumbling in the back of the cell, where there wasn't enough light for the blond to see.

"Hello...?" the blond timidly called. "Is somebody there?"

Naruto's answer came in the form of a loud grumble, as well as a pair of red eyes glowing in the darkness, looking into his very soul.

" **Oh? Look who finally came to pay me a visit**..." Naruto found the guttural voice vaguely familiar.

Naruto gulped, and cleared his throat before speaking. "Are you...the Nine Tails?"

The occupant of the cell moved closer to the gate, and now Naruto could see a massive orange fox with multiple tails –Naruto didn't count them but he guessed there would be nine– and red eyes that glowed faintly.

" **Your observational skills are worth praising, brat, I'm sure that you are considered a prodigy among your peers."**

Naruto could swear that the fox was mocking him. Still, he decided to ignore that jab, and get to the business at hand.

"Eh, I'll take that as a 'yes'. What is this place?" Naruto asked.

" **Your tiny human mind would be unable to grasp the nature of this place that is my prison, but a very simplified description would be a pocket dimension created with your chakra that exists within you,** " the Kyubi answered.

"A pocket dimension...within me?" Naruto dumbly echoed. True to the Kyubi's words, his young mind didn't really understand those words. It didn't matter, he could ask Jiraiya about it later.

" **While I'm flattered that you decided to come to see me after being together for so many years...** " the fox's voice was oozing with sarcasm. " **...why are you here?** "

Naruto gulped once again. He wanted to ask the Kyubi to let him lend its power, but he didn't know how to approach the topic. The sight of the strongest Tailed Beast was just too much for him, even if he was protected by the giant gates.

"I...I wanted to thank you for helping me back in the Land of the Rice Fields..." Naruto began. Maybe a little flattery would help.

The Kyubi snorted. " **Keep your gratitude for someone who appreciates it, brat. My intentions were far from altruistic.** "

Naruto titled his head, a bit puzzled. "And why did you lend me your power back then, if you didn't want to help me?"

" **It was of my interest for you to remain safe.** "

While there was a certain truth to that statement, it wasn't the whole truth.

" **I helped you because my chakra will slowly erode the seal that keeps me imprisoned, and your strong emotions allow me to pump more chakra into your body** " the Kyubi thought, but he obviously wasn't going to tell that to his jailer. " **I presume that you didn't come here just to thank me, am I right?** "

Naruto cursed inwardly. Were his intentions so predictable?

"N-No. Since you helped me that time, and you're interested in my safety...could you lend me your power in the future? It could save my life again."

The Kyubi did an admirable job containing its rage and maintaining his composure. Those words had hit all the wrong buttons. Even if fulfilling that request would accelerate the Tailed Beast's escape, his hatred and pride (which it had plenty to spare) got the best of it. Still, it would give Naruto a piece of its mind.

" **So, this is it, right? In the end, it always amounts to the same. My power** " the Kyubi grumbled. " **That's all what your bastard race wants! Power! Well, you know what? Forget about it! I won't be your slave anymore!"**

"What do you mean by 'anymore'?" Naruto asked.

" **That's none of your business, brat. Now get lost.** "

"Me get lost? You said that this place is made of my chakra, hence I own it, meaning that I decide who stays and who leaves!"

The Kyubi snorted, and chuckled. " **So you prefer if it's me who leaves? That, I can do. Open these gates, and you'll never see me again.** "

"Har har, you must think yourself so clever, right?" Naruto placed his hands on his hips. "Even if I'd love to get rid of you forever, I'm not going to let you out and kill more innocent people."

" **None of your loathsome race is innocent. And I'm doing the world a favor by getting rid of you and your race. You're nothing but a plague upon this world.** "

Naruto sighed in defeat. "We're not getting anywhere."

" **And you realized of that just now? Like I said before, you truly possess a privileged mind,** " the Kyubi snarked.

"Will you stop with the sarcasm? It's annoying" Naruto protested.

" **So are you. And riling you up is the only entertainment I had in decades, so humor me here.** "

"You know, I tried to be nice, but if you're going to be an ass and not cooperate with me then...then I'll take your chakra by force!"

" **You what!? BWAHAHAHAHA! That's a good one!** " the Kyubi laughed uproariously. " **You're welcome to try anytime, brat.** "

"Dad told me other Jinchuriki can do that, so I don't know why I couldn't do it myself. And then we will see who's the one laughing."

" **But for the time being, that one will be me** " the Kyubi retorted. " **Now leave.** "

Naruto was about to retort, but he felt the floor below his feet disappear, leaving nothing but an empty void.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs while he fell to his apparent death.

"Naruto, calm down! I'm here!"

The blond opened his eyes, and realized that he was back in Konoha. Jiraiya was in front of him, grabbing him by his shoulders, with a panicked expression plastered over the Sannin's face.

"Uh?" Naruto asked, confused, as he slowly inspected his surroundings.

"Naruto, are you okay?" a concerned Jiraiya asked.

Panting a bit, Naruto managed to articulate a sentence. "W-What happened?"

"I was going to ask you the same. I mean, you were sitting there doing what I was asking you to, then all of sudden you starting yelling as if you were face to face with the fox itself!"

"Because I was face to face with the fox!" Naruto replied back.

Jiraiya was taken aback. "What? Did you see it for a second?"

"No, I had a whole conversation with it" Naruto said, trying to sound unironic. "Wait a minute, how much time passed since I was gone?"

"None at all" was Jiraiya's answer. "How did you managed to talk with the Nine Tails in less than a second?"

"That's the weird thing, from my point of view, I was gone for quite some time!"

"That's strange, but not impossible. We still know very little about the chakra-created artificial dimensions. Maybe time passes in a different way there" Jiraiya guessed.

"Like...why everything sealed inside a scroll remains the same until it's unsealed?"

"For example. So, tell me, did you find something during your talk with the Kyubi?" Jiraiya asked as he leaned forward. It's not that every day you could interact with a centuries-old demon.

"Yeah. That the Nine Tails is an asshole!"

…

 _Konoha Hospital_

While Naruto had his less than friendly chat with his furry tenant, Hinata and Ino left the hospital after one of their lessons in medical ninjutsu with Tsunade. Thanks to the additional training they received from Shizune, Sakura and Karin progressed at a much faster pace than the rest of their classmates, and thus were moved to another class at another hour in which Tsunade taught them more advanced subjects and jutsu.

And since Shino had left with the rest of his team on their first C-Rank mission to Takigakure not long ago, that left only Hinata and Ino. Then again, none of them were complaining. That meant that Tsunade could focus entirely on the two of them, allowing them to progress at a faster rate, and in no point they'd be at the same level as Sakura and Karin.

Or that's what Ino thought, until Hinata reminded her that Sakura and Karin also had Tsunade for themselves, plus Shizune as well.

"Man, this sucks! Then the gap between forehead girl and I will only get bigger and bigger! Just like her forehead!" Ino protested.

"W-Well, that's because Sakura-san is focusing all her time and efforts into becoming a medic-nin. We also have to master our clan's jutsu as well" Hinata observed.

"You have a point there" Ino conceded. "But that doesn't make it suck any less."

"Just because Sakura-san surpasses us in a single field doesn't mean that she's a better kunoichi than us," not that Hinata minded much if Sakura became a better kunoichi than her. She wasn't a competitive person. "I mean, we're still better than her at both taijutsu and ninjutsu, right?"

"Once again, you make another good point" Ino replied.

Hinata cleared her throat, and mentally prepared herself for her next question. She wasn't a busybody, but there was something about Ino and Sakura that got her curious, and this was a good chance to bring up the topic.

"Ino-san...can I ask you s-something? It's a bit personal..."

Much to Hinata's confusion, Ino's mouth formed a huge grin. "So you finally decided to tell Naruto about your feelings! And of course, you want some advice from me! Okay, listen carefully. The first thing you need to do-"

"It's not that!" Hinata interrupted, blushing furiously. Even she was surprised on how much she raised her voice. "I-I meant...personal about you."

Ino's grin disappeared, and was replaced by an expression of mild confusion. "Oh...yeah, sure, what do you want to know about me?"

"I-It's about you and Sakura-san..." Hinata noticed Ino's mood darkening. Still, she decided to keep going. "I r-remember back in the Academy that the two of you used to be inseparable, but then you drifted apart...what happened?" despite the question, Hinata already imagined the answer, but she thought that there was more to it than her mere conjectures.

The Yamanaka heiress sighed, and smiled sadly at Hinata. "Boy, people should be wary of you silent types. You make it look like you're not even there, but you see and listen to everything, don't you?"

Hinata smiled back at her. "Those are the markings of a ninja, aren't they?"

"A fair point. The third one in a row. You're on fire today, girl," Ino mentioned, chuckling, before her expression turned serious again. "Yeah, forehead girl and I used to be besties, as it's usually said. She used to be bullied because of that billboard of hers she calls a forehead, and let's say that I couldn't stand it, and defended her. That's how we met each other, and became friends."

"And...what happened then?"

"Both of us had a liking to one boy, you know who I'm talking about. Naturally, we couldn't be friends and love rivals at the same time, so it was inevitable that our friendship ended."

"B-But you don't like S-Sasuke-san anymore, right?"

"Exactly" Ino already guessed where Hinata was going. "But Sakura still does, and that's why we can't be friends again. This isn't a matter of a love fight anymore. She can't be my friend while pursuing somebody of the same clan who murdered my father."

"Ino-san, don't you think you're being unfair to him? Sasuke-san might be an Uchiha, but he didn't take part in the coup."

Ino looked at Hinata with her eyes wide open in disbelief. "Hinata, how can you say that!? I would never imagined that you, of all people, who also lost your father to the Uchiha, as well as many other clansmen, would defend Sasuke!"

"It's that...I don't think it's fair to judge him for what others did...his situation is too similar of that of Naruto-kun..."

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto-kun holds the Kyubi inside him...but a lot of people used to blame him for the destruction and death caused by the Kyubi...others think he'll turn evil due the Kyubi's influence, or that the Kyubi will escape at any time...but none of what the Kyubi did is Naruto-kun's fault."

Ino averted her gaze. "I know what you're trying to say...but whenever I see Sasuke, when I see his clan crest, when I see a Sharingan...I can't help but remember that horrible night, and the news about dad's death..."

"It was the same for me too, Ino-san" Hinata placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "And I'm not saying that you should befriend Sasuke-san, just that...you shouldn't judge him unfairly."

"I'll try, but don't expect me to be chummy with him or anything..."

"And now that that's out of the way, do you think that there's a chance that Sakura and you might bury the hatchet?"

Ino sighed. "It's not that easy, Hinata. There's still a lot of bad blood between us that will take some time to overcome, if we overcome it...by the way, why are you so interested in my past friendship with forehead girl?"

This time, it was Hinata who averted her gaze, as she started to twiddle her fingers. "W-Well, it's that...before meeting Naruto-kun, I didn't have any friends...not even in my clan. A-And if for whatever reason Naruto-kun and I stopped being friends, I don't know what I would do. That's why I think that what happened between you two is really sad. You and Sakura-san had a great friendship, and it would be a pity to see it go like that..."

"I see...boy, it's really sad when you put it like that...still, I don't think I would be able to walk to Sakura and ask her to forget about the past five or so years of non-stop mutual hostility" Ino replied.

"Maybe Sakura-san feels the same as you do..."

"That's a possibility, but for the time being, I'm not ready to take that step."

Hinata looked at Ino, and smiled. "It's okay. I don't want to force you to do something that you don't want to do."

"Still, this little talk made me think..." Ino looked at the sky, as if thinking of the future. "Well, I gotta go. Asuma-sensei will be mad if I'm not on time for our daily training."

"It's okay, I also have some training to do as well."

"And next time, we will talk about something personal of YOUR life!" Despite sounding so menacing, Ino winked at Hinata. The Hyuga heiress knew all too well what the blond girl was referring to.

…

 _Takigakure_

Kakashi's Animal Squad had taken their first C-Rank mission, to escort the young leader of Takigakure, Shibuki, back to his home village. So far, the journey happened without any incident –not even bandits attacked them– and the group of five arrived to the minor ninja village with their client untouched.

After a job well done, Kakashi was ready to go back to Konoha, but his three Genin begged him to let them stay in the village at least a day, so they could get to know it better, and maybe have the chance to meet ninja from another village –besides Shibuki, that is–. It was a way to make up for the "boringness" of the mission. Not in the mood for arguing, Kakashi decided to indulge them this time around, seeing no harm in letting them spend one more day outside Konoha.

The village of Takigakure was build around a river, surrounding a small delta on it.. A massive tree grew in the middle of said delta, whose branches and leaves were so lush that they almost completely blocked the sky. Not even the giant trees of Konoha's Training Ground Forty Four –the infamous "Forest of Death"– were so big.

The surrounding trees acted like a natural barrier around the village. The only way to access it was through an underwater cave system whose entrance was behind a waterfall –hence the village's name– . This made Takigakure the only one of the Hidden Ninja Villages who was actually hidden.

Then again, it took no time for the Genin to regret their plea, since they found that there was almost nothing to do there. And then they regretted voicing their complaints, as Shibuki, with Kakashi's approval, assigned them a D-Rank mission: pick up trash from the water.

"Can somebody explain to me how we ended up doing a D-Rank mission? We asked Kakashi-sensei to do this mission so we could stop doing those menial tasks" Tamaki complained as she picked an empty can from the river's shore.

"I believe that this is a hidden punishment for our behavior, first for asking him to stay here longer, and then for complaining once we got our request," Shino guessed.

"Ugh, another one. I wish Kakashi-sensei wasn't such a walking enigma. With all his hidden tests and underlying messages and whatnot," Kiba sourly commented. "I wish that man went straight to the point just once."

Kiba would never forget their True Genin Test, taking a couple bells from Kakashi. The whole point of the test was to use teamwork, but since there were only two bells, that meant that one of the Genin would go back to the academy, which in his opinion discouraged teamwork. In the end, they passed when Kakashi gave them a second chance, which of course was another hidden test –to see if Tamaki and Shino would share their food with Kiba, who ended up tied to a post when he tried to steal some of Kakashi's food, even when Kakashi forbade them to do so.

"Well, there's a reason he wears a mask, doesn't he? I think that guy likes to keep some mystery" Tamaki added.

"Besides, we are ninja. As Kakashi-sensei said, we need to see underneath the underneath. We can't expect him to give us all the answers. And-" Shino suddenly grew silent.

"Shino? Is there anything wrong?" Tamaki asked.

"Don't you hear that?"

Nobody said anything so they could hear whatever Shino was hearing. Soon, Kiba and Tamaki heard a buzz. It sounded like a flying insect, except much louder, which meant that it was a huge insect. While Shino knew of quite a few giant insects already, all of them made a different noise when they flew. This was something Shino had never seen.

"The buzz is getting louder, which means it's coming in our direction" nobody could be able to tell, given his usual stoicism, but Shino was really excited.

A shadow quickly passed above them. They both looked upwards, and were surprised by what they saw. It wasn't an insect, but a girl. A girl with insect-like wings protruding from her back. The flying girl paid them no mind, and flew towards the giant tree in the middle of the lake.

Again, nobody would be able to tell the difference, but Shino was speechless.

"What was that?" Kiba asked.

"Shino?" Tamaki asked, upon seeing his silent teammate staring into the direction the winged girl flew. Soon, it was obvious what was going through his head, and she knew what to do. "Shino, if you want, you can go and find that girl. Kiba and I will do your part."

"Hey!" Kiba wasn't kind to people speaking in his name, especially when it came to do additional work.

Shino was snapped from his stupor. "No" was his response. "I would be a bad teammate and ninja if I left without doing my part of the job. While it is true that I wish to know more about that girl, I don't want to do it at your expense."

"What, Shino interested in a girl? That's new" Kiba smirked at the Aburame. "If that's the case, I'm with Tamaki. Besides, we've been working for a couple hours and picked up most of the garbage. We can finish this without you."

"I see. Thank you then. I won't forget this" Shino said before leaving.

…

 _Konoha, Training Ground Ten_

Team Asuma was resting under the shade of a tree after an intense training session with Asuma, which soon would resume. Choji was eating chips as usual, while Shikamaru looked at the clouds, and Ino filed her nails. Then, she suddenly perked up.

"Ino?" Choji asked.

"My gossip senses are tingling," Ino stated. "It feels almost like...like a boy we know developed a crush on a girl he just meet!"

"You can sense people's relationships? Shikamaru asked in disbelief. "Troublesome."

"'Scary' is the word I'd use," Choji added, sharing his lazy teammate's disbelief.

…

 _Back in Takigakure_

It took very little time for the Aburame's kikai bugs to track the mysterious flying girl, who was now happily sitting on one of the tree's extremely large branches, doing nothing in particular.

Shino studied the girl before approaching her. She was his age, more or less. She had mint green hair, tanned skin, and orange eyes. She was wearing a short sleeveless white midriff shirt with fishnet armor underneath, long white armlets, and fishnet shorts with a short white apron skirt over it. She was wearing a Takigakure headband tied to her right arm, in a similar fashion to Shikamaru, which meant that she was one of the village's ninja. She was also carrying a red, cylindrical backpack.

After some internal debate, Shino decided to make his presence known to the girl. "Hello," the Aburame laconically said as he walked towards her.

The green haired girl was a bit startled, then she looked at the approaching Konoha ninja and smiled. "Oh, hi! You aren't from here, are you? I don't remember seeing you before."

"Your assumption is correct. My name is Shino Aburame, and I'm from Konoha. My team came here while escorting the leader of this village."

In less than a second, the girl was now standing up in front of him with her hand stretched. "My name is Fu, and I'm from Taki, but you probably guessed that already, hehehe!"

Shino shook her hand, and noticed that for having such a petite frame, the girl was rather strong.

"Nice to meet you, Fu."

"By the way, not to be rude or anything, but this is my secret spot. How did you find it?" the green haired girl asked.

"I saw you flying towards this place, and followed suit" Shino explained.

"So, you saw a pretty girl, and decided to follow her like that? My, my, what a stalker you are!" Fu joked, as she punched him in the shoulder.

"I don't do that with every girl I see" Shino replied, a bit defensively.

"Oh, so there was something special about me that caught your attention?" Fu asked, smiling at him. "Care to tell me what it is?"

"It's your wings. And excuse me if I'm being too blunt, but could you show them to me?"

"Oh, don't worry, it's okay, look!" Fu turned around, and two long, insect-like green and orange wings sprouted from her hips, surprising Shino a bit. "So, what do you think?" Fu playfully asked while fluttering her wings a bit. "You can touch them if you want!"

"Eh...I prefer not" Shino awkwardly answered as he tried his hardest not to blush. "How did you get those wings?"

Fu's wings disappeared. The girl suddenly lost all her cheerful attitude, grew a bit somber, and started rubbing her arm. "Eh, I'd love to tell you but...Shibuki told me not to tell anybody out of the village about my wings, sorry."

"I see" Shino adjusted his shades. "Can you tell me at least if it's something anybody can learn? Maybe I can learn to do that on my own."

Fu chuckled. "I don't think so, Shino. Let's say it's an unique ability of mine."

"So it's a Bloodline Limit. I understand then your leader's reservation about sharing those secrets with me. My apologies for asking."

Fu started to smile again all of sudden. "It's okay! You know, you're the first one who showed any interest in my wings, which is kind of nice" Fu's cheerfulness was back in full force as well. "I have an idea! I can give you a ride if you want! You don't appreciate how pretty Takigakure is unless you see it from a bird's eye view!"

"No, it's okay, I prefer if- HEY!"

Before Shino could react, he found himself high in the air, with Fu's surprisingly strong arms grabbing him by his armpits.

"I know a lot of people are a bit afraid the first time they fly, but trust me, you're going to enjoy this!" Fu assured.

Shino was too terrified to protest or even scream.

…

 _Training Ground Eight_

"Wind Release: Cyclone Shockwave!"

A tornado formed around Naruto, in a similar way to the Wind Release: Wind Wall, except that it also violently expanded outwards.

"Good job, Naruto" Kurenai praised. "Keep working, and you'll increase the radius of effect with each try." The Jonin then turned at Hinata, who nodded and made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Hinata released a myriad of lightning bolt branches from her fingertips, hitting the ground, setting the grass on fire while scorching some land.

"Nice one, Hinata. See? Now you have another ranged attack in case you're unable to reach an enemy in close combat" Kurenai stated. Hinata merely nodded.

Kurenai looked at the last of her Genin, Haku. The Ice Release user nodded, and made several hand seals.

"Demonic Illusion: Ice Prison!"

Kurenai allowed the genjutsu to affect her, and she found herself suddenly trapped inside a block of ice that simply left her head exposed. The genjutsu only lasted a few seconds before Haku himself dispelled it.

"So, how was it?"

"The execution was almost flawless, but I can't help but wonder why you modified the original jutsu" Kurenai had taught Haku the Tree Binding Death, one of her most used genjutsu.

"Besides ice fitting me better, I believe it was a good way to confuse my enemies. Since I use ice jutsu, my enemies wouldn't be able to differentiate which ones are real and which ones are illusions."

Kurenai nodded and smiled. "Interesting reasoning, Haku. I applaud your inventiveness."

Haku smiled back at her.

"I'm very glad to see how fast the three of you are progressing. I had my reservations at first, but now I believe that you're ready."

"R-Ready for what, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"A dangerous mission? Please let it be a dangerous mission!" Naruto excitedly shouted.

Kurenai just shook her head, and chuckled. Despite that close call with Orochimaru, Naruto still wanted more missions like that. Then again, Naruto didn't have to fight Orochimaru, that "honor" fell upon her and her friends' shoulders.

"Actually, better than that, Naruto. The Chunin Exams are in less than two weeks, and if you pass them, you will be promoted to Chunin" the raven-haired sensei explained.

"Whoa, that's even better!"

"That's what I said. Though in the end, the ultimate decision is yours" Kurenai looked at them. "But you don't look like you want to miss this, am I right?"

"Does that mean that our other classmates will be taking the exam as well?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai shrugged. "That depends on their senseis, as well as themselves. If a Jonin-sensei doesn't feel like their Genin are ready, then he or she can ban them from taking the exam. And just like I told you, the Genin themselves must feel that they're ready, or at least willing, to take the exam. As for myself, I'll recommend you when Hokage-sama calls for the meeting."

…

 _Nighttime, Senju Residence_

It was a rare sight to see all six members of Naruto's adoptive family to have dinner at the same time, given that Jiraiya and Tsunade were often missing due their duties as Hokage and Chief Medic of the Konoha Hospital, respectively. But today wasn't one of those days. Which was perfect for Naruto, who wanted to announce his participation in the exams.

"Hey, dad, Kurenai-sensei said that the Chunin Exams are going to be soon, right?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yeah. This time they will be held here, meaning that it's my responsibility to ensure that they go on without a hitch."

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Did Kurenai mention if she was going to recommend you?"

"You can bet she did! Man, I can't wait for the exams to arrive, and I get to show people how strong I got since the Academy!" Naruto boasted.

"You graduated the Academy three months ago. Don't be in over your head. Those exams are nothing compared to the ones you take in the Academy. People actually die there" Tsunade sternly replied.

"Well, I have an -S-Rank mission under my belt, so I think I can handle it" upon seeing Tsunade's scowl, Naruto added: "But yeah, I'll be careful, mom. I won't give you a reason to worry."

Tsunade's scowl disappeared, and was replaced by a content smile. Then she realized of something, and turned to her apprentice. "Shizune, what about your team? Are you going to recommend them?"

The black haired woman nodded. "The three of them are rather strong, and their teamwork has improved a lot since the time I became their sensei. Sakura and Karin don't bicker as much as they used to."

"Would you say that Sasuke is stronger than me?" Naruto asked.

Shizune looked at him and smiled. "Well...it's hard to tell. Both of you are really strong so I couldn't say unless I saw you fight against each other."

"That has an easy solution then! Tomorrow I'll challenge Sasuke to a fight!"

Jiraiya just shook his head. "Naruto...you should stop obsessing about beating Sasuke. A rivalry can be a good motivator to improve one's self, but it shouldn't be the only one."

Tsunade dryly laughed. "Look who's talking! You were obsessed with beating both Orochimaru and I as long as we were teammates!"

Jiraiya shot Tsunade an unamused look. "That was completely different, it was a matter of principle! Besides, in the end, I surpassed both of you!"

Tsunade dropped her fork, and looked at Jiraiya incredulously. "Excuse me? When did that happen? I've always been, and still am, way stronger than you!"

Shizune was sweating bullets, as her eyes drifted back and forth between Tsunade and Jiraiya. She didn't like where this was going. If the two of them decided to fight, the house wouldn't survive.

"Do you want to put your money where your mouth is?" Jiraiya challenged.

Tsunade merely chuckled, and continued eating. "I'd love to, but I don't want to humiliate you in front of the kids, so let's leave this for another moment, okay? We were having a nice dinner."

Jiraiya decided not to press the issue further, but this in turn raised another question. He looked at his godson. "Naruto, why are you so determined to beat Sasuke? Is it because he was the strongest of your classmates?"

"Yeah, but it's not just that" Naruto began. "It's the way he acted. All cool and hip, with that 'you're all beneath me' attitude."

"Well, Sasuke is a...complicated kid. I don't think he means any harm. It's just his way to cope" Shizune interceded. "It's obvious that losing most of his clan during the Uchiha Insurrection affected him deeply, and the way some people treat him for being an Uchiha doesn't help matters. But we're working on that. He simply needs a positive influence in his life."

"Well, Hinata lost her dad that night too, and she doesn't act like Sasuke." Naruto protested, crossing his arms.

"Naruto-kun, everyone has a different way to cope with loss and tragedy, and it's unfair to expect everybody to react the same way to such events" Shizune countered.

"At least it wouldn't be so bad if all the girls didn't act like he's the most interesting guy in the world."

Tsunade leaned forward, and smiled mischievously. "Oh, so that's what this is about? Is there a girl you like who has a crush on Sasuke?"

Naruto almost choked on his food. "W-What!? Of course not!" Naruto then turned a bit red and averted his gaze. "But you know, it would be nice to be as popular with the girls as Sasuke is. I mean, almost every girl worships the ground he walks on, and he hardly cares!"

"Naruto-nii san, what about Hinata-chan? She's really cute" Kaida piped in.

"Yeah, and she doesn't drool over Sasuke" Hagane added.

"W-WHAT!?" Naruto barked in shock, blushing furiously. "But...Hinata's my friend!"

"Ohhhhhhh, look at him, getting all red!" Tsunade teasingly said.

The twins started to sing. "Naruto and Hinata, sitting on a tree. K-I-S-"

As much as Jiraiya wanted to join in the fun, he decided to cut Naruto some slack. "Let's change the topic, okay? We're making the kid feel uncomfortable. I know that girls are a delicate issue, especially given the age you're in."

"What's wrong with my age?"

"Nothing. But you and I will have an important talk soon. Don't worry, it's nothing bad" Jiraiya smiled impishly. Naruto just raised an eyebrow.

…

 _Taki, Next Morning_

Kakashi's Animal Squad was ready to return to Konoha. The Copy Ninja had to admit that, in hindsight, it was a good thing that they decided to stay. Turns out that a Taki renegade Jonin named Suien, helped by several Ame missing-nin, were about to steal the village's famous Hero Water, an elixir that dramatically increases the power of those who drank it, albeit with a potentially fatal cost.

Kiba, Shino, and Tamaki managed to stop Suien's minions from kidnapping several civilians to use as hostages in exchange of the Hero Water, while Kakashi and Shibuki dealt with Suien himself. The Taki missing-nin fell under the power of Kakashi's Lightning Blade.

"Thank you, all of you. You helped my village far more than what I had asked of from you" Shibuki said as he shook Kakashi's hand.

"Eh, no need to thank us. We were in the right place at the right time" Kakashi replied, rubbing the back of his neck. "Besides, there's no way a single, unimposing man, as Suien with a bunch of followers would be able to threaten a whole ninja village."

While Kakashi and Shibuki talked, Fu was saying goodbye to the Konoha Genin.

"It's a pity you guys have to leave so soon. I'd love to get to know you better" Fu said, pouting a bit. "Shibuki doesn't let me out of the village since it's 'dangerous', and there are almost no kids my age here. This village is small, you know."

"It's okay, you can always write" Tamaki suggested.

"Or we can just come to pay you a visit. Taki isn't that far away from Konoha" Kiba added.

"Like my friends and teammates said, we well do our best to keep contact" Shino finished.

Fu then pulled the three of them into a bone-crushing hug. "Aw, you guys are awesome!" the green haired girl cooed. Then, she whispered into Shino's ear. "Though… we might see each other sooner than you think, hehe."

…

 _Konoha, Hokage's Office_

Jiraiya was at his office –this time it was really him, not a clone,– doing the usual paperwork, when somebody entered the room. Turned out it was Sarutobi. He looked mildly worried, as he was holding a small scroll in his hand. He stopped what he was doing and nodded his former sensei to speak.

"Jiraiya, we got a message," Sarutobi began. "From Kumo."

The Sannin's curiosity spiked. He hasn't heard from that village ever since the Hyuga Affair nine years ago. He wondered what they wanted this time.

"What is it, sensei?"

"It's about the Chunin Exams. Kumo is going to send several teams to undertake the exam here."

…

* * *

 **Author's note: a few things to discuss here. Let's begin.**

 **Albeit this is obvious, Jiraiya's backstory is completely made up by me. The manga never showed us where does Jiraiya come from, if he has (or had) any family (at least we knew that Orochimaru was an orphan who lost his parents while being a kid) or what moved him to become a ninja (according to the databook, he graduated at six, so that didn't give me too much of a window of time). I hope you enjoyed this little bit of background.**

 **And Naruto meets the Fox for the first time. Sorry for those of you who were expecting that Naruto would befriend the Fox and thus have access to his powers, but that won't happen as for now. I don't want to make Naruto too overpowered, and frankly, befriending the Kyubi so fast would be beyond unrealistc.**

 **If you watched the OVA "Protect the Waterfall Village", you probably noticed a few elements of it in this chapter. Well, that's because this was meant to be a full adaptation of that OVA. My idea was to send Kakashi and Kurenai's teams to escort Shibuki and later fight Suiren. That way I could have the Assasult Squad interacting a bit with the Animal Squad, kinda how the way they did with the Tactical Squad in the previous arc. And, unlike that OVA, it would feature Fu. There was, however, a little problem that stopped me from doing such a thing.**

 **I absolutely loathed that OVA.**

 **Like, four guys are able to take over a ninja village? Seriously? Is Shibuki the only ninja there? And that's not even getting on Naruto being at his most obnoxious and incompetent, except for the last five minutes, where he's suddenly able to control de Kyubi's chakra for no reason (this took place before the Chunin Exams). And Sakura did nothing but get captured by the bad guys (the usual for her), leaving Sasuke as the only one to do anything. That's why I decided to only adapt a few parts, and they were mostly to flesh out the Animal Squad a bit more. Too bad for the Animal Squad/Assault Squad interactions, thought.**

 **Anyway, there will more inter-team interactions in the next arc, which is a big favorite of mine. In two weeks, the Chunin Exam Arc will begin! In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me very, very, very happy!**


	21. The Chunin Exams Begin!

**Author's Note: The number of reviews of the last couple chapters increased a lot. Guess that for some reason, my Land of the Rice Fields arc wasn't as popular as I expected. Anyway, it's about time to start one of the most popular arcs of the manga, not without reason! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21:**

The Chunin Exams Begin!

 _or_

 _Are we really excited to do an exam!?_

It was just two days before the beginning of the Chunin Exams, and most of the Konoha Genin that wanted to participate had increased their training regime during these past two weeks in order to be in top form for the exams. While far from the norm, people sometimes died in these kind of exams.

None of the Genin who participated took missions anymore so they could spend their time preparing the exams. And given that what most Genin teams did were D-Rank missions, it was something pretty much everybody, included their Jonin-sensei, were grateful for getting rid of (at least temporarily).

After an intense training session that morning, Team Kurenai was at Icharaku's, having lunch. And after lunch, they'll go back to training once again. While they waited for their orders, Naruto spoke up.

"So, Kurenai-sensei, be honest.. do you think we're ready for the exam?" the blond Jinchuriki asked.

"Like I said before, if I didn't think you are, I wouldn't have recommended you for the exams. You three seem to progress at a very good pace. What's with the sudden self-doubt, Naruto? Are you having second thoughts?" Kurenai teased, knowing full well the answer.

Naruto took immediate offense. "Of course not! It's that, well, I'm a bit nervous. Mom and Dad explained the exams to me and it's kind of a big deal."

"Speaking of which, how was your Chunin Exams in your day, Kurenai-sensei?" Haku asked. "Did you pass on your first try?"

"Second," Kurenai answered. "And I don't mean to sound defeatist or anything, but don't be disheartened if you don't become Chunin the first time you take the exams. Very few people do."

"How old were you?" Hinata asked.

"When I participated the first time, or when I got promoted?" Kurenai asked back, before deciding to answer those two questions at once. "Twelve and thirteen, respectively."

"So, our age more or less" Naruto said, a bit more encouraged now. "And what about Jonin? Is there a Jonin Exam?"

"You're going too fast, aren't you, Naruto?" Kurenai asked. "First get promoted to Chunin, and then we'll talk about becoming a Jonin."

"Aw, come on, why don't you tell us?"

After pondering it for a few seconds, Kurenai decided that there was no harm in letting them know.

"Usually, Jonin are required to master at least two kind of elemental ninjutsu, have above average taijutsu, and some skill in genjutsu. But like I told you, there are exceptions to that," Kurenai explained.

Hinata knew that most Hyuga Jonin fell under those exceptions, since she never saw her mother nor her late father using elemental ninjutsu. But then again, their taijutsu and overall power was simply spectacular.

"That seems like a lot of things" Hinata observed.

"Well of course. It's not a matter of just being strong. Jonin are the best a village can offer, so the standards are pretty high," Kurenai said. "There's also the Special Jonin rank, which is given to Chunin who excel at one or two fields, but they haven't mastered enough skills to be considered a full Jonin. More than likely, you will have to go through that rank before becoming a Jonin, just like I had to."

"And your specialty was genjutsu, am I right?" Haku ventured to guess.

Kurenai smiled at him. "It wasn't very hard to guess, right?"

"Your orders are ready!" Ayame, Teuchi's daughter announced, as she placed all the bowls in front of her customers, much to the delight of a certain blond.

After eating, and having some more small talk, Kurenai decided that it was about time to continue training. She was planning to give them the next day off so they could relax and rest, so they had to make the best of the hours of light left. However, when Naruto exited Icharaku, he accidentally bumped into somebody.

"Oops, sorry!" the blond said.

"Watch were you're going you moron...hey, wait a minute… Naruto?" the person Naruto bumped into asked.

Naruto eyed the stranger: a boy maybe a year or two older than him, wearing a black, baggy, full body suit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood which covered his head completely, and had cat-like ears and his Suna forehead protector on his forehead. He was also wearing purple face paint.

"Excuse me?" Naruto asked, as he scratched the back of his head. "Have we met before?"

"Oh come on! I know that it has been a few years, but I didn't expect you to forget about me so soon!" the stranger insisted.

"Of course he doesn't remember you with the sinister hood and all that make-up," a female voice said behind him, a voice that Naruto vaguely recognized.

A girl appeared behind the cloaked boy. Said girl was tall, with spiky blond hair styled in four pigtails. She was wearing a single light purple-coloured, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her black Suna forehead protector around her neck.

"Temari?" Naruto asked.

"Right on the spot," the Suna kunoichi replied with a tender smile.

"Whoa! Look at you! You're so tall!" Naruto said in amazement.

Temari just shrugged. "Eh, I just eat my greens."

"Wait a minute, if you're here..." Naruto then turned towards the hooded stranger. "And you definitely are not Gaara...then you're.. Kankuro?"

Kankuro groaned and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe that you only recognized me by process of elimination."

"What did you expect with all that make-up?"

The puppeteer looked even more annoyed. "This isn't make-up, it's war paint! Make-up is what girls use to look prettier, war paint is used by men to strike fear in the heart of their enemies!"

"Well, you don't look that fearsome to me," an unimpressed Naruto replied.

"Because you know that what it is needed to make your enemies afraid of you is not face paint, but strength and skill," a third, monotonous voice said, as a redheaded kid with blue eyes appeared in Naruto's field vision.

Naruto's beamed upon seeing his fellow Jinchuriki. "Gaara!" Naruto pulled the redhead into a bone-crushing bear hug. "Of course, if your siblings are here, you would be here too. By the way-"

Naruto was interrupted by somebody clearing her throat behind him. He turned around to see Hinata, Haku and Kurenai, awkwardly standing behind him.

"Naruto, aren't you going to introduce us to your friends?" Kurenai asked as polite as possible. She had guessed that those Suna kids were old acquaintances of Naruto and decided to give him some time to talk, but now it appeared as if Naruto forgot about his team.

"Oh, right! Sorry, my bad" the blond sheepishly said. "These are my teammates Haku and Hinata, and Kurenai-sensei, our instructor. Guys, these are Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. I befriended them on a trip to Suna with my dad a few years ago."

They all exchanged greetings.

"So let me guess, you three are here for the Chunin Exams, right?" Kurenai asked.

"That's correct, miss," Temari replied.

"So that means that we may fight each other..." Naruto said in realization.

"They won't be the only ones. Remember that all our former classmates participate in the exams as well," Haku reminded the blond.

"Yes, the world of the ninja is cruel and full of lies and deception. Sometimes, you might end up fighting somebody you considered a friend because he or she is at the wrong side of a conflict," Kurenai added. "But then again, there are lots of Genin from many villages participating. The odds of fighting somebody you know are pretty low."

"While I bear no ill towards any of you, I actually seek to fight you in the exams," Gaara spoke up. "Thanks to your father, I learned to control my powers better, and I became much stronger as a result. I'm sure that you got stronger too, Naruto. And I want to measure which one of us is the strongest."

Naruto merely smiled. "Sure. Though if we don't end up fighting in the exams, we can always spar before you leave."

"Either case, I'll be looking forward it."

"It was nice to meet you again, Naruto, as well as your teammates and sensei, but we need to go to the hotel and unpack our stuff," Temari mentioned.

"Alright, we have to go back to our training too. I hope you like Konoha!" Naruto said as he waved the Sand Siblings goodbye.

Once they were out of sight, Kurenai walked towards Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, do you have any idea who those kids are?"

Naruto looked at her and smiled. "Yeah, the Kazekage's kids!"

"I never met them, but I knew who they were by their names. To think that you were talking to them like they were old friends..." but then again, Kurenai guessed that Naruto did befriend them to some degree. "Not every Genin has such friends in high places, Naruto."

"Now it goes both ways, since my dad is the Hokage" the blond pointed out.

"True."

…

 _Konoha's North Gate_

Four ninja wearing Kumo forehead protectors approached the entrance to the village. The group was composed by an adult man with dark skin and blond hair, who wore shades and a white scarf. He was leading three children, two girls and a boy, none of them older than thirteen. One of the girls had dark skin, red hair and golden eyes, while the other had light skin and long, blond hair, styled in two long braids. The male kid also had dark skin, blond hair, and dark eyes, and he was chewing on a lollipop.

The white female glanced at her redheaded teammate. "Karui? You look a bit tense. Anything wrong?"

"What's not wrong would be a better question, T," the redhead, Karui, answered. "We're Kumo ninja going to Konoha. I'm sure that you remember what happened between our villages nine years ago."

"Yeah, what if we're apprehended and sent to jail when we set foot there, and we need to dig a tunnel to escape, but since we don't have any tools we need to use our hands, but our hands fall off due to how much-"

"Can it, Omoi!" T harshly cut him. "None of that is going to happen. Raikage-sama already sent a message in advance, and we got permission to enter Konoha."

"Still, I can't believe that Raikage-sama allowed you to come here with no other company than three Genin sensei," Karui said to the only adult in the group. She wasn't the only one who wondered what kind of witchcraft her sensei used on the Raikage to allow such a thing.

"Killer B was in need of relaxation, that's why he asked his bro for a vacation! And I thought it would be a good experience for you to fight in these exams and meet somebody new, oh yeah!" Killer B replied while waving his hands rhythmically. Other people would have been deeply perplexed by Killer B's antics, but his students were all used to him and his quirks.

Turns out, it was Killer B's idea to take his team to the exams. At first, the Raikage forbade it, since Kumo and Konoha weren't allied villages, but the three Genin guessed that Killer B bothered his brother so much until he finally relented. Some of the Raikage's councilors supported B's idea, since it would be a good way to mend their strained relationship with Konoha.

"Look, we're almost there," Omoi pointed to the gates of Konoha, already in sight.

When they were about to enter, they were stopped by two Chunin at the entrance.

"Halt!" one of the Chunin, who was wearing a bandage over his nose, shouted. "Who are you and what business do you have in Konoha?"

Killer B took a step forward. "My name is Killer B, I'm from Kumo as you can see! To the Chunin Exams we came, to show off and gain some fame! Everybody else may as well scram, since my Genin are gonna rock the exams!"

Both Chunin sweat dropped as they glanced at each other awkwardly.

"What our sensei is trying to say is that we came here to participate in the Chunin Exams. I'm sure you were notified that we were coming." Karui interceded before things got even weirder.

"Yeah, sure, let me check it," the other Chunin replied, who was wearing a bandanna and had an eye covered by long bangs. After looking through a list, he saw that they were, indeed, expecting a team from Kumo to arrive. He wondered if the Hokage made the right call by allowing them to participate. "Okay, it seems that you were saying the truth. All what we need is your passports to verify that you're who you say you are."

The three Genin immediately pulled out their passports and handed them to the guards, who quickly verified them. However, when it came to Killer B, they found there was a problem.

"Uh, sir...this isn't a passport. It's just a picture of you," the Konoha Chunin said, while looking at the picture, which was Killer B doing some rapper pose.

"It's a SIGNED picture, fool ya fool! My fans would kill to have something so cool!" Killer B protested. His three Genin sweat dropped.

"While I appreciate the intention, I'm afraid that if you don't have a passport you won't be allowed to enter."

Killer B grumbled something inaudible as he started to fish through his pockets until he finally found his passport. The picture on the passport was the same as the one he handed to the guard. Still, it was valid.

"Everything is in order. You can go into the village. But your permission to stay lasts as long as the Exams themselves. Once they're over, you'll have to leave," the Chunin of the bandaged nose informed them. "If you want to prolong your stay, you should talk with the Hokage."

After thanking the guards, Team Killer B entered Konoha. Naturally, a bunch of ninja with Kumo forehead protectors wasn't something people of Konoha, both ninja and civilians, saw every day, and thus they soon found themselves as the center of quite a lot of curious looks, and more than one hateful glare from ninja old enough to remember the previous wars.

"Boy, I'm feeling uncomfortable," T whined as she got closer to Karui.

"Come on, we can't let these people intimidate us!" Karui protested.

"It's not as easy. Remember that we're pretty much in enemy territory, all alone," Omoi observed.

Killer B realized that he needed to do something about that. "You guys are ninja, for Kami's sake! You can't let a few stares to make you shake! If that's what takes for you to bail, then you'll look like somebody weak and frail!"

Omoi and T lowered their heads in shame. Killer B was right. Not only were they ninja, they pretty much represented their village to the rest of the world right now. They couldn't leave Kumogakure in a bad place.

"Besides, we aren't the only foreigners here. I've seen a couple teams with Amegakure forehead protectors," Karui observed. "And I'm sure that we'll see even more people from outside Konoha."

Between that and their sensei's reprimand, Omoi and T regained some composure. Karui hoped that they wouldn't break down again, or else they wouldn't make it far into the exams, which would mean being the target of the Raikage's wrath.

…

 _Downtown Konoha, inside a Café_

 _"Look at him, how dare he show his face and that emblem in public like that..."_

 _"I can't believe the Hokage goes so far to protect them..."_

 _"I wouldn't be surprised if they backstabbed him..."_

 _"Aren't those girls worried for their lives?"_

 _"Hell, their sensei is dating one of them! Can you believe that?"_

"Sasuke" Shizune's voice snapped the Uchiha from his trance. "Don't let them get to you. Ignore them."

"I know, sensei, but...it's not that easy," the only boy of her squad replied.

"I know what you are talking about" Shizune continued. "I'm dating Shisui, you know. Whenever we go, we always have to deal with people glaring at us, treating us poorly and murmuring things behind our backs when they think we can't hear them."

"Yeah. You also have me to support you, Sasuke-kun," Sakura interceded, as she not-so-subtly grabbed Sasuke's hand.

"And me too!" Karin quickly added, while shooting a murderous glare at Sakura and grabbing Sasuke's other hand.

The Uchiha boy merely sighed.

"Well, girls and boy, the Chunin Exams will be in less than two days, how do you feel?" Shizune asked.

"Ready to kick ass, Shizune-sensei! We'll show everybody the might of the Medical Squad!" Sakura cheerfully replied.

"By the way, given that Shisui will be one of the proctors, can you tell us what are we going to face, Shizune-sensei?" Karin asked.

"Sorry, Karin, but as you can imagine, Shisui isn't allowed to talk with anyone about the details of the exam, and much less me, given that you're going to take part on it," Shizune replied with an apologetic smile.

"So he's your boyfriend but you can't get anything out of him. Lame." Karin said as she crossed her arms.

Shizune sighed. "Well, if this exam is going to be like previous editions, I can tell you that it will consist on three parts: the first one will be a test to your overall capabilities, the second part will be a survival exercise, and the last one will be a one on one fighting tournament. But then again, this exam could be different to the previous ones."

"Still, that'll be better than anything," Sakura said.

"I did try to ask my brother about his exam, but he told me that I needed to take it completely blind, just like he did," Sasuke mentioned, crossing his arms as well.

"Hey, this is like real life itself. As ninja, sometimes you will find yourselves amidst situations that you know nothing about. This exam will test your resourcefulness, among other things," Shizune explained.

"At the very least, we know that the other teams won't have any advantage over us," Karin reasoned.

"Actually, that's only true for teams who will take the exam for the first time," Sakura interceded. "Other teams had taken the exam multiple times already, which means that not only do they have an edge over us, but they're older, and thus they have more experience than us."

"I don't think so. If they need so many tries to become Chunin, then they can't be that strong," Sasuke retorted.

Shizune frowned at Sasuke's overconfident attitude. "Sasuke, underestimating your enemies is not something wise to do. Approach every fight as if you were going to face the strongest enemy possible. Otherwise, something far worse than merely failing awaits you."

"We'll see about that."

…

 _Outside the Hokage Tower, First Day of the Chunin Exams_

All the Genin teams that took part in the Exams were told to wait outside the Hokage Tower at ten in the morning sharp. Those who were already there noticed that there was a large podium in front of the tower.

Many teams decided to be there at least half an hour in advance, just to be safe. Team Kurenai thought that they would be among the first teams to arrive, but they found out that another team had beat them to it.

"Hey, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino!" Naruto shouted as he waved at them.

"Oh, hey, what's up guys?" Shikamaru asked.

"Nice to see you guys" Choji greeted as he ate from his ever-present bag of chips.

"Why did you say my name last!?" Ino angrily asked.

Ignoring Ino's outburst, Naruto asked: "So, you ready for the exams?"

Shikamaru just shrugged. "No. But these two can't take the exam on their own, so I guess I'll have to pull my part."

"You better! There's no way we can do worse than forehead girl's team!" Ino stated.

"With how much Asuma-sensei worked us out, I'm sure we will," Choji commented.

"Ha! Keep dreaming, Ino!" a new female voice said.

Everybody turned around to see Sakura, Karin and Sasuke walking towards them.

"Sakura" Ino mentioned with false joy. "I'm glad that you decided not to run away. I want to beat you with my skills myself."

"Like I just said, Ino, you'd wish I quit. Not when I have Sasuke-kun at my side!" Sakura proudly declared. Upon noticing Karin's murderous glare, she added. "Oh yeah, and Karin too."

"Oh, of course, with that murd-" Ino interrupted herself when she noticed the pleading look Hinata was shooting at her. For some reason, she just couldn't continue with whatever hurtful comment she was going to say about the Uchiha. She simply cleared her throat, and much to everybody's surprise, she said: "Yes, Sasuke looks strong, as so do you and Karin. I will be looking forward to fighting you in the exams."

Sakura, and to a lesser extent, Karin, were taken aback by Ino's sudden bout of politeness. Sasuke was a bit surprised too, though he was better at hiding his reaction than his female teammates. The more observant people there like Shikamaru and Haku noticed the way Hinata was looking at Ino, and deduced that the Hyuga heiress had something to do with it.

"I do look forward fighting you too, Sasuke!" Naruto proudly declared. "I hope that you have been training hard, otherwise my victory over you wouldn't be as meaningful!"

"We fought plenty of times back in the Academy, and you were never close to defeating me," Sasuke cockily replied, then he smirked at him. "But then again, you were the only one back then who could be considered a challenge, so I will look forward to fighting you as well."

"And I will look forward to fighting and beating you both!" a new voice said.

Naruto and Sasuke turned to the voice's direction and saw a boy with black hair styled in a bowl haircut, with very thick eyebrows, who was wearing a green jumpsuit, and orange leg warmers.

"Uh...who are you?" Naruto asked to this would-be rival.

"YOSH! My name is Rock Lee! While I can't use ninjutsu nor genjutsu, I will prove the world that I can be a powerful ninja using nothing but taijutsu! And what better way to achieve my goal than by beating Naruto, the son of the Sannin, and Sasuke, the Uchiha genius! So, who wants to go first?" Rock Lee enthusiastically slipped into a fighting stance.

Before any fight could happen, somebody smacked Lee in the back of his head.

"Lee! Do you want to get us disqualified before even starting the exam? We can't fight right now!" a girl with brown hair styled in two buns said in a chastising tone.

"Sorry, Tenten! But seeing these two ninja, considered the strongest of our generation, makes my blood boil with excitement! My youth can't be contained!"

Everybody sweat dropped at the overly theatrical display of the green clad Genin.

"Is he always like that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Actually, today he seems unusually relaxed," the girl, Tenten, replied with an apologetic smile.

"Tsk. Troublesome. As if we didn't have enough with one hyperactive nutcase," Shikamaru deadpanned. Then he looked at Naruto. "No offense."

"Huh? No offense for what?" Naruto dumbly asked.

"Anyway, is a pleasure to meet all of you!" Lee continued. "As long as our third teammate arrives, the Youth Squad will be complete!"

Tenten frowned. "Lee, regardless of what you and Gai-sensei insist, that's not the name of our team."

"Come on Tenten, I'm sure you'll admit that Youth Squad is a much better name and defines our team better than the official 'Close Combat Squad'. Besides, that name leaves you out!" Lee countered.

"Excuse me," Hinata asked both Lee and Tenten. "Is your third teammate by chance Neji Hyuga?"

"Yes!" Tenten replied. "How do you know?"

"I'm Neji-niisan's cousin. He sometimes talks about you two. By the way, my name is Hinata Hyuga, pleased to meet you," Hinata greeted, while bowing slightly.

"Likewise. And no need to be so formal, Hinata," Tenten chuckled.

"Hinata-sama can't help being formal. It's part of her nature," a voice that both girls instantly recognized said.

"Neji!" Tenten said to her last teammate.

"Sorry for staying behind. I didn't want to be part of Lee's antics. Though then again, it was inevitable for him to explode when he saw Naruto and Sasuke," Neji replied.

"Well, at least Lee is no longer challenging Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san," Hinata saw that Naruto and Sasuke were discussing something between themselves.

"Nope, but he found somebody else to 'challenge'!" Tenten chuckled and pointed at Lee, who was in front of Sakura.

"My name is Rock Lee! Please go out on a date with me, oh beautiful Sakura! I will protect you with my life!" the green clad ninja loudly declared.

Sakura's brain was still trying to process the situation going on, while Karin was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Er...sorry, Lee, but I don't know you that much to go on a date with you..." the pinkette awkwardly replied.

"It doesn't matter! I will keep working hard until I'm worthy of your affections, Sakura-san!"

"Come on Sakura, say yes. This guy is an amazing catch!" Karin placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, still laughing.

"You only say that so can have Sasuke-kun for yourself. Forget about it!" Sakura retorted.

"Well, Sasuke-kun is clearly out of your league, so why don't give this nice boy a chance?"

"Why don't YOU give him a chance if he's such a catch!?"

"Because it's you whom he has a crush on! And I'd hate to get in the way of true love!" Karin mocked.

While Sakura and Karin continued arguing, the last of the teams formed by Naruto's former classmates joined the group.

"Oh geez, we're the last ones to arrive," Kiba mentioned a bit dejected, looking at the group.

"Yup, it seems that Kakashi-sensei's habits are starting to rub off on us" Tamaki agreed. She then noticed Sasuke and smiled. "Oh, hey, Sasuke-kun! Ready to rock the exams?"

"Hn," was the Uchiha's response.

"Keep your attitude as long as you can, Uchiha, nothing will save you from a well-deserved ass kicking when our paths cross!" Kiba declared, with Akamaru happily barking in agreement.

"Kiba. Just like in the Academy, you're all bark and no bite. But if only for the chance to shut your annoying mouth already, I'll be more than happy to oblige."

The third member of the Animal Squad decided to intervene. "Thinking on what could be is pointless. We're better off if we focus on the matter at hand. I know that we won't be fighting each other on this portion of the exam. Save your energy for when we are required to fight."

"Hmpf," Kiba grunted, clearly in disagreement.

"He's right, you know," Tamaki said.

"Of course you'd side with him, if that would mean siding against me" Kiba scoffed.

Tamaki frowned at the Inuzuka. "Listen here you mutt, my life doesn't revolve around you. I take most of my decisions without having you in my mind."

"That's a very poor attitude when working as a team" Kiba fired back.

"That's why I said 'most', not 'all'." Tamaki clarified.

"SHINO!" a chirpy but very loud female voice shouted from above.

Suddenly, a green and white blur fell from the sky like a meteor, landing in the middle of the Animal Squad. Everybody realized that said object wasn't a meteor, but a girl. A Takigakure kunoichi that the Animal Squad, and especially Shino, knew all too well.

"Hey you guys! I'm so glad I found you! Now we can talk a bit before the exams begin!" the girl excitedly said.

"Hello to you as well, Fu," Shino replied, unaffected by the girl's landing.

"So these are all your friends? I didn't know that you had so many, Shino! By the way, aren't you going to introduce me?" the girl said as she wrapped an arm around Shino's neck, making the usually stoic Aburame blush a little.

"Yes, Shino, we're all dying to know who is this girl that's so interested in you!" Ino interjected, her gossip senses going into overdrive.

"My name is Fu! I'm from Takigakure, and I'm here to become a better kunoichi and make lots of friends, not in that order necessarily!" Fu then smirked, and got uncomfortably close to Shino. "By the way, my offer of letting you touch _them_ still stands."

"Ohhhhhhh, Shino, you devil! Who would have thought that behind that quiet façade, there was such a charmer! " Ino chimed in.

"It's...it's not what you are thinking," Shino stuttered.

"In case you're wondering, we met Fu on a mission to Takigakure a week ago," Tamaki explained, also hoping to deflect the focus from poor Shino. "By the way, Fu, you need a team of three people to participate. Where are your teammates?"

"Eh, I'm sure they're close," Fu replied, not worrying much about her missing teammates. "Anyway, I see that you guys have lots of friends. Why don't you introduce-"

Fu became silent the moment her eyes landed on Naruto. There was something about him that made him...special. It was almost like seeing a long lost family member.

"You," she stated, her voice devoid of all her previous cheerfulness.

"Me?" Naruto dumbly replied.

"You...there's...something about you that..." Fu slowly said as she walked towards the blond.

"Fu!"

The mint haired girl was snapped from her trance, and turned around to see two men with Takigakure forehead protectors running at them.

"There you are!" one of the Takigakure ninja shouted. He was a man with short, brown curly hair, who wore a violet jacket, with the inside being green, black top, with his midriff being exposed, and dark pants.

"What the hell are you thinking, going on your own in a foreign village?" the other one added. He was a slightly taller man with short, spiky hair who wore a dark violet vest, with two scrolls attached to it, a light violet turtleneck, and dark green-colored pants.

"Oh come on guys, I only wanted to see Shino and his friends again!" Fu pouted.

"Fu, you promised Shibuki-sama that you'd be cautious! He'd be really worried if something happened to you!" the man with the curly brown hair chastised.

"I know...sorry..." Fu lowered her head. She then turned her head at the Konoha Genin. "I better get going. It was nice to meet you guys. Hopefully we can see each other again later."

"We'd like that as well" Tamaki replied as she saw Fu leaving with her team.

Everybody noticed something about Fu's teammates. The first thing was that the one with the curly brown hair really liked to show off his abs. The second, and only a bit less obvious, was that they were about twice as old as Fu.

Akamaru whined something to Kiba.

"Guys, Akamaru told me that those guys' chakra levels are way above the average for Genin. We should be careful around them," Kiba warned. Those who heard him nodded.

"Attention everybody! The First Exam is about to begin!" somebody shouted.

All the Genin present turned their sights to the podium, where a black haired ninja with one eye appeared out of nowhere.

"Hello everybody and welcome to the Chunin Exams! My name is Shisui Uchiha, and I will be the proctor of the first exam!"

Ino rolled her eyes. _"An Uchiha. Just my luck."_

"First of all, if there's a team inscribed but is not present here, said team is automatically disqualified. With that out of the way, I'll start explaining the rules."

Shisui snapped his fingers, and many ninja who were previously on the roof of the Hokage Tower jumped down and landed between the group of Genin and the podium. They were wearing the standard Konoha ninja uniform, except the flak jacket was bright yellow instead of grass green.

"These ninjas have a scroll hidden within their person. Your task will be capture at least one of them and retrieve the scroll. The scroll bearers won't fight you, they will only run away from you and hide.

"Now that you know your objective, some additional rules: if you cause collateral damage while chasing the scroll bearers, you fail. If you endanger civilians, you fail. If you use excessive force, or even kill the scroll bearers, not only will you fail, but you will be arrested for murder. You have three hours to get a scroll, meaning that any team at one in the afternoon sharp short a scroll will be eliminated. You will be handed a wireless radio so that you can keep in contact with your teammates. You will have to turn those radios back once the exam is over. If you break it or lose it, you will have to pay for a new one. And lastly, once the exam ends, all teams who passed should come back here with their respective scrolls.

"That would be all. Do you guys have any questions?" Nearly everybody raised their hands. Shisui groaned, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, the scroll bearers won't hide their scroll inside their rectums," nearly all hands went down, and only a few remained. Shisui nodded to a random Konoha ninja.

"I noticed that there are not enough scroll bearers for all of us," the Konoha ninja pointed out.

"Correct. The number of scroll bearers is exactly half the number of teams, meaning that only the better half of the present teams will advance to the next phase. At best" Shisui replied. He then nodded to a Suna ninja, who happened to be Kankuro.

"Can we steal a scroll from another team?" the puppeteer asked.

"No. Not only fighting against other teams is forbidden, but the moment a team retrieves a scroll, said team will automatically pass. And don't think you guys can fool me, I have eyes everywhere!"

"Yeah, except in the right side of your face!" a random Konoha ninja said, making other Genin to laugh at his joke.

Shisui made a hand seal, and he body flickered in front of the Genin, startling him. "What is your name, kid?"

"M-Maseo..." the kid, Maseo, babbled.

"Team Maseo, failed," Shisui announced with a sly grin as he body-flickered back to the podium, and saw Maseo's two teammates shooting murderous glares at him. "If you want to make things easier for your rivals and alleviate some competition like Maseo just did, do not hesitate to insult, annoy, or irritate the proctor, namely me. Anymore questions?" Nobody raised their hand. "If that's the case, then good luck to everybody, and let us begin!"

Shisui made a hand motion, and all the scroll bearers scattered in every direction. After a couple seconds of fumbling, the Genin teams immediately went to chase them. Lastly, Shisui made a hand seal, and created four Shadow Clones.

"Alright, let's get the party started" Shisui and his clones Body Flickered in a different direction each.

…

Asuma's Tactical Squad had already locked onto a scroll bearer, and where currently chasing him. Ino suddenly perked up.

"My gossip senses are tingling like crazy! Another boy we know developed a crush on a girl he just met!" Ino squealed.

"You and your troublesome gossiping. Shouldn't you focus on the matter at hand?" Shikamaru asked, a bit annoyed. "Besides, that person is obviously Rock Lee. He was all over Sakura."

"Not Rock Lee, somebody else besides him!"

Meanwhile, Kurenai's Assault Squad was also chasing a scroll bearer that Hinata had located with her Byakugan. Haku then spoke up.

"Um, guys, what do you think of that girl, Tenten?"

Naruto just shrugged. "I don't know. She seems nice."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "I couldn't talk to her much, but she made a good impression. Why do you ask, Haku-kun?"

"Uh...nothing in particular" the Ice Ninja replied while averting his gaze.

…

All Genin teams started their hunt for the scrolls. Many of them thought that the challenge was an easy one, even if only half the teams would pass. Still, soon they found that trying to hold themselves from causing collateral damage was way harder than they initially expected.

A random Konoha Genin tossed several shuriken at a scroll bearer, who managed to dodge them while he fled. The shuriken would have shattered a window display if it wasn't for an ANBU suddenly appearing seemingly out of nowhere and deflecting the steel stars. Shisui (or one of his clones) Body Flickered into the scene a second later.

"You caused collateral damage! Team Tadaki of Konoha, failed!"

Shisui wasn't lying when he said he had eyes everywhere. There were multiple ninja –many of them Hyuga– hidden, who would watch the Chunin hopefuls, intervene before they could cause some collateral damage or engaged in blatant rule-breaking, and lastly would warn Shisui via radio if a team was to be failed or passed.

And thus, many teams started to drop from the competition as they unwittingly broke the rules Shisui had established earlier.

"You put civilians in danger! Team Ozeki from Suna, failed!"

"You used excessive force against a scroll bearer! Team Kuro from Konoha, failed!"

"You caused collateral damage! Team Kaede from Ame, failed!"

"You engaged in combat with another team! Team Hiroshi from Konoha, failed!"

And as so many teams failed during the first hour of the exam, the remaining teams found it much easier chasing and capturing their targets.

Jumping from roof to roof, Kankuro was chasing one of the scroll bearers. Little did he know that the puppeteer's sister was on her way to cut the chase. She suddenly appeared besides him, war fan already unfolded.

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Temari swung her fan, casting a powerful gust of wind that tossed the scroll bearer into the air. But before the yellow-clad ninja could fall, sand wrapped around his body, encasing him in a cocoon with only the head exposed. The sand also grabbed the scroll from its hiding place, and pulled it outside the sand cocoon, where Gaara grabbed it.

Shisui appeared besides Gaara. "Team Baki from Suna, passed!" and disappeared just as quick.

…

Kiba was rushing on all fours, with Akamaru running besides him, both of them chasing another scroll bearer through a street, doing their best to avoid the walking civilians. Tamaki jumped in front of him, cutting his escape, and forcing him to turn back at Kiba. The Inuzuka grabbed a kunai and tossed it at the scroll bearer, who easily caught it mid air before resuming his escape. However, the kunai then burst into dozens of beetles, who spread all over his body.

"AHHHHH! What the hell is this? Get those bugs from me!" the scroll bearer yelled as he tried to get rid of the bugs.

Shino suddenly appeared behind him. "I can tell my kikai beetles to leave you alone, in exchange for the scroll."

"Okay, okay, here you go!" the scroll bearer pulled the scroll from a hidden pocket inside his flak jacket and tossed it at Shino, who immediately commanded the beetles to stop attacking the man.

Shisui appeared besides them. "Kakashi's Animal Squad, passed!"

Kiba and Tamaki high fived each other, while Shino allowed himself to smile.

…

Sasuke was also chasing another scroll bearer while jumping across multiple roofs. When they reached a certain zone, Sasuke tapped his radio.

"Karin, the target will pass you in a few seconds, get ready!" the Uchiha warned.

"Yeah, I'm sensing him right now, don't worry, Sasuke-kun," the redhead replied.

The gap separating the next building was much wider, but the scroll bearer knew he could jump that distance. What didn't expect was that, when he was in mid air, several chains coming from below wrapped themselves around his legs and pulled him down.

The scroll bearer thought he was going to painfully slam against the ground. But that would have Karin and her team eliminated for using excessive force, so instead the yellow-wearing ninja was caught by Sakura's chakra enhanced arms before he could touch the ground. Karin wasted no time and placed a kunai on the ninja's neck.

"The scroll. Now."

The scroll bearer sighed, and handed the scroll to the redhead before the pinkette dropped him on the ground. Sasuke immediately joined them, and upon seeing him, Karin raised the scroll at him like it was a trophy. Shisui Uchiha appeared before them.

"Shizune's Medical Squad, passed!" the one-eyed Uchiha announced before disappearing again.

"Yay! We passed!" Sakura pumped her fist into the air.

"Good job you two" Sasuke said, making both girls blush and avert their gaze.

…

Another scroll bearer was running away from two Taki ninja while running through a tree-dense area. He thought he had lost them when he suddenly found himself high into the air, a pair of feminine but very strong arms grabbing him by his armpits.

"What the hell!?" the scroll bearer yelled.

"Hey, what's up? Enjoying the view? I certainly am," Fu casually mentioned. "Though I can tell that you aren't enjoying the flight, so let's do this: you'll give me the scroll, and I place you on the ground, okay?"

Since the scroll bearer wasn't allowed to fight back, he sighed and handed Fu the scroll. However, the Jinchuriki didn't realize that she had dropped the former scroll bearer in order to grab the scroll.

"Oops!" she yelped before quickly flying down in order to catch the man before he crashed against the ground. She managed to grab him by his ankles when his face was one meter from the ground.

Shisui appeared before her. "Team Fu from Taki, passed!"

"Yes!" Fu pumped both fists in the air...and accidentally dropped the scroll bearer, who fell face-first into the ground. "Oops...sorry!"

…

There was something Shisui purposefully left out of the explanation: the scroll bearers that lost their scrolls to the Genin teams wouldn't leave. They would stick around, making many teams futilely chase and capture them, only to realize that they didn't have a scroll anymore.

Fortunately for Gai's Close Combat Squad (sorry, Lee), they had a Byakugan user among them who could identify which one of the scroll bearers still had a scroll within them. Rock Lee was now chasing one of them.

"Tenten, I'm getting close to your position!" Lee warned through the radio.

"Roger that," Tenten replied. As soon as she saw the scroll bearer followed by her green-clad teammate, she knew it was time to act. "Unsealing Art: Improvised Spear prison!"

Tenten leaped above the scroll bearer, unfolded a scroll, which immediately rained many spears above the unsuspecting target, which stabbed into the ground around him. He was about to mock Tenten for missing, but he soon realized that the spears around him formed a tight cage, and was unable to move.

"Alright, the scroll," Tenten extended a hand.

"I don't have a scroll anymore! A team from Ame took it from me!" the scroll bearer said.

"He's lying," Neji landed near them, his Byakugan activated. "The scroll is in a hidden pouch in his left trouser leg."

Following Neji's instructions, Tenten retrieved the scroll, and showed it to her teammates. Shisui appeared besides them.

"Gai's Close Combat Squad, passed!" the one-eyed Uchiha announced, much to the Genin's joy.

"Come on, let's see how many more people has passed," Tenten suggested as she and her teammates left the area.

"Hey, don't leave me here!" the scroll bearer protested.

…

Jumping from one roof to another, an army of Narutos were chasing a scroll bearer that Hinata assured he still had a scroll within his body. While Naruto could try to capture him himself, he was actually leading the unsuspecting yellow-clad ninja to a trap. Hinata was following Naruto's progress with her Byakugan.

"Huku-kun, Naruto-kun and the scroll bearer are heading towards your position. Is the trap ready?" Hinata asked through her radio.

"I see them. And to answer your question, yes. The target will fall in my trap in three, two, one..."

The moment the scroll bearer jumped into another roof, he immediately slipped and fell on his butt.

"Ice...?" the scroll bearer asked, confused.

Haku made several hand seals. "Ice Release: Ice Prison Jutsu!"

The scroll bearer's hands and feet were encased in blocks of ice, immobilizing and pinning him to the ground. Haku searched the man, and found the scroll where Hinata had said it would be, in a hidden pocked inside the flak jacket.

Shisui appeared before Haku. "Kurenai's Assault Team, pass-WHOA!" the one eyed ninja slipped on the ice and fell on his butt.

"Uh...sorry. Does that mean we still pass?" Haku meekly asked.

…

As teams started to either fail or pass, the scroll bearers, both who still had their scroll and those who hadn't, found that there were much less teams going after them. Many of them relaxed and fell prey to ambushes set by the remaining teams.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Upon locating a scroll bearer, Shikamaru used his family's signature jutsu in order to trap him. The scroll bearer immediately ran away. He was hoping to leave the shadow behind, but Shikamaru was able to find more shadowed spots in order to prolong his jutsu.

The scroll bearer ran into Ino and Choji, the latter who had enlarged his arms, and raised them in order to slam him. But when he was about to jump back, he found himself unable to do so.

"Shadow Imitiation Jutsu, success," the scroll bearer heard Shikamaru announced.

"What? How did you catch me without me noticing?" the scroll bearer asked.

"Take a look at my shadow" Choji mentioned.

The scroll bearer realized that Choji's enlarged arms were projecting a huge shadow, which the Nara used to his advantage.

"Now Ino, if you're so kindly..."

Ino nodded, and placed her hand on the scroll bearer's head. After probing his mind, she found the scroll in a hidden pocket in the back of his flak jacket. Shisui appeared from thin air.

"Asuma's Tactical Squad, passed!" he announced before disappearing again.

The three members of said squad loudly cheered –even Shikamaru– while jumping and pumping their fists in joy.

…

The first part of the exams came to an end a whole hour before the time limit, when the last team who hadn't claimed a scroll was eliminated due to breaking one of the rules and using too much force when dealing with a scroll bearer. Now, all the passed teams were once again in front of the podium, with Shisui on it.

Shisui was pleased with his work. Of all the fifty two teams that were initially competing, only twenty two managed to pass the first phase. Less than a half. Ten teams from Konoha, four Teams from Suna, two teams from Taki, two teams from Kusa, three teams Ame, and a single team from Kumo.

"Congratulations to all of you who passed the first part of the exam" Shisui said, and the Genin congratulated each other. "Nowadays, a lot of people think that being a ninja is just a matter of raw power. While power is important, controlling said power is just as important. Sometimes, you will need to capture a ninja who has valuable intel without harming them. Sometimes, a battle will break within the walls of your village, so you will need to fight without endangering civilians or causing damage to the village. People who always fight without restrain, without caring about causing collateral damage or without keeping in mind the mission don't deserve to be Chunin!

"But you demonstrated that you can think outside the box, that you can solve a problem without relying on raw power or brute force. Now, you'll go into the next phase of the exam, when your abilities will be tested further. And without further ado, meet the proctor of the second phase of the exam," and with that, Shisui, using his signature ability, disappeared from there.

A few seconds passed, and the Genin started to murmur, wondering who this proctor was or where he or she was. The answer came in the form of a giant sword falling from above against the podium, splintering it instantly, while the sword stabbed itself into the ground. The Genin felt a wave of killing intent, and suddenly, a tall, broad man with spiky black hair was standing on one foot on the sword's hilt. A man Haku knew too well.

"Hello, brats. My name is Zabuza Momochi, and I'm the proctor of the second phase of the exam," the former Kiri ninja introduced himself. Many Genin couldn't help but cower in fear before the imposing man before them. "Those who think that you are already Chunin because you passed this part of the test will have another thing coming, because my test will push you to your very limits, and will weed the weak from the strong. Take this day to rest, because you will need all the rest you can.

"Meet me tomorrow at Training Ground Thirty Nine. Make sure you bring supplies for at least a week, as well as the scroll you obtained on this test. It's about time you learn the reality of the ninja world. That's all."

…

 _Senju Residence, Nighttime_

The entire Senju-Uzumaki family was having a special dinner together to celebrate that both Naruto and Shizune's teams had successfully passed the first round of the exam. It might not seem like much, but given that more than half the teams competing were sent home, it was a big deal. Still, both Naruto and Shizune knew that the worst was yet to come.

"So is Naruto-niisan a Chunin now?" Kaida asked.

"Nope. He only passed the first phase of the exam. He still has more things to do," Hagane replied.

"Still, he's on the way. These exams separate the great from the mediocre. And it's good to see that Naruto leans to the former," Tsunade commented.

"By the way, Naruto," Jiaraiya interceded, "Besides yours and Shizune's team, did any of your other former classmates pass?"

Naruto nodded affirmatively. "All of them, actually."

"HA!" Jiraiya clapped his hands. "I knew it! Thanks to my educational reform, the new generation of Genin will grow up to become the strongest ninja Konoha ever produced! That's how great and awesome of a Hokage I am!"

Jiraiya high fived Naruto, while Tsunade and Shizune both rolled their eyes.

"By the way, how did you let that Kiri guy be an exam proctor?" Naruto asked, still a bit terrified of Zabuza. Haku had told both him and Hinata about the former Seven Ninja Swordsman, but the man was way more impressive in person.

"Let's say that he had some interesting ideas for the exams. You see, the exams in Kiri are way more brutal, and I think we could borrow something from that."

"Jiraiya!" Tsunade shouted. "I hope you're not planning to turn our village into another Blood Mist!"

"No, of course not!" the white haired Sannin raised his hands in defense. "I just want to prepare the kids for the real world, that's it. Besides, since our Genin are way stronger, by increasing the exam's difficulty, we make sure it's them instead of foreign Genin who advance into the final phase of the exam."

"By the way, Naruto," Shizune interjected. "What do you think about the exam so far? Was it easy, difficult...?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought. But veterans said that the first part is usually the easiest, and I'm not getting very good vibes for whatever that Zabuza guy has in store for us..." Naruto shivered a bit.

"Come on kid, after what all the things you told me you faced in the Land of the Rice Fields, I don't think Genin from other villages will be much of a challenge in comparison," Tsunade said while lightly punching Naruto in the shoulder.

"Yeah, guess that you're right" Naruto conceded.

"That's the spirit!"

"Besides, not every kid has the luck being trained by a ninja as awesome as me!" Jiraiya proudly stated. Tsunade cleared her throat in a rather not subtle way. "Oh yes, and your mom too..."

"The thing is, we're sure that you'll make us proud, Naruto" Tsunade added.

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, what do you think about my version of the Chunin Exams? I already told you that it was going to be different from canon. Well, the first two parts, the finals will be more or less the same (same as in being one on one fights, the fight themselves are going to be very different as well).**

 **You have no idea how hard it was to do the meeting of all the Konoha teams just before the exam began. I lost count on how many times I had to rewrite that scene. Juggling that many characters at once was insane! Hopefully I won't have to do a scene with that many people again.**

 **Anyway, the Exams has just begun, and now the Genin will have to face whatever Zabuza has planned for them. While it won't be in the Forest of Death, the challenge won't be any smaller. Until the next chapter comes, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	22. The Chunin Exams Continue

**Author's Note: I want to clarify something that caused a bit of confusion in the previous chapter. The third member of Team Killer B, T, is an Original Character. As for why I didn't use a canon character like Samui or Yugito instead, that's because they're Kakashi's age, and I didn't feel like changing their canon ages.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the second phase of the exams, way more action packed than the first one. See you at the bottom of the chapter as usual.**

* * *

 **Chapter 22:**

The Chunin Exams Continue

 _or_

 _Ninjas of sweet water_

 _Next Day, Training Ground Thirty Nine_

Training Ground Thirty-Nine was a massive, elliptical lake, with plenty of derelict ships on it. Many of them were made of wood, while some were made of steel. All those ships were the last remains of the old fleet Konoha used to have, which was used whenever war was waged against Kirigakure or other maritime enemies.

After the Third War, however, the Fourth Hokage decided to sell the fleet's remaining ships to private businesses, and hire a ship whenever Konoha needed to carry their ninja across large bodies of water. Many opposed this measure, but the Fourth's argument that the ships were way too costly to maintain despite how little they were used outside times of war –and sometimes not even that– were hard to counter.

The training ground, known among Konoha as "The Ship Graveyard", was mostly used to train for battles in high sea. Many ninja, who were used to fighting on solid ground, were usually lost when they found themselves surrounded by so much water.

And that was the reason as for why Zabuza Momochi, who hailed from the Land of Water, chose this place as the battleground for the second part of the exam.

"Alright maggots, listen up!" the masked swordsman said, slamming his massive sword on the ground for added effect. "You may think that after passing that test the Uchiha put you through, you're almost Chunin now. My job is to give you a reality check, and make you realize how far all of you still are from that goal.

"This," the swordsman motioned behind him. "Is the Ship Graveyard, and the second part of the exam will take place there. But before we begin, do all the teams here have the scroll from the previous test? Those teams who didn't bring the scrolls are automatically eliminated."

All the members of every team who was carrying the scroll pulled it out and rose it to prove that they had it. Zabuza confirmed that there were no teams without a scroll, something that didn't sit well with some.

"Troublesome. I was hoping that one or two teams would forget about the scroll, and thus it would make the competition easier," Shikamaru moaned.

"Oh come on, one or two team less aren't going to make a difference," Ino rolled her eyes.

"Now, all of you, open the scrolls!" Zabuza ordered.

All the Genin did as Zabuza asked, and saw that there was a map of the training ground, with a couple points marked with an X.

"The scroll is a map that will help you navigate the area. You'll notice a X on all your maps. That X marks the location a treasure chest that you'll need to retrieve in order to pass to the third and final phase of the exam. Just like in the previous phase, the number of chests is smaller than the number of teams competing –I won't tell you how much smaller– . Unlike the previous phase however, not only fighting is allowed, but in most cases you'll have to fight other teams. Everything is permitted, killing included.

"Once that item is in your possession, you'll need to bring it to a large steel freighter in the middle of the lake. You will recognize the freighter by its size –much bigger than the rest of the ships here,– but in case that's not enough, the freighter has multiple flags on it.

"You have three days to complete this part of the exam. If you don't reach the freighter with the required item within that time limit, you fail. Also, your whole team has to be there to pass. If one of your teammates gets killed, your team automatically fails. Before the exam begins, you will need to sign a waiver that will exempt Konoha from any responsibilities in case of injury or death. Once you signed them, you will be escorted to a row boat that you can use to sail the lake. If said boat is destroyed or stolen, you'll need to find other ways to move through the lake, like water walking. If you don't know water walking...well, it sucks to be you."

Some Genin, who didn't know water walking, gulped in fear. Most of the Konoha Genin smiled proudly, since they did learn such skill at the Academy.

The row boats were evenly placed across the lake's perimeter. Once every team was in position, the second phase of the exam officially begun.

…

While Naruto and Haku rowed the boat, Hinata studied the map. Apparently, the item they needed to find was inside a ship on the northeast part of the lake. They started on the southeast part, meaning that the chance to cross another team was high. Even if they didn't have the item yet, it was more than likely that if two teams crossed paths, they would fight for the sake of reducing competition.

As they approached the many derelict ships, they started to notice a dense fog forming. Soon they were nearly unable to see what was in front of them.

"Hey, where did this fog came from?" Naruto asked. "Fog doesn't appear all of sudden!"

"I think I know how, but just to make sure..." Haku nodded at Hinata, who nodded back in return.

"Byakugan!" the Hyuga heiress activated her Bloodline Limit and found something surprising about the mist. "The mist is laced with some sort of chakra! I can't see through it!"

"What!?" Naruto was shocked. Unlike the Sharingan, there was nothing that the Byakugan couldn't see through. The only way to fool the Hyuga's eyes were a couple of special seals. "How's that even possible?"

"Because this is no normal mist. This is Zabuza-sama's signature ability, the Hidden Mist Jutsu," the Ice Ninja explained. "It seems that he wants to make the exam as hard as possible. I doubt the mist will be the only trap he has prepared for us."

"Is there a way to dispel it?" Hinata asked.

"Fire is usually a good way. Do any of you two know fire jutsu?" Haku asked. Hinata averting her gaze and Naruto angrily crossing his arms were all the answers he needed. "Alright. I know how to use this jutsu as well, so I may be able to dispel it a little."

…

Meanwhile, Team Shizune had already boarded the ship where their treasure chest should be. The three of them were inspecting the deck, even if they knew that the chest wouldn't be there. Still, you could never be too sure.

"Karin," the redhead perked up upon hearing Sasuke calling her. "Can you sense anybody near us?"

Karin shook her head. "Nope, Sasuke-kun. While I'm sensing a couple teams, they're too far away from us to be a threat. I think."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "You _think_?"

"This weird mist is interfering with my sensing abilities," Karin commented. She then frowned and crossed her arms. "But not too much! You need something more than some little fog to nullify my power."

"Enough. Let's get down to business and search the ship before another team shows up," Sasuke interjected. She looked at the redhead. "Karin?"

Karin nodded and made a hand seal often associated with a certain blond. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The redhead would forever be grateful to Naruto for teching her such an useful jutsu.

Four Karins appeared besides the original one. Two of them scattered through the ship, while the other two remained on the deck. The original Karin and her two teammates scattered through the ship as well in order to look for the treasure chest. It didn't take long until Sakura found said chest inside the hold and called her teammates.

"Are you sure that's what we're looking for?" Sasuke asked.

"That chest looks new and shiny, while everything else on this ship is old and dusty. It has to be that," Sakura explained. "Plus if you look closely, the chest has the symbol of Konoha on it."

"I guess that's our target. Let's get it then," Karin was about to walk inside the hold, when Sakura grabbed her by her arm.

"Stop! I'm sure that the hold is booby trapped. That chest isn't even hidden. I'm sure that they left it like that on purpose for us to get confident."

"I agree with Sakura. Send a clone instead," Sasuke added.

Karin dispelled her two clones that were still searching the chest somewhere else and created another one, who started to walk towards the chest. Upon stepping on a switch under a loose plank, the clone triggered a trap, and multiple kunai flew at her from multiple directions, poofing it instantly. Karin winced twice, once after seeing the trap in action, and a second after getting the clone's memories.

"It is safe now?" Karin asked.

"Just in case, send another clone," Sasuke suggested.

They needed three more clones until it was safe to pick the chest. However, the Medical Squad was about to face another problem way bigger than mere traps.

"Shit!" the redhead cursed.

"What is it, Karin!?" Sakura worriedly asked. If the team sensor reacted like that, she had an idea of what was going on.

"Another team arrived at the ship and made short work of my clones," Karin explained. "They're Taki ninja. Pretty strong, I may add."

"They will be after the treasure chest," Sasuke concluded. He pulled out an empty storage scroll and sealed the chest inside it. "We need to get rid of them before we can go to the central ship."

"Okay, any of you have a plan?" Karin asked.

"Sakura and I will fight them head on. Karin, you will cover us," Sasuke explained. Sakura couldn't help but beam at the idea of fighting alongside Sasuke, while Karin frowned childishly.

"No fair! Why can't I be the one who fights alongside you?" the redhead pouted.

"Because Sakura is a better hand to hand fighter than you. Plus you can cover us better with your Shadow Clones," Sasuke explained. Sakura's smile grew wider, while Karin sighed in resignation.

"Okay..."

Being as silent as possible, Team Shizune returned to the deck. Sasuke could see two Taki ninja inspecting the area, who didn't notice him yet. Good, that would be their undoing. Sasuke pulled a few shuriken from his tool pouch and tossed them at the enemy ninja.

The whirling sound made by the flying steel stars warned the Taki ninja, who immediately pulled out a kunai each, which they used to deflect the incoming shuriken aside. After the failed ambush, Sakura and Karin jumped at Sasuke's side, and three of them adopted fighting stances.

"There's no need to fight," one of the Taki ninja, a man with brown curly hair, said. "We are only here for the treasure chest. Give it to us, and we'll leave you alone."

"We don't have it. We inspected the ship, and found nothing," Sakura replied.

"Yeah, don't you see that we're not carrying any chest with us?" Karin added.

"Do you take us for idiots? Storage scrolls also exist in Takigakure, you know," the other Taki ninja replied.

"We know that there's a chest on this ship. Our map said so," the first ninja continued.

"Karin, track down the third member, he or she can't be too far" Sasuke whispered. "Guess that there's no point in trying to fool you. But if you want the chest, you'll have to take it from us by force."

The two Taki ninja smirked.

"Trust me, that won't be a problem. Fu!"

Something dived at Team Shizune from above, forcing them to duck. The buzzing noise made them think of a giant insect, but it turned out to be something entirely different.

"Is that...a girl?" Karin asked, incredulous, looking at the winged girl floating above her two teammates.

"And she's flying?" Sakura added, just as shocked.

"Hiiiiii~!" the girl, who had green hair, tan skin, and was wearing very revealing clothes, greeted them cheerfully. "It's so nice to see you again! Sorry we have to fight. I hope that this doesn't deter us from becoming friends later."

"...is this girl for real?" Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, I remember this girl! I saw her talking to Shino's team before the first part of the exam!" Karin pointed out.

"Oh, you're friends with Shino too? Then there's no way we can't be friends then!" Fu chirped.

"Fu, focus! You can befriend them later, right now, they're enemies" the Taki ninja with spiky black hair chided.

Fu rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, I get it..." the flying girl made a hand seal. "Hiding in Scale Powder Jutsu!"

Fu exhaled a large quantity of a fine powder that reflected sunlight, creating an artificial wall of light that momentarily blinded Team Shizune. Not even Sasuke's sharingan was able to see through it.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken Jutsu!"

"Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"

A barrage of shuriken, both made of water and steel, flew at the Medical Squad. Even with his sight impaired, Sasuke knew what to do.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Pouring as much chakra into the jutsu as he could, Sasuke exhaled a massive fireball that not only dispelled the luminous powder, but managed to evaporate the water shuriken and stop the steel ones.

"Sasuke, watch out!"

Sasuke heard Sakura's voice, following by the sharp cling of metal clashing, and the Uchiha saw his pink haired teammate engaged in a fight with one of the Taki ninja, the one with the exposed abs, who tried to blindside Sasuke while he was busy stopping the shuriken barrage. And before he could even realize, the other Taki ninja was leaping at him as well.

While Sasuke and Sakura traded blows with their respective opponents, Fu decided to provide some aerial support to her teammates.

"Wind Release: Savage Whirlwind!"

"Adamantine Attacking Chains!"

Before Fu could complete her jutsu, a couple of chains seemingly out of nowhere wrapped around her legs.

"Uh?" looking down, the mint haired girl saw that the chains came from Karin's back, who pulled her into the floor displaying a surprising strength. "WHOA!"

Karin rushed at the Taki girl, gathering chakra on her closed fist, before launching said fist at her opponent's face. Much to her shock, Fu managed to catch her fist, suffering no harm other than being pushed backwards a little.

"Wow, you're really strong!" Fu commented, while Karin struggled to release her fist. "Where do you hide your muscles?" Karin's reply came in the form of another punch who was also captured by Fu's remaining hand. "Though, as you can probably see, I'm pretty strong as well."

While Karin struggled with Fu, Sasuke and Sakura struggled against the other two Taki ninja.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Multiple fireballs flew at the Takigakure ninja, who both of them smirked while one of them made some hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A stream of water appeared from the lake, forming a protective dome around the two Taki ninja, successfully blocking the Uchiha's attack.

"Water Release: Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

The water dome changed its shape to take the form of a serpentine dragon, which lunged at the two Konoha Genin, who jumped in opposite directions to avoid the devastating watery attack.

"These guys are really strong! I can't believe that they're Genin just like us!" Sakura commented.

Both Taki ninja tensed up upon hearing Sakura's words. And even if they had enough experience to mask their reactions from others, their efforts were useless against a Sharingan user.

"That's because they aren't Genin," Sasuke matter-o-factly added.

"What!?" both Sakura and Karin yelled in unison.

"We are Genin. If we weren't, there's no way for us to be competing here," the man with spiky black hair replied.

"They're lying!" Karin shouted. "His chakra fluctuated in an irregular way when he was saying that!"

"What so you can detect lies?" the other male Taki ninja asked incredulously.

"Yes! It's part of being a sensor!"

"Well, your powers are clearly failing you then," the Taki ninja replied, though he didn't sound very convincing.

"So, if I ask the Hokage to do a background check on you two, he won't find anything fishy going on, right?" Sasuke replied.

Their nervousness was starting to become more evident. They have been caught.

"There's no point in denying it. Your reaction betrayed you," Sasuke added.

Both male ninja looked at each other, as if they were speaking without words, until they reached some sort of unspoken agreement, and dropped their fighting stances.

"Okay, you got us. We aren't Genin, but Jonin," the brown haired man confessed.

"If you're Jonin, what are you doing here then?" Sasuke asked.

"Kegon and I are Jonin. Fu is a Genin," the black haired man clarified.

"Wait...so you're helping this girl going through the Exams? That's cheating of the highest order!" Sakura angrily accused.

"Techincally yes, but that's not our mission! We're her bodyguards!" Kegon clarified.

"I can't go into more details, but Fu is a very special girl, and sending her here without escort would have been incredibly risky," the black haired man added.

"If she needs to be coddled so much, then she doesn't deserve being a ninja, much less a Chunin," Sasuke replied, crossing his arms.

"It's not coddling. You don't understand it."

"What's so special about her? Is she the last bearer of a rare Bloodline Limit?" Sakura conjectured.

Kegon and his partner traded glances once again. "You could say it's something around those lines," the former said.

"Okay, now we won't only leave you alone, but we will escort you to the main ship. In exchange, all I ask you is not to report us. Not only that would create unnecessary tension between our villages, but this exam is important for Fu as well."

"What about the other Taki teams?" Karin asked. "Are there Jonin posing as Genin among those as well?"

Kegon shook his head. "No, the rest of the teams are legitimate. Like I told you already, this team is a special case because of Fu."

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura looked at him. "What do you think we should do?"

"Hmm..." the Uchiha youth started to ponder. "Okay, I think we have a deal. We have nothing to lose and everything to win. With this fog, an escort would be appreciated."

"Really? Aren't you afraid that this isn't a ruse to make you lower your guard and kill you in order to keep our secret?" the black haired ninja asked, raising his eyebrow.

"You yourselves stated that you're Jonin. If you wanted to kill us, you wouldn't need us to lower our guard," this time, it was Sakura who replied.

Kegon smirked. "You three are smart kids. We should have put more effort into hiding our true strength better. We clearly underestimated you."

"Next time, try to hold back a little more, and suppress your chakra a bit," Sasuke advised.

"Alright, let's hurry. We still need to find a treasure chest for us as well" the black haired ninja said.

…

Meanwhile, Naruto, Hinata and Haku had already arrived at their ship, and like Team Shizune, they found the treasure chest in the middle of the hold. It couldn't be more obvious.

"I'm seeing a seal under the chest" Hinata kept her Byakugan activated the moment they boarded the ship. "My guess is that the moment somebody moves the chest, it will spring a trap."

"Don't worry guys, I have this" Naruto made a hand seal, and a single clone popped into existence.

Without needing to be ordered to do so, the clone walked towards the chest and lifted it. The four of them waited expectantly for something to happen, but in the end, no trap was triggered.

"Well, so much for all that caution," Naruto said, almost disappointed.

"There's no harm in being cautious," Haku wisely noted.

"Whatever. Let's go to the central ship before another team arrives."

The four of them turned back and walked out of the hold, but two poofing sounds followed by a loud thud made them turn back once again. Much to their shock, in front of them was the second exam proctor, Zabuza Momochi himself, who has just destroyed the Naruto clone, causing the chest to fall to the floor.

"Zabuza-sama?" Haku dumbly asked.

"You three lowered your guard when you thought there was no danger. That's such a shame, especially for you, Haku," Zabuza teased them.

"What? That trap summoned a exam proctor himself? That's bullshit!" Naruto complained.

"A ninja should be ready to face the unexpected, so shut your mouth, blondie," Zabuza sharply replied as he slammed his sword into the floor.

"We need to take that chest back," Hinata whispered to the boys.

"I know, but this space is too cramped to fight, and Zabuza-sama can easily overwhelm us" Haku whispered back.

"Then how about this?" Naruto made a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the whole hold was bursting with Naruto clones, who pushed Zabuza against a wall. Another of the clones grabbed the treasure chest and threw it at the original Naruto.

"Go, go, go, go!" Naruto yelled as he and his teammates left the hold.

The three of them arrived at the deck seconds later, and stopped to catch their breath.

"Come on, we need to leave immediately. Zabuza-sama will make short work of your clones in no time", Haku warned.

"Oh, come on! I know that that guy's strong, but there's no way that-"

At that moment, Zabuza burst through the deck floor and landed in front of them. An evil smirk formed under his mask.

"Destroying those clones was pretty fun. Do you have more?" the former Kiri swordsman taunted.

Far from being intimidated, Naruto scowled at him. "You bet!" he replied, and a dozen more clones came to life.

"There's no way we can defeat Zabuza-sama. One of us has to stay and keep him busy while the others take the treasure chest to the main ship," Haku explained.

"But Zabuza-san himself said that the three of us need to be in the main ship for our team to pass!" Hinata frantically replied. "Besides, if Zabuza-san is as strong as you say, he won't take much time to defeat one of us and hunt the other two. We need to stay and fight."

"That's the spirit, Hinata!" Naruto cheered, before leaving the chest on the floor. "Come on, everybody!"

A wave of Naruto clones charged at Zabuza from multiple directions. The swordsman swung his gigantic blade in a circular motion, poofing said clones instantly. However, by doing such thing, he left himself wide open. From the smoke created by the destroyed clones, Hinata appeared, her hands crackling with electricity.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palms!"

Hinata tried to strike Zabuza on his chest, but the swordsman was way nimbler than his size suggested, and dodged all of Hinata's electrical palm strikes. While he was busy, Haku decided to try his luck, his hands quickly forming hand seals.

"Ice Release: Flying Icy Fangs!"

Zabuza saw multiple sharp ice spikes flying at him. Once again, his trusty sword stopped the attack. And just like Haku did before, Naruto attempted to capitalize on Zabuza's momentarily vulnerability, and formed multiple hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto's wind attack successfully hit Zabuza and pushed him outside the ship, and into the water.

"Ha! Take that!" Naruto taunted, while pumping his fist.

"Naruto-kun, I don't believe that that's near enough to get rid of Zabuza-sama..." Haku warned the cheering blond.

And true to Haku's words, a few seconds later a wall of water rose above them, with Zabuza standing at its crest.

"Now...let's see how well do you do against this! Water Release: Crushing Wave!"

"This guy is a madman!" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto-kun, Hinata-san, come close to me!" Haku shouted as he made several hand seals.

The gigantic wave crashed against the Genin. When the wave passed, Zabuza noticed that there was now an ice dome where his opponents used to be. He couldn't help but smirk under his mask.

"Very well, Haku," the former Kiri swordsman complimented as he advanced towards the dome, dragging his sword across the wet floor. "I'm glad to see that you're nowhere near as weak as I first had feared. You didn't let Konoha influence you much."

"Well, if you liked that, then what about this?"

The dome shattered, and Naruto and Haku jumped out of it, and while they were mid air, they tossed multiple senbon and kunai at Zabuza. The masked swordsman was about to lift his sword in order to block the attack, when Naruto yelled.

"Hinata, now!"

Zabuza realized too late that the Hyuga girl was still in the dome, but before he could react, he felt a powerful electrical current painfully coursing through his body, leaving him paralyzed. Unable to move, he couldn't block the senbon and kunai flying at him, and they stabbed into his chest.

And then, much to the Genin's shock, Zabuza melted into a puddle of water.

"Uh...? What was that?" Naruto asked, confused, as he scratched his head.

"I believe that was one of Zabuza-sama's Water Clones," Haku explained. "I should have guessed it earlier. There's no way Zabuza-sama would fight us personally."

"Hinata, how is that you didn't notice he was a clone?" Naruto asked the only female of his team.

"S-Sorry Naruto-kun, but the Byakugan can't tell a difference between a clone and the original," Hinata meekly explained.

"You would have been able to tell the difference if the real Zabuza-sama was here. Unlike Naruto-kun's Shadow Clones, Water Clones only have a fraction of the original's power. Usually it's ten percent, though this one we fought appeared to be a little stronger," Haku clarified.

"Anyway, w-we should bring the chest to the freighter before we are attacked again," Hinata suggested.

Both Naruto and Haku nodded, the former picking up the discarded treasure chest, and left the derelict ship.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, two Genin teams, one from Konoha, and the other from a foreign village, were fighting for the possession of a treasure chest the former team just retrieved from the ship.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow formed a thread and extended in front of him, aiming to catch his opponent, the only kunoichi among his current foes. A blue eyed blonde, just like Ino, though this girl's eyes were more teal than blue. Said girl was carrying a massive fan that she used to blow powerful and devastating winds.

Though right now, she was unable to attack since Shikamaru was forcing her to keep running.

"Dammit Temari, what the hell are you doing?" her teammate, a hooded boy dressed in black with purple face paint exclaimed. "Why didn't you deal with that weakling already!"

"Why don't you try and fight him if he's that easy, Kankuro?" Temari replied. "It's not that you're overwhelming your opponents or anything."

Kankuro was fighting Ino while treading on one of the lower sail booms. Despite her unimpressive appearance, Ino was putting quite a good fight.

"Why don't you use your-"

"Shut up!" Kankuro interrupted Temari before she could finish. "I don't want people to know about my secret weapon until the time is right."

Temari rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Choji, how are you going with the redhead?" Shikamaru yelled at the third member of his team.

The Akimichi Genin was fighting against a redheaded boy with an impenetrable wall of sand. Whenever he tried to punch him, sand would appear and absorb the impact. The boy didn't even make any attempt at moving and just stayed there with his arms crossed and a bored expression.

"Not too good!" Choji replied between pants. No matter how hard he punched, the wall of sand would never give in.

Then the redheaded boy made a hand motion and several sand projectiles flew at Choji. The Akimichi yelped and jumped aside as fast as he could to avoid the sand missiles, some of them which pierced the ship's mast when they hit it.

"That sand's going to be trouble. And worse, the guy looks as if he isn't even trying," Shikamaru mused to himself. "Ino, go and help Choji! Your water jutsu should counter all that sand!"

"On it!" Ino was about to leave the boom, but Kankuro was having none of that.

"Oh no you won't!"

Ino suddenly found herself unable to move properly. Looking back, she saw that Kankuro had cast what appeared to be threads made of chakra from his fingertips that were attached to Ino's body. The Yamanaka heiress tried to pull but Kankuro's pull was stronger.

"As you can see, I have you in a pretty tight leash. Escaping is impossible" Kankuro taunted, as his purple lips formed a confident smirk.

"We'll see about that!" Ino retorted as she continued pulling.

Kankuro pulled even harder, and his efforts paid off when Ino was slowly dragged to him. But then all of sudden, the force pulling in the opposite direction disappeared, and Ino was flying at him at an alarming speed. The blond crashed against the hooded boy, which made him fall on his back, with Ino on top of him. She then placed her hands on his forehead.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

And then Kankuro's world turned black, and Ino saw herself looking at her own body. Getting on her feet in her new body, she gently placed her original body on the deck, and went to help her teammates.

Meanwhile, Temari had enough of Shikamaru and decided to push him out of the ship in one, swift strike.

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Upon swinging her massive fan, Temari created a powerful gale that Shikamaru had no hope of dodging. Then he remembered that besides his clan's jutsu, he also had a couple of elemental jutsu under his sleeve. And his element happened to be the one who countered Temari's.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!"

Shikamaru exhaled a stream of flames that got progressively wider. The flames drastically increased upon clashing against Temari's wind attack, but for some reason they were unable to move forwards. And much to his horror, he saw how Temari's jutsu pushed back the flames back at him.

"Damn!" he yelled as he jumped aside. Unfortunately for the Nara, there was no floor where he jumped at, only water. Still, Shikamaru managed to grab the edge of the deck before falling into the water.

"You're a tough nut to crack, I give you that," Temari walked menacingly to where he was, while trying to get back aboard the ship. She prepared her war fan for a final attack. "But in the end, there's nothing that-UCK!"

Temari was silenced when Kankuro, or somebody who was ironically using his body as a puppet, knocked her out cold with an elbow strike to the base of her neck. Kankuro helped Shikamaru up.

"Ino?" the Nara asked, and his guessed proved correct when the black clad Suna ninja nodded.

"Ino, if you're going to help me, now it would be a good time!" Choji shouted, while frantically dodging a whip made of sand.

"Let's hope this also works on a different body," Ino mused. "Water Release: Water Bullet!"

Ino-in-Kankuro's body spat multiple watery projectiles at the surprised redheaded boy, who blocked them with a wall of sand. The sand, however, absorbed all the water, and became much heavier and muddier, and thus immensely more difficult to use.

"Temari isn't going to be happy when he wakes up," the redheaded boy deadpanned.

"She probably won't. That girl screams trouble. And even if it will get her even madder, you should surrender. You look pretty strong yourself, but with your teammates out cold and Ino's water jutsu to counter your sand, you won't defeat us. Now take your teammates and leave us alone," Shikamaru told the Suna ninja.

"You speak the truth. But I'm not as defenseless as you think, especially when I have one of your teammates as hostage," the redhead replied.

"Hostage? What are you talking...SHIT!"

Much to Team Asuma's horror, Ino's inert body was almost engulfed in a cocoon of sand, with only its head exposed.

"That possession jutsu is very impressive, but it does have a downfall that's very hard to conceal. Now, release my brother, and give us the treasure chest you found on this ship, and we will leave in peace."

Shikamaru greeted his teeth. The redhead was right. In fact, he could have pretty much killed Ino there, and thus Shikamaru and Choji would be unable to finish the exam on their own. A tactical retreat was in order.

"Alright...you win."

The redhead's expression didn't change.

Ino undid her mental jutsu, and both her and Kankuro awakened inside their actual bodies, while Choji handed Gaara the treasure chest.

"Uh?...what happened...?" Kankuro groggily asked.

"Pick up Temari and let's leave for the central ship. We have the treasure chest," Gaara explained in his usual monotone.

"Wait...did we win...?" Kankuro asked, rubbing his temples.

"Yes, not thanks to you," Gaara sharply replied. "Now do as I say."

Kankuro nodded and carried the unconscious Temari on his shoulders. When the Suna Genin left, the sand that trapped Ino left as well.

"Man, this sucks" Ino groaned. "What are we going to do now?"

"We need to find another treasure chest, but we don't know which ships have one. And that's not counting on those which had been claimed yet," Choji replied a bit down.

"Don't lose hope, we still can pass this," Shikamaru interceded. He looked at the blond. "Now Ino, we're going to need your sensory abilities to track other teams."

"Sure I can track them, but how do we know if they have a chest?" Ino asked.

"Easy. Let's find two teams fighting each other. When they exhaust each other, we barge in, beat them senseless and grab the chest," Shikamaru explained.

"Or maybe we could go near the central ship, and ambush a team that's going there?" Choji suggested.

"Well thought, Choji. Now let's see what kind of team we can find first."

…

Not long after that, Naruto's team already arrived at the central ship. Like Zabuza had stated earlier, it was decorated with multiple flags that made it stand out. The deck was empty save for a couple pile of crates and barrels, more than likely either empty or with its goods already spoiled. And guarding the only door to go inside the ship was none other than Zabuza Momochi himself. The three Genin, and two Naruto clones carrying the treasure chest, walked up to him.

"Well, well, well, look what do we have here," the Kiri Jonin mentioned as he rubbed his chin. "So, I see that you have the treasure chest. Was it hard to get it?"

Naruto eyed Zabuza carefully. "Are you the real one, or are you a clone as well?"

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "So, you fought against one of my water clones? I did sense a couple of them disappearing earlier."

"You didn't answer my question," Naruto insisted.

Zabuza rolled his eyes. "I'm the real one. Do you think that they'd put a clone in charge of verifying the passing teams?"

"Speaking of which," Naruto motioned his clones to take a step forward and brought the chest to Zabuza. "Did we pass?"

"We'll see" the swordsman mysteriously answered. Zabuza then pulled out a key from under his shirt, and used it to unlock and open the chest. Inside it, resting over a bed of straw, there were three large metallic bracers with the words "FINALIST" carved upon them. "Yes, everything seems to be in order" Zabuza then handed the bracers to the three Genin. "Keep those on as prove that you passed this test."

"Yay, we did it! One more test and we will be Chunin!" Naruto cheered, bouncing up and down in excitement.

"Don't cheer so soon, brat. You did well, but the last part of the exam is the one that counts the most," the swordsman then moved aside, and opened the door to the inside of the ship. "One of the ninja inside the ship will show you your cabin. If you want to eat something, head to the cafeteria."

Team Kurenai did as Zabuza told them, and upon entering the ship, a Chunin was already there to take them to their cabin. All the teams who made it to the second phase of the exams had a cabin prepared in advance, marked with the names of each teammate, as well as a symbol of their village.

The cabins weren't that great, a small, cramped place with a triple bunk bed, and a small, empty wardrobe, to store their belongings while they were on the ship. Naruto scanned their provisional home, and frowned.

"Well, this isn't exactly a resort, but guess that it will have to do" the blond crossed his arms.

"I agree, but then again, we will only come here to sleep," Haku commented.

Upon hearing Haku and seeing the beds, a realization suddenly dawned upon Hinata, who started to turn red.

"Wait a minute...a-are we s-supposed to s-sleep the t-three of us...together?" the Hyuga asked, almost trembling.

"Guess that they couldn't spare more than one room per team", Haku guessed. Then he looked at his distressed teammate. "But don't worry, Naruto and I will make sure not to make you feel uncomfortable."

"Yeah, we will give you all the privacy you want whenever you need to get changed" Naruto reassured. "Anyway, fighting against the fake Zabuza left me hungry, I'm going to the cafeteria. Who wants to join me?"

"I think I'll go with you as well, Naruto-kun. I could use some food," Hinata answered.

"Yeah, me too," Haku replied.

After one of the patrolling Chunin told them the way, Team Kurenai arrived at the cafeteria. Much to their surprise, they saw other two teams already there: Kakashi's Animal Squad, and a team from Kumogakure composed of two girls and a boy.

"Aw man, two teams already here? I thought that we were the first ones to arrive" Naruto moaned.

Kiba, who was sitting with Tamaki and Shino on a table, were on the process of finishing their meals and heard Naruto's comment and turned his head at him.

"Hey, look who's finally here! You took your sweet time!" the dog ninja mocked.

"This isn't a race, Kiba," Naruto retorted, crossing his arms.

Kiba snorted dismissively. "Yeah, as if you would think that if you arrived here first."

"Actually, Naruto-san has a point. It doesn't matter if you arrive here first or last, as long as you arrive. That won't give you an edge during the next phase of the exam," Haku interceded.

"I have to disagree on that, Haku-san" Shino mentioned, as he adjusted his glasses. "Due the nature of this test, the more time you take to complete it, the smaller the chances of success. Therefore, arriving here first is an indicator of a team's skill and power. But then again, given that the difference between the time of arrival of our teams is negligible, so is the difference of our skills."

"Well, there's also luck. We got pretty lucky that we caught a team fighting against a Zabuza clone and were able to steal their chest before they noticed" Tamaki explained.

"Anyway, according to my sister, the last phase of the exam is usually a fighting tournament. That will be the best way to determine which one of us is the best ninja. Which will be me," Kiba proudly stated. Akamaru happily barked in agreement.

"In your dreams, mutt," Naruto retorted, but decided not to waste his time anymore trading bravado with Kiba, and headed for the cafeteria's counter to see what they had to eat. Much to his disappointment, there was no ramen.

Half an hour later, Shizune's Medical Squad arrived at the cafeteria. Naruto felt the impulse of taunting Sasuke about his team arriving first, but remembering his conversation with Kiba, he decided that he didn't want to be a hypocrite and bit his tongue. Still, he decided to greet them.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Naruto asked as he walked towards them. "How was the test?"

"It was okay, I guess. You could say we had a bit of luck with our opponents," Sakura replied.

"What about you, Naruto? Did you have to fight against somebody strong?" Karin asked.

"Nope, we managed to get our treasure chest before other teams arrived. Though we did have to fight against a Zabuza clone," Naruto explained.

"Our treasure chest was full of traps, but thanks to the Shadow Clones we managed to disable all of them. Thanks again for teaching me that jutsu, Naruto," Karin replied with a genuine smile.

"It's useful, isn't it?" Naruto smiled as he put his hands behind his head. "Well, I better go back to my team. Good to see you guys make it."

Team Shizune decided to grab something to eat, and headed to an empty table. Sakura noticed that Sasuke didn't utter a word since their encounter with the Taki ninja, and while that wasn't unusual for the Uchiha teen, he also looked a bit absentminded.

"Sasuke, you've been pretty silent, is everything okay?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'm only thinking," Sasuke replied.

"...can you tell us what worries you so much?" Sakura asked as politely as possible.

"It's about that girl, Fu. I've been trying to figure out what's so important about her to warrant an escort of two Jonin. The next phase of the exam is going to be a fighting tournament, and I want to be ready in case I have to fight her," Sasuke turned at his bespectacled teammate. "Karin, did you notice something unusual about her?"

"Well...her chakra was really potent for a Genin, and massive. Almost as much as Naruto's. Maybe I can a better look at her chakra the next time I see her," Karin replied.

"If you see her," Sakura corrected. "There's no guarantee that her team will pass this exam."

"With two Jonin, no other team has any chance to beat them. They will pass," Sasuke interceded.

"Speaking of which, why did we agree to keep this a secret? You said you're worried about fighting that green haired girl in the finals, but aren't you worried about those two Jonin?" Sakura asked, a bit puzzled.

"Despite keeping the team together was a requirement to pass the first two phases, the teams are usually dissolved before the final phase. We will be on our own, and so will Fu, meaning that she won't need her escorts, which I presume they will quit before the final phase, or throw their matches if they decide to keep their masquerade," Sasuke deduced, but Sakura wasn't entirely convinced.

"And what if such thing doesn't happen?" Sakura asked.

"Then we will have to denounce them to the Hokage" Sasuke firmly stated.

About an hour later, another team arrived. This time, it was Team Baki from Sunagakure. Naruto beamed upon seeing his foreign friends, and went to greet them.

"Hey, you guys made it!" Naruto cheered.

"Of course! Did you doubt it?" Kankuro proudly replied.

Temari just rolled her eyes, and decided not to reveal how Kankuro was possessed by that other blonde kunoichi.

"By the way, Naruto," Gaara spoke up in his usual monotone. "A thin boy with spiky black hair styled in a ponytail, an obese kid with brown hair, and a girl with long blond hair and blue eyes. Do you know anybody who looks like that?"

"Yeah, that sounds like Shikamaru, Choji and Ino. Why do you ask, did you fight them?" Naruto asked, and suddenly realized what had happened. "Wait, you didn't kill them, don't you!?"

"No, no!" Temari was quick to correct Naruto's assumptions. "We did fight against them, but they're okay. We didn't plan to kill any Konoha ninja your age just in case they were your friends. But it's more than likely that they won't pass this phase."

"What a pity. I was hoping that they would make it. You see, they fought alongside us on a very dangerous mission not long ago, and we would have died if it wasn't for their help," Naruto replied, a bit saddened.

"Hey, don't look so down! This isn't the worst that can happen during these exams. They will live to try again in a few months," Kankuro said, trying to reassure Naruto.

"Now that I think about it, it's very likely that we will end up fighting each other in the finals..." Naruto awkwardly said, as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I'm actually looking forward to it, Naruto" Gaara stated, staring intensely at Naruto. "I really want to check how strong you really are."

Naruto smiled at him. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

…

No more teams arrived that day. Besides eating and passing time at the cafeteria, and sparring in a special room designed for light training, there was not much else to do, and the five teams who had completed the second part of the test spent most of the day at the cafeteria, chatting. The Konoha ninja sometimes gathered in groups larger than their teams, while the Kumo and Suna ninjas usually remained separated, though Naruto sometimes joined the latter for a chat.

Finally, sometime after lunchtime, a new team arrived, composed of Neji, Lee and Tenten.

"Oh boy, look how many people arrived before us," Tenten noted, shaking her head. "And most of them are rookies!"

"I know! That was mostly unyouthful on our part!" Lee excitedly claimed. "As a punishment, I will run one hundred laps around Konoha on my hands, while carrying a boulder! And If I can't do that-"

"There's no point in fretting over that," Neji interrupted his hot blooded teammate. "That's in the past. We should focus on passing the next round, whatever it is."

Lee was about to reply something, but his eyes drifted towards certain pink haired girl, sitting with her two teammates. Despite not being able to use ninjutsu, Neji and Tenten would swear he used the Body Flicker to disappear and reappear next to Sakura.

"Oh, Sakura-san, I'm so happy to see that you passed this test as well!" Lee said as he grabbed her hand. "But it should not be a surprise to see that your talent and strength are just as great as your beauty."

Sakura started to sweat. "Uh...er...you're...eh, very kind, Lee..." Sakura said as she removed her hand from Lee's.

Karin's mouth formed a wicked smile. "Sasuke-kun, I believe we should leave the two lovebirds some time alone, don't you think so?"

Before Sasuke had any time to react, Karin was dragging him away. "What?"

"Hey wait, where do you think you're going!" Sakura exclaimed. Everybody correctly guessed that she was more outraged at the thought of Sasuke and Karin being alone than being left with Lee.

Karin then blushed, and smiled tenderly at him. "Besides, I believe we could use some time alone, you and me"

"WHAT!?" Both Sasuke and Sakura shouted in unison.

Sakura immediately grabbed Karin, and the two of them started a loud argument. Sasuke took advantage of this and left the cafeteria unnoticed.

While Lee tried to regain Sakura's attention –which was focused on Karin– his teammates decided to approach Team Kurenai. Or better said, Neji decided to approach Hinata, and Tenten followed him.

"Good afternoon, Hinata-sama," Neji greeted in his usual stoic and overly polite tone. "It seems that your team got less trouble passing this part of the test than mine, given that you arrived here before us."

"You could say we had some luck. It's good to see that you and your team made it as well, nii-san," Hinata greeted her cousin with a smile.

Tenten spoke up. "Of course! We weren't going to be left behind a bunch of rookies! No offense" she added, looking at Team Kurenai with a semi-apologetic look.

"None taken" Haku replied.

"You know, now I kind of wish we didn't finish this part so soon. This waiting is killing me!" Naruto complained.

"Be careful with what you wish for. With each passing hour, the chances of passing this test dwindle more and more. And their chances after the first day weren't so big to begin with," Neji interceded.

Haku cleared his throat. It was about time to make his move. He needed to stay alone with his crush, and knew the perfect excuse.

"Um, Tenten, may I ask you something?" the Ice Ninja asked.

"Shoot," was her reply.

"If you're not too tired, would you like to spar with me in one of the training rooms?" Haku asked.

Tenten raised an eyebrow, a bit puzzled. "You're right, I'm a bit tired right now, but guess that I could do it later. But, why me? Don't you prefer to spar with your teammates?"

"The reason I chose you is because from what I've been told, you're a mid-ranged fighter, just like me. Besides, I sparred against my teammates countless times already, and as you have with your teammates. It would be good for the both of us to fight against somebody new before the final test."

"You have a point there. I barely fight against anybody that's not a close combat specialist, so I could use a change. But now, I'm going to have something to eat, and then I will take a nap," Tenten replied. He looked at her Hyuga teammate. "Neji, you coming?"

"I'm right behind you. And we should...liberate Sakura from Lee's affections," Neji suggested.

Once the older Genin left, Haku sighed in relief. Naruto grinned devilishly.

"So, that's why you were so interested in Tenten, huh? You have a crush on her?" it was less a question and more a statement.

"She's really cute," Haku replied. "But I wish to know her better before making any moves on her. And a spar is the perfect excuse to do that, and we will be alone."

"Eh, okay. But you shouldn't let that girl distract you too much. There's still one last phase yet and we need you at one hundred percent," Naruto warned, in an almost parenting tone.

"When I asked her for a spar, I meant it. Tenten has been a ninja for far more time than us, so I believe I could benefit from sparring with her," Haku explained. Then, he smiled in a way Naruto found odd. "Maybe you two should find a room and spar as well, don't you think?"

"Right! We can't afford losing due lack of preparation now that we're so close to the finish line! What do you say, Hinata?"

"Uh...sure, I'd love to be alone with you-I mean, to spar against you, Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered.

…

By dinnertime, only one other team arrived, one with a certain green haired girl on it.

"Hello everybody, Team Fu is here!" the green haired girl announced with her usual excitement. She scanned the teams there having dinner, until she found some familiar faces.

"Fu! Over here!" Tamaki waved at her, indicating her and her team to take a seat with Team Kakashi.

After getting something to eat, Fu and her team sat besides Shino, Kiba and Tamaki and started talking. Though to be fair, it was Fu who talked with the members of Team Kakashi, while her teammates Kegon and Yoro remained silent.

"So hey, how long have you been here?" Fu asked.

"Pretty much since the test began. We managed to snatch a treasure chest real quick and bring it here in no time!" Tamaki proudly recounted.

"Such luck! We had to fight against another Konoha team, but they made us retreat," Fu explained. "We were afraid that we wouldn't be able to find a treasure chest in time, but I wasn't going to leave the exam so soon! Especially not after befriending so many cool people here!"

"We're glad to see that you made it, even with some difficulty," Shino spoke up.

"Eh, it wouldn't be much fun if it was easy, would it?" Fu asked, smiling.

"Well, if it's easy, that means that your skills are above the requirements," Kiba retorted.

Fu continued talking with the Animal Squad for some time. Meanwhile, at another table, another team was keeping an eye on the newcomers.

"Karin, Fu is here. You know what to do," Sasuke instructed.

Karin just nodded, and made a hand seal. With her Mind's Eye of the Kagura, she started to inspect Fu's chakra. Just as she expected, it was abnormally powerful. Watching closer, she realized that there was something inside her that was empowering her chakra. A second source of chakra within her body. It was something that Karin already saw once.

The redhead remembered the time she sensed Naruto, who also had an extremely powerful chakra, and a second source of chakra as well. Naruto explained to her that it was a Tailed Beast sealed within him when he was a baby, and his large chakra reserves were a side effect of the sealing. Would it be possible that this Fu was a Jinchuriki too?

"I think I have something," Karin's statement caught her teammates' attention. "I believe that girl may have a demon sealed inside her too."

"Those are bad news," Sasuke replied.

"I'm sure it's not that bad. Naruto has a demon as well, and he isn't _that_ strong," Sakura commented. "I mean, he is strong, but not as strong as you, Sasuke-kun. He never defeated you so far."

"Maybe. But that girl is not Naruto, and assuming otherwise would be unwise," the Uchiha retorted. "When I saw those wings, I thought it was a Bloodline Limit, but now I'm not so sure. That girl might have other hidden abilities we are not aware of."

"Uh oh," Karin muttered.

Sakura turned at her. "I don't like the sound of that."

"I just picked up another guy whose chakra signature has similarities to Naruto's and that girl. The redhead kid from the Suna team," Karin pointed out.

"Ugh, how many people have demons sealed inside them? I thought Naruto was the only one!" Sakura groaned. It seemed like the exam was getting progressively harder every minute.

…

The last day of the exam was just as uneventful as the others. Just like the previous two days, most of the Genin spent the time at the cafeteria chattering and eating, and sometimes training to blow off some steam. All that waiting was starting to make them restless.

Naruto and Hinata were in one of the training rooms, fighting against each other. They agreed that Hinata would only use the Byakugan and the Thunder Palm, while Naruto would only use clones. Those restrictions were for the sake of keeping the fight simple, as well as honing those two specific skills as well.

While Hinata started the fight really well, poofing clones left and right while keeping them at bay, she slowed down little by little, and her defense grew sloppier.

"Hinata? Are you alright?" Naruto asked.

"I used up a lot of chakra, do you mind if we rest a bit?" Hinata replied between pants.

With a hand seal, Naruto dispelled his remaining clones and smiled at her. "Sure. Sorry, I think I may overdid a little. Sometimes I forget that not everybody else has my stamina," he said as he tossed a water bottle at his teammate.

Hinata caught the bottle and opened it."No, it's my chakra reserves. It's just too small. I think I should work harder on expanding it a bit. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to keep up with you during long fights," Hinata replied.

"Given that I have so much chakra, maybe I could share some with you?" Naruto suggested, but much to his confusion, Hinata shook her head.

"It's not that easy, Naruto-kun. People have different chakra types, and some kinds of chakra aren't compatible. It's akin to blood donations. You need a compatible type," Hinata explained.

"So if I tried to transfer my chakra to you and we weren't compatible..." Naruto started.

"...your chakra would harm me," Hinata finished. "In fact, that's one of the basics of the Gentle Fist: to introduce your chakra inside the enemy's body. Though the charka is specifically molded so it's always harmful to the opponent, in case you fight against somebody with chakra compatibility."

"And how would we know if we're compatible?" Naruto asked.

"There's no way to know that without trying to transfer our chakra," Hinata explained.

"And...do you want to try?" Naruto asked, a bit uneasy.

"I don't see why not. Being able to share our chakra would be an invaluable ability," Hinata replied.

Naruto was unsure. "But...what if I hurt you?"

Hinata smiled at him sweetly. "Don't worry, we'll only transfer minimal amounts of chakra so the damage is negligible."

Naruto perked up a bit. "Okay! So...how do we do it?"

"Well..." Hinata started to fidget with her index fingers. "W-We need to create p-physical contact..."

"Physical contact?" Naruto suddenly grabbed both of Hinata's hands. "Like this?"

"Y-yes" the Hyuga tried her hardest not to blush. "Now t-try to t-transfer some of your c-charka into my s-system, Naruto-kun..."

As the blond prepared, he could feel Hinata's chakra almost as if he was a sensor now. And just like Hinata had said, her chakra felt different to his. That would mean that they weren't compatible. Naruto was about to let her hands go when he got an idea: he heard Tsunade explaining that in order to use her Immense Healing Network, she molded her chakra to make it compatible with Katsuyu, so the slug could use it to heal others. So maybe he could try something similar?

He gathered some chakra, and sensing Hinata's, tried to mold it so it would be similar to Hinata's. When he felt it was similar enough, he pushed the modified chakra into Hinata's system. The Hyuga shuddered upon feeling the foreign chakra.

"Hinata...? Are you okay...?" Naruto asked.

"It...it worked! We're compatible!" the Hyuga cheered, clasping Naruto's hands.

"Actually, we aren't," Hinata was visibly confused upon hearing Naruto's words, so he elaborated. "You see, our chakra was too different, but I molded my chakra so it was similar to yours before sending it. But it worked in the end!"

"You did that? That was really ingenious!" Hinata praised.

"Hehe, thanks" this time, it was Naruto who blushed a bit. "Say, do you want more? I have tons of chakra, so maybe I could replenish your chakra reserves completely."

"O-Okay, but don't overdo it. I don't want you to exhaust yourself."

Naruto nodded, and repeated the process –which was much easier the second time– until Hinata's chakra was once again at its fullest. They broke physical contact.

"How do you feel?" Naruto asked, a bit worried.

"Amazing..." Hinata scanned her body as if this was the first time she saw it. "It's like I never used my chakra to begin with!"

"Cool! Now if you or Haku run out of chakra during a mission, I can recharge your reserves!" Naruto grinned.

There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two of them, until Naruto spoke up once again.

"Speaking of Haku, I've been thinking...do you think he'll have some luck with Tenten?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Hinata never thought much about it. She didn't know Tenten much.

"I hope he does. Besides, that girl seems to be one of the few of our age not chasing after Sasuke, the others being you and Ino, so he won't have much competition. Speaking of which… Hinata, is there a boy you like?"

Hinata's face turned so red that steam started to come from her head. "W-WHAAAAT!?"

"It's just that most girls our age are already pinning for a boy, and I thought that maybe you liked somebody..."

"I...uh...e-eh...well..." Hinata wasn't even able to form proper words.

"So you do…" Naruto declared. Hinata could faint at any moment. "It's okay, I won't ask you who is, since you're obviously not very comfortable talking about it."

"T-Thank you..." Hinata babbled.

"Whoever that boy is… I'm sure he's lucky of having a girl as amazing as you wanting to be his girlfriend" Naruto mentioned.

Yet, for some reason, the idea of Hinata having a boyfriend was something he couldn't agree with. If he was okay with Haku chasing Tenten… then why wasn't he okay with Hinata chasing somebody else?

…

When it appeared that only seven teams were going to pass the second test, Team Asuma arrived shortly before dinner, much to everybody else's displeasure, since that meant that the next phase of the exams would be a little more difficult due the extra competition. However, despite this, Naruto, Hinata and Haku were quite happy to see that they made it to the finals, regardless of the additional difficulty that it implied.

The next morning, the eight passing teams were summoned to the ship's main hold. Upon entering, they saw that the hold hasbeen remodeled into a fighting arena, with two sets of stands at each side, and a huge plasma screen mounted on one of the walls.

In front of the twenty four Genin, were the Hokage, Jiraiya, flanked by Tsunade, Shisui, Zabuza, the Jonin-sensei of the teams that had passed (minus Fu's team) as well as a few other exam proctors. Zabuza took several steps forward.

"And now, the second phase of the Chunin Exams is now over. Congratulations to all of you who passed. But once again, don't think you are Chunin already, since the worst is yet to come," Zabuza told them.

"Man, he can't even congratulate us without slipping a threat. That guy has issues," Kiba commented, rolling his eyes.

"Thank you, Zabuza," Jiraiya spoke up. Zabuza nodded and returned to his previous place while Jiraiya took his. "You should feel proud. Almost two hundred Genin took the exam, and yet only a small fraction of that number reached the finals. That's a testament of your ability to work as a team. However, this begets a question: how do we know that all of you contributed to your team's success, and you didn't let your teammates do all the work while you shared their success? The third and final phase of the exam will reveal it all: a one-on-one fight tournament!"

Jiraiya then proceeded to explain the hidden purpose of the Chunin Exams: a war simulation between villages, as a way for said villages to showcase their power to potential customers. That's why the finals would be held in a stadium in a month's time for everybody to see, among them many nobles, including the Lord of the Land of Fire himself.

"However, there is a problem," worry started to spread like wildfire among the Genin upon hearing those words from the Hokage. "Too many Genin passed. A tournament of twenty four people would take way too long to finish. That's why we're going to cut that number in half right now."

"What!? We made it to the finals, you can't kick half of us just because you say so!" Kiba loudly protested.

"How are you going to determine which of us are going to pass to the finals then?" Ino asked, no less outraged.

Jiraiya grinned. "Easy. We're going to have twelve one on one fights right here, right now! Take a look at the screen above us: the two names displayed there will be the first two to fight for a spot in the finals!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: And with another phase over, the Chunin Exams are now a bit closer to their end.**

 **Next chapter will feature the preliminaries, which will be a two parter, with six fights on each chapter, and probably the most action-packed chapters of the story so far. They gave me a lot of hell to write, so I hope you will enjoy them.**

 **So, make your bets, people! What kind of matches will we see? Who will pass to the finals, and who will kiss the exams goodbye? I can tell you now that NONE of the preliminary fights from canon will happen. Everybody will have a new opponent (albeit in some cases, such as Sasuke, Shikamaru or Shino, it's obvious since their canon opponents aren't present this time around).**

 **In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	23. Preliminaries, Part I

**Authro's note: And now we reach the preliminaries. At least, the first half. I've seen some fics in which the authors barely touch the "unimportant" fights and focus on the ones they deed important (like those involving Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, maybe Sakura and Hinata...). I'm not going to do that, since that's so lazy, even Shikamaru would disprove. While not all the fights will be equally long, I tried to make them exciting and meaningful to some degree.**

 **And as much as I'd like to ignore it, I know that AT LEAST one of the fights just in this part only is going to be controversial. Still, I hope the review section isn't on fire after this chapter. Still, I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter:  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 23:**

Preliminaries, Part I

 _or_

 _More than just hurt feelings_

"By the way, let me introduce you the lovely proctor of the third and final phase of the exam, Yugao Uzuki" Jiraiya motioned to the purple haired woman, wearing the usual Konoha uniform as opposed to her ANBU gear. Jiraiya looked at Haku. "But I'm sure that some of you already know her."

Yugao took a step forward. "Alright, I'll be the referee during the fights, both now and during the actual finals. The fight will end when one of the combatants is knocked out, gives up, dies, or I declare a winner. Any questions?"

Sakura raised her hand. "What happens if it's a tie? Like a double KO?"

"In that case, there is no winner and both combatants are eliminated," was Yugao's answer. Sakura looked uneasy. "Anymore questions? No? If that's the case, let us being."

Everybody watched the screen as it flashed names at an imperceptible speed. After no less than thirty seconds, it finally revealed two names.

 **Tenten VS Omoi**

"Alright, everybody but Tenten and Omoi, to the stands! Tenten and Omoi, get over here!" Yugao called.

While Tenten and Omoi got ready to fight, the Genin sat on the stands on the left side, where they were joined by their respective Jonin-sensei. Jiraiya and the rest sat on the stands on the opposite side. The stands were elevated several meters in the air, to both give the spectators a better view, and to protect them from any stray attack.

"Tenten is so lucky! I wish I was the first one to fight!" Lee pouted.

"Don't worry Lee, you will have your chance! Now Tenten needs you to cheer her on!" Gai replied.

"Right! Come on Tenten! Blind everybody with your flames of youth!"

Tenten smiled awkwardly at Lee's overly enthusiastic cheers. She then glanced at Tsunade, who was watching the fight about to begin. A painful memory from the previous year resurfaced once again...

 **FLASHBACK**

Tenten was in a classroom inside Konoha's Hospital, alongside other ninja, studying under Tsunade to be a medic-nin. All of her classmates were already adults, her being the only Academy student. So far, medicine proved to be harder than she had expected, but she had a good feeling about the last test she took.

That is, until Tsunade show her the results of that test.

"What?" Tenten asked, disheartened.

Of the fifty questions the test had, she only answered eight correctly.

Tsunade sighed. She didn't like what she was going to say, but she had to. For the girl's sake, at least.

"Tenten, this is the third test you fail in a row," Tsunade began.

"I know! But don't worry, I'll work harder to make sure I pass the next one!" Tenten was quick to answer.

Tsunade sighed once again. "It's not just the matter of failing. I mean, on this test, you only got eight questions out of fifty right. That's not even a twenty percent," Tsunade held up a hand when Tenten was about to protest to silence her. "Tenten, don't you think that maybe medicine isn't for you?"

"But...but...I always wanted to be like you, Tsunade-sama! You were –are– my inspiration for becoming a kunoichi!" she begged.

"And I'm glad that you see me in such light, but that doesn't mean that you have to follow the same path I did. You can be an awesome kunoichi. I saw your grades at the Academy, and they're promising. You only need to find your right calling. Right now, you're only wasting both our times. Do you understand?"

Deep down, Tenten knew she was right. Being a medic-nin was a delicate job in which the tiniest failure could have horrible repercussions, and she wasn't doing a very good job. Maybe she should quit now and find something else more suited to her.

"Alright, Tsunade-sama. I'll pick another specialty then," Tenten replied, holding back the tears.

Tsunade smiled at her and place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't let this get you down, okay? I know talent when I see it."

 **END FLASHBACK**

 _"Now is my chance to show Tsunade-sama how strong I am,"_ Tenten thought.

"Omoi can't lose this fight, he'll impress all with his might, and his opponent better sees that the best path is to flee!" Killer B rapped, while waving his arms in front of his face.

Everybody stared at the Kumo Jonin, though he didn't notice, or if he noticed, he didn't care.

 _"Hmmm, so the Raikage sent one of the Jinchuriki here, unprotected? Strange. I'll better keep an eye on him,_ " Jiraiya mused.

All eyes were on Tenten and Omoi, both ready to fight.

"Begin!" Yugao made a chopping motion with her hand and jumped backwards.

Losing no time, Omoi unsheathed his katana and charged at Tenten, who smiled, and pulled out a sealing scroll. She unsealed another katana and a shoto, and charged against the Kumo ninja. Their blades crashed against each others' with loud clangs, producing sparks upon contact.

"I'm glad that you're my opponent. It's been a while since I was able to fight against another swordsman!" Tenten said as she pressed in the offensive.

"Soon you will regret that. Kumogakure is home to some of the best swordsmen of the entire Elemental Nations!" Omoi replied.

They continued trading blows, with none of them appearing to have the upper hand. That moment, Omoi decided to reveal one of his tricks, and made several hand seals.

"Now you will feel to power of Kumo's swordsmen! Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Omoi channeled lightning through his katana, which started to crackle with electricity, and charged forwards. Tenten tried to block Omoi's vertical slash, but much to her shock, Omoi's katana sliced through hers as if it was made of butter.

"What!?" Tenten asked in shock, as she jumped backwards to avoid the slash.

"Still glad to fight against me?" Omoi asked, smirking at her.

Tenten smirked back. "Hmph. This was just a setback. If you're superior to me in close quarter combat, I'll simply switch to mid range instead!"

Tenten leaped backwards, and in mid air, she pulled another sealing scroll. Doing a somersault, she opened the scroll, facing Omoi.

"Manipulated Tools: Steel Storm!"

Multiple kunai and shuriken rained upon Omoi, who did his best to deflect them while jumping backwards and sideways to avoid those he couldn't block. Still, some of them managed to graze his skin, causing some superficial cuts.

"I can fight mid-range too!" Omoi stabbed his katana on the ground and made several hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Omoi cast his hands forward, releasing multiple lightning bolts, all which impacted on Tenten, still mid air. However, much to his surprise, Tenten disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a kunai in her place.

"What?" Omoi turned around and saw Tenten smiling at him. But he had no time to react, and the short haired kunoichi greeted him with a kick to his jaw which sent him a few meters back.

"What the hell was that?" Kiba asked, a bit confused.

Knowing that she had no time to waste, Tenten unsealed a kusarigama from one of her scrolls and leaped at Omoi again. The dark skinned boy knew he had no time for ninjutsu, so he pulled out a couple kunai to block her attack. While on mid air, Tenten swung the spiked ball at the end of her kusarigama and tossed it at Omoi tried to block it, but much to his horror, the spiked ball was aimed lower than he had predicted, and the chain wrapped around his ankles. Tenten's foot then slammed against his face, knocking him down like a fallen tree. Tenten then placed the sickle of her kusarigama on Omoi's neck.

"Say it," the kunoichi said, pressing the sickle against his neck.

"Okay, okay, I give up!" Omoi replied. Tenten unwrapped the kusarigama, and helped Omoi on his feet.

"Winner of the match, Tenten!" Yugao announced.

Tenten jumped and squealed in joy. Gai and Lee loudly cheered her as well. Both Tenten and her felled opponent returned to the stands.

"Good fight," Omoi spoke up. "Using Body Replacement with one of your kunai was a neat trick."

Tenten smiled at him. "Thanks. And sorry that you're out of the finals."

"It's okay. I can try the next time."

"Seriously, what the hell was that?" Karui angrily asked to her returning teammate. "First fight of the day and you lose!"

"Hey, calm down! That girl was strong as hell. Plus she caught me off guard" Omoi replied.

Karui scoffed. "Yeah, I saw that."

Meanwhile, Tenten was being congratulated by her teammates, when somebody else approached her.

"Congratulations for your victory, Tenten-sa,n" Haku praised. "Now I see that you were holding back when we sparred yesterday. You're a really strong kunoichi."

"Thanks, Haku! Haha, yes, I usually don't show my best tricks unless absolutely necessary," Tenten replied with a warm smile.

"The next match is about to begin," Neji interrupted and pointed to the screen, where more names were being flashed until it finally stopped after another good half a minute.

 **Tamaki VS Kegon**

"Alright!" Tamaki excitedly said as she jumped into the arena. "Time to kick some ass!"

"Tamaki, be careful," Kiba warned. "According to Akamaru, that guy's chakra level is way above the average Genin."

"I know, I know! Don't worry, I have a plan," the cat kunoichi reassured.

Her opponent, one of Fu's teammates, stepped in without much fuss. Once the two were in front of each other, Yugao motioned them to start.

"Begin!"

Tamaki jumped backwards, bit her thumb, and made five hand seals, before slamming her hands on the floor.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, two cats wearing blue and red kimonos over a mesh armor appeared at Tamaki's side. Kegon visibly cringed.

"Are those...cats?" the Taki ninja asked, visibly scared.

"Ninja cats" Tamaki punctualized, as she put on two gauntlets with three long metallic claws each. "Why, are you afraid of cats?"

"No, it's not that, it's that- ACHOOO!" the Taki ninja violently sneezed. "I can't stay near cats because- ACHOOO!"

Tamaki couldn't help but chuckle. "You're allergic to cats? Oh boy, this isn't your lucky day, is it?"

"Tamaki-chan, what do you want us to do?" the cat with the blue kimono asked.

Tamaki's mouth formed a wicked grin. "Denka, Hina...tear him to shreds."

The two cats nodded and suddenly disappeared. Kegon was assaulted by two red and blue blurs, which left multiple scars on his body, all while sneezing constantly, and trying to flail his arms aimlessly in a vain attempt to fend off his feline attackers.

"Leave me-ACHOOOO! I can't -ACHOOOOOO! This is-ACHOOOO!"

"Time to end this!" Tamaki rushed towards forward, her claws glowing with a blue light. "Cross Slash!"

Tamaki made two diagonal slashes from opposing angles, forming an X. Kegon managed to pull two kunai and block the attack, but the chakra released blew the tools out of his hands, and knocked him on his back.

"And now-"

"I surrender! ACHOOO! Just take those beasts away from me! ACHOOOO!" Kegon pleaded.

"Winner, Tamaki!" Yugao declared.

"Good job, guys!" Tamaki praised her cats while tossing each of them a tasty treat.

"It was a pleasure, Tamaki-chan," Hina replied as she bit her treat.

"Call us again when you need us," Denka said before both he and his sister disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Tamaki returned to her teammates, which congratulated her. From his seat a couple meters away, Shikamaru stared at her with incredulous eyes.

"A kunoichi who summons cats to combat fights against a guy who's allergic to cats. What are the chances?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, it's like if I fought a ninja that fights with food!" Choji added.

"I don't think such a ninja exists, Choji," Ino rolled her eyes.

"Still, it would be nice to fight against an opponent like that. I wish I had her luck."

Meanwhile, Tamaki's defeated opponent returned to his team as well.

"I didn't know you were allergic to cats," Yoro told his teammate.

"And I'm not" Kegon replied in a whisper. "But it was a believable way to lose. And you may better start thinking in a way to throw your match without raising suspicions."

"Alright, time to start the third match!" Yugao announced as the screen started flashing names once again, until it choose two.

And it was that moment that Shikamaru realized that he didn't have Tamaki's luck. His mouth formed a grimace upon seeing the names of the next match.

 **Shikamaru Nara VS Temari**

Shikamaru groaned. "Why'd it had to be her?"

As they both walked into the arena –or in Shikamaru's case, dragged himself–, Asuma leaned towards his two other students.

"Do you know her?" the bearded Jonin asked.

"We fought against her team during the second phase," Choji explained, and cringed upon remembering how . "Her team is really strong."

"Well, except for that hooded guy with the painted face," Ino's eyes rested on Kankuro. "He refused to use his jutsu so not to give us intel on him, so we don't know how strong he is."

"The girl has some monstrous wind jutsu that not even Shikamaru's fire jutsu were able to counter," Choji continued.

"So, luck didn't smile at Shikamaru. Still, he's an intelligent and resourceful kid. I'm sure he'll manage to overcome his opponent's superior strength" Asuma said.

On the arena, Shikamaru and Temari were in front of each other, Temari smirking evilly, while Shikamaru had an apathetic expression.

"I'm glad that I got to fight you again. That way we can finish the fight we started at the ship," Temari spoke up. "Since I hate to leave a job half done."

Shikamaru snorted. "Well, at least one of us is happy to be here."

"Don't worry. I know you're friends with Naruto, so I'll try not to hurt you," her smirk grew. "Much."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, now I feel much better."

"Ready?" Yugao asked, looking at both of them. "Begin!"

Temari wasted no time and unfolded her massive war fan and prepared to unleash her devastating wind jutsu. However, Shikamaru was faster and got into position to use his.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Temari was forced to cancel her attack in order to jump and run away from Shikamaru's shadow. She zigzagged in hopes of slowing down the chasing shadow.

 _"Dammit, I have nowhere to run!"_ Temari cursed inwardly as she started to search through her tool pouch for something that could help her. "Come on, come on...! There has to be something that can help me-oh, yes, like this!"

Showing a triumphant smirk, Temari threw a smoke bomb at an intermediate point between herself and Shikamaru, and soon both of them were engulfed by a growing cloud of gray smoke. Unable to see his opponent, Shikamaru canceled his jutsu.

"Your jutsu is useless if you can't see your opponent, isn't it?" Temari said in a taunting manner.

"Maybe, But your wind jutsu will dispel all the smoke the moment you use them. You had a good idea, but you didn't think how it would affect you," Shikamaru retorted as he looked around for Temari's more than likely counterattack.

"Oh, I thought about it just right!"

Much to his shock, Temari appeared in front of him, her fan folded and raised over her head, ready to slam Shikamaru with it. This time, it was the lazy genius' turn to dodge and run away from Temari's melee attacks.

"The shadow and fire jutsu, your underdeveloped muscles...it doesn't take a genius to see that you're a mid-range specialist, aren't you?" Temari asked while attacking ceaselessly.

"I was going to say the same thing about you," Shikamaru replied, while dodging a swing to his head.

"True, but I also trained in melee combat just in case," Temari smirked confidently.

"You don't have to swear it. Those mannish arms speak for themselves," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Just because my arms are strong doesn't mean they're mannish!" Temari protested.

Shikamaru pulled a pair of kunai and blocked the incoming fan. The blow was devastating, and the kunai flew out of his hands. That hit nearly cost him his forearms. Now that he had measured his opponent's strength, there was only one thing he could do.

"I give up!" Shikamaru said as he raised a hand.

A chorus of "what!?" and similar exclamations followed Shikamaru's statement. The loudest came from Ino.

"...uh?" Temari asked, mildly confused. "You do?"

"Just like you said, I'm a ranged specialist. My jutsu work fine when fighting alongside my teammates, but they don't much when I'm alone. You clearly are the superior fighter, and I can't hope to defeat you, hence this is the best course of action," Shikamaru explained.

"Oh, come on!" Temari protested.

"Are you sure you want to give up?" Yugao asked Shikamaru, who nodded in return. "If that's the case, then the winner of this match is Temari!"

In the stands, Kankuro cheered, while Gaara smiled a bit. Despite her victory, Temari didn't look as happy as one would expect.

"This is first match between a Konoha and non-Konoha ninja that is won by the latter. Thanks goodness it was somebody from our team," the puppeteer stated.

"That's not fair. Shikamaru's jutsu are to fight alongside others, not on his own. He's smart and talented enough to become Chunin," Choji complained.

"Maybe, but there are times in which a ninja will be alone and won't have any help, and being dependent on your team isn't good," Asuma replied.

"Besides, look at how easily he gave up" Kakashi noted. "I don't think somebody who quits when things get difficult is ready to become Chunin. Maybe he should train to become a better solo fighter for the next exams."

As Shikamaru and Temari returned to the stands, the screen once again started to flash the names of the possible next match.

"All three matches so far have been a boy versus a girl, and the girl always won. I'm glad to see that there are so many good kunoichi this year, even if some aren't from Konoha," Kurenai noted with a smile of satisfaction.

"Well, it seems that the winner of the next match will be a boy regardless of the outcome," Shizune pointed out.

Everybody looked at the screen, and knew that this was going to be a fight worth watching, given the skill level of both combatants.

 **Sasuke Uchiha VS Neji Hyuga**

Both prodigies eyed each other before getting to the arena. Most Konoha Genin were relieved that two of the most powerful competitors were going to fight each other, and at least only one of them would make it to the finals. The adults, however, thought pretty much the opposite.

"Come on Sasuke-kun, you can do it!" Sakura cheered.

"Yeah, show everybody how awesome you are!" Karin shouted as well.

"I wanted to fight against either of them," Lee pouted, while Tenten rolled her eyes. "Nothing seems to go my way."

"Pity this fight didn't happen in the finals," Jiraiya mentioned. "A clash between these two would surely gave Konoha plenty of publicity."

"Don't underestimate the rest of our Genin, Jiraiya," Tsunade replied. "I'm sure that they will give quite the spectacle as well."

Sasuke and Neji were in front of each other, both eagerly waiting for the proctor to start the match.

"They say that you are among the strongest Genin in Konoha," Sasuke spoke up. "Good. I wouldn't want to go to the finals because I had the luck to fight against a weakling in the prelims."

"Soon you will regret those words, Uchiha. And you will realize that luck had nothing to do with it," Neji replied.

"Ready? Alright then, begin!" Yugao announced.

As expected, the first thing both Genin did was to activate their respective doujutsu before dashing at each other. Neji attacked relentlessly with quick palm strikes. However, Sasuke was able to match his speed and block or deflect all of Neji's hits before they could touch Sasuke, though not without some difficulty. Seeing that in close combat all what he could do is defend, Sasuke jumped backwards.

"Very few people are able to fight a Hyuga in hand to hand combat. Judging by your movements, you have experience fighting against a Gentle Fist practitioner?" Neji asked.

"You could say that. And I know what the so called 'Gentle' Fist can do if you touch me, so that's not gonna happen," Sasuke remarked.

Neji chuckled. "I guess that you sparred against Hinata-sama then," the Hyuga genius concluded. "But don't think that that gives you an edge over me. The skill gap between Hinata-sama and me is as wide as it can get. You can't hope to defeat a lion just because you fought against a cat."

"No, but fighting against Hinata allowed me to learn ways to fight your kind. Such as the fact that as close combat specialists, you have no way of attacking me from afar, a limitation I don't have!" Sasuke's hands then flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a massive fireball at his Hyuga opponent. But far from being intimidated, Neji just smirked, and in a display of impressive speed, jumped aside to dodge the fireball, while dashing at Sasuke until he was once again in close combat range. Neji managed to land two successful strikes which shut down some of Sasuke's tenketsu before the Uchiha jumped back and drew two kunai.

"Such arrogance, believing that you have figured me out," Neji replied, his smirk still present. "Is it how you are, or is it a Uchiha trait? I believe to be the latter, otherwise, your clan wouldn't have been stupid enough to try to take over the whole village."

Sasuke was doing a pretty good job keeping his cool and staying focused, and that comment pretty much ensured that it would no longer be the case. Then again, that might have been Neji's intention.

"Measure your words, Hyuga, before you say something you might regret," Sasuke coldly threatened, as his grip on his kunai tightened.

Neji, however, was undaunted, and continued with his verbal beat down. "Or else what? Do you think you can intimidate me, Sasuke? Then again, it was the Uchiha who ever managed to make me experience true terror, so maybe I am underestimating you?"

"I'm warning you..." Sasuke started to grit his teeth.

Meanwhile, in the stands, people were listening intently to the exchange between the two prodigies, wondering if Neji resented Sasuke, or was there something more.

"What the hell is that brat doing?" Tsunade asked.

"I believe he's trying to rile Sasuke up so he loses his focus and fights more recklessly" Jiraiya deduced.

"I don't like it. Neji is playing a dangerous game. The fate of our clan is a touchy subject for Sasuke" Shisui commented, uneasy. "He's underestimating Sasuke."

"I don't think I will ever forget about the events of that night. Fights left and right, the sound of metal clashing, the smell of burning wood and spilled blood, my clansmen dying, all while father and Hikari-sama tried to bring Hinata-sama, Hanabi-sama and me to safety...and everywhere I looked, there were those red eyes glowing in the dark," Neji recounted. "Where were you that night, Sasuke? Where you comfortably asleep in the safety of your home while your clansmen massacred mine, unaware of the blood that they were spilling?"

That did it. As Sasuke's restraint was completely obliterated, the youngest Uchiha launched himself at the Hyuga prodigy, who was already expecting him in the usual Gentle Fist stance, and a smirk on his face, all the while marveling at how easy it was to goad Sasuke.

However, the Hyuga prodigy found that Sasuke's onslaught wasn't as easy to counter as he had expected. Sasuke's attacks were fast, and put a lot of strength in them, making them hard to block or parry. Still, Neji managed to find and capitalize an opening and stroke Sasuke in the chest with his palm. The Uchiha dropped his kunai, jumped backwards, and coughed some blood.

Neji's smirk widened. "I can sense your killing intent. It's quite potent, might I add. But your desire to hurt me won't become a reality, just like your clan's desire to rule over Konoha."

Sasuke let out a bone-chilling yell, and dashed at Neji once again. The Hyuga prodigy knew that the next time Sasuke made a mistake, it would be the end of the match. Sasuke threw his fist at Neji's face, the latter raising his palm to block it...and then his Byakugan revealed that Sasuke was somehow behind him.

"What?" was all the confused Hyuga could say before Sasuke brutally kicked him in the back, making him fall into the floor face-first. Before Neji could get up, Sasuke kicked him once again in the gut with such force that he was hurled mid air.

Upon getting up, Neji saw multiple shuriken flying at him. Despite his aching body, the Hyuga prodigy managed to nimbly dodge them. Unfortunately for him, Neji didn't notice that the shuriken had ninja wire attached to them. Sasuke pulled back the strings, and the shuriken flew in a circle around Neji, wrapping the wires around him, leaving him immobilized and with his arms pinned to his body.

"Sasuke-kun's chakra is growing darker..." Karin spoke up, as she held her hands together. "I don't like where this is going..."

"Calm down. Neji made Sasuke angry, but I'm sure that he'll be able to keep his anger in check," Shizune reassured.

Or at least, that was what the black haired medic-nin was hoping.

"You want me to be bad? Fine! I'll show you how bad the Uchiha can be!" Sasuke snarled as he made hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a stream of flames and used the strings to direct them at the immobilized Neji. At the last second, Neji managed to make enough force with his body to pull Sasuke and thus canceling his fire jutsu, loosening the wires and freeing his arms. Seeing this as his chance to counterattack, Neji dashed at Sasuke, ready to hit any part of his body with a palm strike. However, just like it happened before, Sasuke vanished and appeared behind him once again.

"That's the Body Flicker! How could you-" Neji quickly turned back, but did so in time to receive a painful fist to the lower jaw. Not giving Neji time to react, Sasuke continued his violent onslaught, throwing punches left and right that the battered Hyuga could barely avoid or block.

Everybody in the stands winced. Lee and Tenten got more worried by the second, while Gai lost his ever present cheerful smile, and was replaced by a serious and stoic mask. Hinata squeaked in horror, and she brought her hands to her mouth.

"I never saw Sasuke-kun this angry and hate-filled before..." Sakura mentioned, horror-stricken.

"What's wrong, asshole? Afraid of the big, bad Uchiha?" Sasuke mockingly asked before finishing with a punch to the gut that knocked Neji on his back.

Neji tried to say something, but all what came from his mouth was a pained grunt. Gathering what little energy he had left, the beaten Hyuga managed to get back on his feet

"Okay, I think I already saw enough," Yugao mentioned as she was about to declare Sasuke the winner.

"What is it, do you still want more?" Sasuke snarled as he pulled out another pair of kunai. "Alright, I'm more than happy to oblige!"

"Sasuke, no, stop!" Shizune yelled.

Sasuke then leaped at Neji, ready to stab his kunai into the Hyuga's flesh, but suddenly a grey blur crossed the arena and slammed Sasuke back into the ground. Upon realizing what happened, he saw an angry Shisui pinning him to the floor, while Yugao's sword was centimeters' away from his eyes.

"That's enough, Sasuke," Shisui calmly said.

"Release me! He has to pay for what he said!" Sasuke screamed as he squirmed, but Shisui's hold was too tight for him. "Why are you stopping me? Didn't you hear what he said about our clan!?"

"I did," Shisui replied. "But that doesn't deserve such a comeuppance. You already beat him, let it go. Doing this, you're only dishonoring our clan even further," Shisui then looked at Yugao. "End the match already."

Yugao nodded, and sheathed her sword. "Winner of the match, Sasuke Uchiha!"

Neji couldn't take it anymore and fell on his knees, before laying on the floor, completely still. Tenten and Lee quickly rushed to check him.

"How is he?" Lee anxiously asked.

"I don't know but...he doesn't look good" Tenten replied as she stared at Neji's bloodied form.

"Maybe I can be of help," a new voice said. Lee and Tenten realized that Karin was now with them. "Lift his head, please. Trust me, I'm a medic."

Deciding to trust Karin, Lee and Tenten did as she instructed them. Karin rolled up her sleeve, and placed her forearm near Neji's mouth. "Bite my arm."

Neji wondered what Karin wanted to do, but he didn't have any energy left to argue with her, and decided to obey. As he sank his teeth on her flesh, Neji felt a wave of chakra coursing through his body, restoring his energy, closing his wounds and erasing the pain. At least to some extent. After a few seconds, Neji was able to stand on his own.

"Thank you," the Hyuga replied. "But why did you help me?"

"The duty of a medic is to help the wounded. Though if you want, you can think of it as me trying to make up for Sasuke-kun's beating," Karin admitted a bit sheepishly. "Though I believe you should go with them, my ability only patched you up a little."

The three Genin of Team Gai turned back to see a couple of uniformed medic-nin carrying a stretcher. Neji agreed, and left with the medic-nin.

Back at the stands, Sakura was also healing Sasuke from the wounds caused by Neji. While healing Sasuke is something she usually enjoyed, there was no joy this time around.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura spoke up.

"Drop it, Sakura. Whatever you want to say or ask, just don't" Sasuke icily said before the pinkette could finish.

"O-OK..." Sakura stammered, and continued healing him until she finished. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes " the Uchiha grumpily replied. "Thank you."

Everybody soon remembered that the exam was still going on. The screen once again started to flash names, until it stopped after thirty seconds or so.

 **Naruto Uzumaki VS Sakura Haruno**

"Aw yes, finally, my turn!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fists.

"Good luck, Naruto-kun," Hinata said.

"Sakura isn't the worst opponent you could fight against, but don't lower your guard, understood?" Kurenai warned him.

"Don't worry! I have been developing a special jutsu that I'm sure will grant me victory!" Naruto said as he headed towards the arena.

Meanwhile, Shizune was also giving her student some pointers before the fight.

"...and don't let him fight you in a war of attrition. Naruto-kun has a monstrous stamina and chakra levels, and you will exhaust before he does," Shizune explained. "I know that you're smarter and have a better chakra control than him, so use that to your advantage."

"Don't worry sensei, I will," Sakura replied before walking to the arena as well.

Naruto and Sakura walked towards each other until there was only a small space between them, with Yugao on it. Both of them stared at each other, the fire of determination burning in their eyes.

"Are you ready? Begin!" Yugao announced.

Naruto jumped backwards while made a hand seal that preceded his favorite jutsu. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen Naruto's appeared from small clouds of smoke and rushed at Sakura and quickly surrounded her. The clones charged at her, and Sakura expertly dodged their attacks before dispelling them with her chakra-enhanced punches. The original Naruto, who wasn't part of the attack, analyzed the experience he received from his clones.

"Damn, your super strength improved a lot," Naruto commented. "Fighting you in close combat is not an option then."

"Wise decision," Sakura smiled in satisfaction. "I should thank you for showing me this technique. It fits like a glove with my excellent chakra control. I bet now you regret teaching this to me, don't you?"

Naruto just smiled and shook his head. "Absolutely not. This only adds to the challenge. And if I can't beat you, then I don't deserve to advance any further."

"Well said," Sakura then cracked her knuckles. "Then, it's my turn to attack!"

The pinkette launched herself at Naruto, her fist already raised. Naruto knew that under any circumstances, he couldn't let Sakura to hit him not even once, or the match would be over. Sakura seemed to think that her enhanced strength would be enough to win the fight. Naruto decided to show her how wrong she was. The orange-clad ninja jumped backwards, and once again summoned more shadow clones.

"Get her!" the original commanded, and the clones charged once more.

"Very smart, Naruto, wearing me down with your clones while you comfortably watch from the distance," Sakura said as she met the army of blondes. "But like hell if I'm going to let you do that!"

Sakura plowed through the clones, dispelling some, ignoring the rest, and going for the original. She gathered chakra in her arm.

"Uh?" Naruto dumbly asked.

"You're mine!" Sakura sank her fist into Naruto's gut, who wheezed as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Sakura smirked triumphantly.

...and much to her confusion, Naruto smirked back at her. Then he poofed in a cloud of smoke.

"What the hell?" Sakura asked in shock.

She turned around and saw the rest of the Naruto clones –she guessed the original should be among them–, charging at her, kunai in hand. Sakura pulled her own kunai and tried to parry the rain of slashes.

"What happened? Sakura saw the original Naruto creating and sending the clones," Sasuke commented. "How could he trick her?"

"Easy. Naruto used the Body Replacement Jutsu with one of his clones. That way, if the original is in danger, he can just switch places with a clone and the enemy will be none the wiser," Shizune explained.

Sasuke pondered her sensei's words. That combo wouldn't be very useful for a normal person, since even the ninja with the biggest chakra reserves couldn't create more than a few clones at a time. However, Naruto could create dozens and dozens. That meant that as long as Naruto had clones, he could avoid almost any kind of harm.

"Sakura will have a hard time countering that kind of defense," Karin mentioned.

"Don't underestimate your teammate, Karin. Sakura is a very resourceful girl," Shizune replied, confident in her words.

Back to the fight, Sakura was fending off against the multiple Naruto clones, parrying their attacks and dispelling them when she had the chance, when she was left momentarily wide open, and a Naruto clone stabbed his kunai on her shoulder.

"HA!" the clone shouted in triumph.

...and much to his shock, his kunai shattered, as if somehow the pinkette's skin was made of steel. The rest of the clones shared his shock.

"What the hell!?"

Sakura smirked, grabbed the clone by the arm, and used it to beat the rest of the stupefied clones until only one was left behind, the original Naruto.

"What the...don't tell me that you can use the chakra-enhanced strength to harden your skin! Because not even mom can do that!" Naruto asked, still in awe.

Sakura smiled. "It's much easier than that, Naruto," and then, Sakura's peach colored skin turned grayish brown, while her pink hair turned a shade of dark silver. "The name of the jutsu is Earth Release: Iron Skin. Usually you cast it beforehand, but I tweaked it a bit so it remains hidden and automatically triggers upon being hit. That way you can catch your opponents off guard, kinda like the Body Replacement."

"So you do have an impressive defense as well," Naruto replied.

"Of course. I'm a medic-nin in training, and medics are among the first ones targeted in a fight. I need to have a way to protect myself that does not rely on an escort," Sakura explained.

"Interesting. And how long does that jutsu last?" Naruto asked.

Sakura smirked at him. "Like hell I'm going to tell you. But then again, I'm not going to let you to drag out the fight for you to find it either."

"Well, good luck with that then" Naruto then formed ten Shadow Clones. "You have no way of stopping me from creating clones, and you will run out of chakra long before I do, and then you will only have your taijutsu, which no offense, isn't very impressive."

"Fortunately, Shizune-sensei taught me a jutsu that I can use to hit you and all your clones at once," Sakura made a hand seal and puffed her cheeks. "Poison Mist!"

Sakura exhaled a huge purple poisonous cloud, forcing Naruto and his clones to jump backwards and put some distance. He started making hand seals to one of his wind jutsu, when Sakura spoke up again.

"And if you're thinking in using your wind jutsu to dispel the poison, keep in mind that doing so may send the poison mist towards the people watching us, and you wouldn't want that, wouldn't you?" Sakura replied. Naruto couldn't see her, but he knew she had a smug smile on her face.

"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed I did. So you better give up now. The poison is not lethal, but it will inflict you great amounts of pain," Sakura explained.

"Give up? I don't know the meaning of those words" Naruto said with a confident grin. "Besides, just because I can't use wind to dispel the poison cloud, it doesn't mean that I can't get rid of it."

"Really? How so?" Sakura asked.

"Did Shizune nee-chan tell you that the poison she makes is extremely flammable?" Naruto asked.

"Of course I do. It's a good way to get rid of it in a fast and easy way, as well as being used as a makeshift explosive," Sakura replied. "But I know you don't have any fire jutsu."

"No… but I have explosive tags" Naruto stated.

Sakura stared at him blankly. "...shit."

Naruto tossed a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, and upon exploding, the purple cloud went up in flames. One of the clones used a light wind jutsu to dispel the ensuing smoke.

"And now, it's about time to end this," Naruto declared as he cracked his knuckles.

"Okay, maybe you neutralized my strategy, but we're still back at square one! With my Iron Skin, you have no way of inflicting any harm on me!" Sakura said as she angrily pointed at Naruto.

"No, but I have a jutsu that will knock you out, one that your impressive defense won't protect you from!" Naruto retorted.

Sakura scoffed. "Ha! If you had such an impressive jutsu all along, why didn't you use it before?"

"Because I didn't think it would be necessary. And frankly, because I don't think you deserve to have this jutsu used on you. You're a nice girl. Most of the time" Naruto's words were laced with a feeling of regret.

"Are you implying I'm weak!? Because I'm not! Come on Naruto, do your worst then!" Sakura taunted him.

"Alright...don't say I didn't warn you," Naruto dispelled his clones and charged at Sakura, who adopted a defensive fighting stance. "I'm very sorry Sakura, I hope you don't hate me for doing this."

Back in the stands, Tsunade was trying to figure out what kind of jutsu Naruto was talking about.

"Jiraiya, what is Naruto talking about? Because so far I can only think in a jutsu that can pierce Sakura's defense," the Slug Sannin commented. "Did you...?"

"I know which one are you thinking of, and I can tell you that I didn't teach him yet," Jiraiya replied. "It has to be something Naruto came up on his own."

"By the way he talked, it doesn't seem to be anything short of an A-Rank jutsu," Tsunade replied.

Everybody shared Tsunade and Jiraiya's curiosity about Naruto's fabled jutsu. Still, they were only a few seconds from finding out.

"Here it comes!" Naruto said, forming a hand seal.

"Whatever it is, I am ready!"

However, Sakura wasn't ready for the power Naruto was about to unleash. The poor girl would never be ready.

"Uchiha Harem Jutsu!"

"...wah?"

Multiple clouds of smoke appeared around Sakura, and when the smoke dispersed, the pinkette found herself surrounded. But not surrounded by Naruto clones, at least not normal ones. These clones were transformed into Sasuke. Into a _naked_ version of Sasuke, with only a wisp of smoke covering their crotches. The naked Sasukes were in a variety of sexy poses, some of them blowing kisses to the stunned Sakura.

"Hey there, beautiful," one of the Sasuke's said in a very un-Sasuke-y way.

"Why don't you come to play with me?" another one said in a very sultry voice.

"I'm all yours," another one said.

Everybody else in the stands had different reactions to Naruto's "Ultimate Jutsu". Most of the girls his age (including Ino, regardless of how much she would deny it later) were staring at the many naked Sasukes, drooling with blood coming from their noses. The boys and some adults cringed at the display. Many women, including Tsunade, Shizune and Kurenai felt a mixture of disappointment and unbridled rage. But it was nothing compared to the fury that Sasuke was feeling right now.

Wherever Sakura looked, all she saw was naked Sasukes. She could barely move. She tried to close her eyes, but they didn't obey the brain's orders, since they were too busy eating the eye candy before them. Until Sakura couldn't take it anymore, and the high pressure blood coming from her nose launched her into the air as if she was rocket, until she slammed into the –very high– ceiling, only to crash down into the floor.

Yugao checked the pink-haired kunoichi. She was still alive and breathing, though unconscious. A lewd smile adorned her face.

"Uhhh...winner, Naruto Uzumaki," Yugao unenthusiastically declared. The naked Sasuke's disappeared, leaving only a smiling Naruto.

"Yay!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fists.

Upon returning to the stands, Naruto was congratulated by Hinata and Haku. Kurenai, however, didn't look as happy.

"A well earned victory, I must admit," Kurenai said in an icy tone. "But you and I need to have a talk about that last jutsu you used there."

Far from being intimidated, Naruto just shrugged. "Hey, if a vision of a naked guy sends Sakura into such state...well, I wouldn't say she's ready to be a Chunin, don't you think?"

Kurenai pondered his words for a few seconds. "I guess that there's some truth to that. Still, I wish you used a more conventional way to defeat her. You won't be able to turn your enemies' libido against them all the time."

"Eh, I thought it was a good way to knock her out without harming her much. I mean, I could have summon a toad, but I thought that was a bit overkill. Though I have would have done it if I had no other options," the blond replied.

Hinata started to wonder if she would have been able to resist a vision of a dozen naked Naruto's around her, or if she would have the same reaction as Sakura. She would never know, and she realized that maybe it was for the best.

After the medic-nin reanimated Sakura, the defeated pinkette returned to the stands, saddened.

"Well, there goes my chance of being Chunin," Sakura said, letting out a sigh.

"Don't be so glum. You did pretty good against Naruto. And you can always try again in six months," Shizune tried to cheer her up, though right now it was of little help.

Once again, everybody directed their attention to the screen, names flashing at an imperceptible speed once again, until it stopped on two names:

 **Choji Akimichi VS Yoro**

The Akimichi clan heir and the Taki ninja went into the arena.

"Come on Choji, I know you can do it," Asuma told Choji with a genuine smile that Choji returned.

 _"Dammit, how the hell I'm going to lose against this fat ass and make it look believable?"_ Yoro thought, while his mind raced through the possibilities.

Once the two fighters were in front of each other, the match was ready to start.

"Begin!" Yugao announced, while making a chopping motion.

Choji wasted no time and charged at his opponent while doing a hand seal. "Partial Multi-size Jutsu!"

Choji's arms suddenly increased their size, and with his newly giant hands, tried to crush Yoro as if he was trying to kill a mosquito. Yoro, however, merely jumped to avoid the giant clap, and while in air, tossed a shuriken before doing several hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

The one shuriken turned into a dozen, and Choji instinctively covered himself with his giant arms. The shuriken embedded themselves into his arms, but at that size, they hurt as much as being poked with a needle. After wiping the shuriken away, Choji's arms returned back to normal.

"Not bad, kid, not bad," Yoro complimented, as he smirked at Choji.

Choji smirked back, or at least, tried to smirk. "That's only one of my clan's many secret jutsus There's more when that came from!"

"Why don't you show me, then?"

"With pleasure!" Choji made another hand seal. "Multi-size Jutsu!"

Mucho to Yoro's surprise, Choji's body bloated and inflated until turning into a human balloon with tiny arms and legs sticking from it. Then, the head and his limbs disappeared inside his clothes, as if Choji was a turtle, and the human boulder started to roll towards Yoro at an impressive speed.

"Human Bullet Tank!"

Yoro saw his opportunity and wasn't going to waste it. He made several hand seals. "That's not bad either, but that's not good enough! Water Release: Water Gun!"

Yoro expelled a stream of water from his mouth against the human boulder, managing to slow it down considerably. Yoro knew that if he poured more chakra into the jutsu, he could push Choji back. So naturally, he started to subtract Chakra from it, allowing Choji to gain speed and momentum until he finally slammed against the Taki ninja, violently hurling him backwards.

"UGH!" everybody cringed at the thought of being steamrolled by such an attack.

Yoro was now regretting his tactic. That jutsu was way more powerful than it appeared at first. At the very least, his defeat would be believable now. Gathering his strength, he managed to get back on his feet.

"Proctor, I can't keep going!" Yoro shouted, raising a hand.

Choji apparently heard this as he canceled his Human Bullet Tank, and returned to his usual form.

"Since Yoro has forfeited, Choji is the winner of the match!" Yugao declared.

"Alright!" Choji cheered enthusiastically as he returned to the stands.

As for Yoro, he was carried away by a couple of medic-nin.

Upon returning to his team, Choji was approached by his teammates.

"You did it, Choji!" Ino cheered, patting him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, good one," Shikamaru added. "It's good to see that at the very least one of us will go to the finals."

"Make that two! I have no intention of losing my match!" Ino defensively replied.

"I wasn't implying anything about you, Ino," Shikamaru just shook his head.

"You know, given their age, those Takigakure ninjas are surprisingly weak," Haku commented.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, let's say that when this round began, I wasn't betting on Tamaki-san and Choji-san making to the finals, given that of all the present ninja here, they have to be among the weakest," Haku explained.

"Well, Tamaki-san had the luck of fighting an opponent who was allergic to her summons," Hinata piped in.

"Too bad there are no people allergic to toads, or so I think," Naruto commented. "But then again, there would be no fun in winning like that."

Sasuke overheard Team Kurenai's conversation. It seemed that the Taki ninja wouldn't be able to maintain their cover for much longer. It was a stroke of luck that Sasuke's team was the one keeping their secret. Karin would have noticed Yoro purposefully decreasing the power of his jutsu to let Choji win. Ino, being also a sensor, would have noticed it as well, but she was just too happy for her teammate's victory to notice or care.

"Alright, so far so good," Jiraiya said, pleased. "We had half the matches, and with the exception of that Suna girl, all the finalists are Konoha Genin. And I'm sure that there will be more in the second half."

"Well, there are still plenty of Konoha Genin," Tsunade observed, and scanned the remaining competitors. "I'm glad that Naruto won, but it's a pity that he had to fight against Sakura. I want at least one of my medic students to make it to the finals. The world needs to see the value of our medic-nin."

"I'm sure some of them will pass. Sakura merely had bad luck," Jiraiya replied.

Once again, the screen started to flash names, until it stopped and displayed the next two combatants. There was a collective gasp, followed by a deafening silence.

Gaara's mouth curved into a smirk. "About time. I was getting tired of waiting."

...

* * *

 **Author's Note: Okay, a lot of discuss here.**

 **First of all, sorry for the Shikamaru vs Temari fight. I pride myself in being original, yet I went with one of the biggest cliches when it comes to the Chunin Exams in fanfiction. They were going to fight against different people, even if Shikamaru was stll going to lose and Temari was going to win. But in the end I ended up making them fight each other since I wanted more interaction between them, and this is a set up for a scene between them in a future chapter.**

 **Speaking of Shikamaru, despite what this chapter might made you think, let me assure you that I don't hate him (far from it). But I'm sick and tired of seeing how Shikamaru always gets a promotion no matter what (sometimes he's the ONLY ONE who gets a promotion). The last straw was a fanfic in which he was promoted despite not fighting in the finals. So sorry for Shikamaru and his fans, but he won't be Chunin yet.**

 **I always wanted to see a Sasuke vs Neji fight (at least before the gap between them was too big for such a fight not to be hilariously one sided) and I was very disappointed that neither the manga nor none of the fanfics I've read ever had one. Well, with the exception of "War of the Bijuu". I also want to write a rematch when both of them are more powerful, and their fight can be the focus of the chapter instead of having to share it with other five fights.**

 **A Hinata vs Sakura fight is something very common to see (the winner is usually the one who happens to be Naruto's love interest), but I never saw a Naruto vs Sakura or Naruto vs Hinata, and thought that it would be interesting. Guess that most writers don't do this since Naruto is usually way stronger than either girl, and indeed it was hard to write since I wanted Sakura to be at least a moderate challenge (and Naruto still had to hold back a bit), but at the same time I didn't want her to be too overpowered. I guess it's up to you guys to decide if I was succesful or not.**

 **And on one last note, let's talk about nobody's favorite character, Tenten. I always hate how she's always canon fodder in the Chunin Exams (again, just because she was cannon fodder in the manga), so I'm going to treat her with a bit more respect here, and hopefully show the raw potential of her abilities (but fear not, I won't make her into an overpowered Mary Sue).**

 **Guess that's all. You know already that Gaara will open the second part of the prelims, but who will be his unlucky opponent? In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	24. Preliminaries, Part II

**Author's note: Welp, while some reviewers complained, the backlash against the latest chapter wasn't so bad as I thought. I'm glad that most reviewers liked the fights and their outcomes so far. Let's hope you also like the fights from this chapter as well. Though I'm afraid that, just like the previous chapter, at least one of the fights will draw some controversy.**

 **By the way, Son of the Sannin is now in TVTropes' fanfic recommendation page! Thanks a lot to FoxBlueReaver for recommending it!**

 **Anyway, enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 24:**

Preliminaries, Part II

 _or_

 _The battlefield is the best place to meet new people_

Everybody looked at the screen displaying the names of the next two combatants, many of them with their mouths agape.

 **Shino Aburame VS Gaara**

"Oh man, that's all kinds of troublesome," Shikamaru commented.

"Boy, poor Shino," Choji added. "Not even the three of us could beat that sand guy and he has to fight him on his own."

All the eyes were on Shino, who as usual didn't openly display any kind of emotion. Then again, the bug-using ninja never saw Gaara in action, he merely heard about his exploits.

"Good luck, pal," Kiba said, nudging the Aburame in the shoulder.

"We'll be cheering for you," Tamaki added, smiling sympathetically at him.

Both Shino and Gaara descended upon the arena and walked in front of each other. Yugao made sure that both Genin were ready for the fight.

"Begin!" she shouted before making a chopping motion.

Shino placed some distance between himself and his opponent, and spread his arms sideways. Two swarms of kikai bugs emerged from underneath his sleeves –eliciting quite a few "ewww's!" from people at the stands– and commanded them to attack Gaara, who remained immobile, with his arms crossed.

The deadly swarm of flying insects soon found itself slamming against a nearby impenetrable shield of sand.. Shino mentally commanded the swarm to split into several groups, but a sand barrier would form whenever as mass of bugs tried to get close to Gaara. Shino then pulled three kunai from his tool pouch and tossed them at the sand ninja. The results were the same.

"Whoa, that guy is untouchable! How the hell is Shino going to hit him?" Naruto asked.

"He needs to find the weak point of that shield and exploit it," Kurenai replied.

"Does that sand barrier have a weak point?" Haku skeptically asked. "It looks like there's nothing that Shino can do to pierce it."

"Every jutsu has a weakness Haku, never forget that," Kurenai pointed out.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and analyzed Gaara's sand shield. "It seems like the sand is imbued with chakra, but...not in the way of the usual ninjutsu. It's a different chakra."

"That has to be the power of his Tailed Beast," Naruto concluded. "Boy, poor Shino, he got one of the worst possible opponents."

Gaara decided that he had already gave Shino enough time to attack, and thought it was time to end the match. He made a hand seal.

"Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

Gaara shot several projectiles made of sand at an impossible high speeds. Shino managed to expertly dodge most of them, but some sliced his skin at several points.

Unfortunately for the bug user, Gaara had just started. Making another hand seal, the sand formed five tentacles, and with another gesture, the hand appendages tried to lash or wrap themselves against Shino, forcing the Aburame into the defensive.

"Man, this is bad," Kiba noted, worried. "Not only does that redhead have an impenetrable defense, but his sand also packs quite a punch. It's bad to say this, but I'm glad that I don't have to fight him."

"Don't lose hope, Shino is pretty strong," Tamaki interjected. "I'm sure that he will think a way to-"

"Proctor, I wish to forfeit," Shino calmly announced.

There were a couple gasps, but given the power of Shino's opponent, nobody was surprised by such decision. Yugao looked at the Aburame.

"Are you sure?" The purple haired woman asked.

"I'm positive. There's no way I can win this fight, so it will be pointless to drag it out," Shino explained.

"Very well," she then motioned at Gaara. "Winner of the fight, Gaara!"

As soon as Gaara was declared victor, all the sand returned to the gourd he carried on his back. The red haired ninja walked towards Shino.

"You put a valiant effort. I don't remember any Genin other than my siblings lasting this long against me," Gaara praised.

"Thank you. I'm afraid that my skill set was badly matched against yours. I believe some of my fellow Konoha Genin would have given you a better fight," Shino replied.

"Maybe. I'm sure I'll find it soon."

While Gaara and Shino returned to the stands, Jiraiya and Tsunade were talking to each other once again.

"That brat is the kid you helped in Suna some years ago, am I right?" Tsunade asked.

Jiariya nodded in return. "Indeed. His power is nothing sort of impressive. I'm afraid to think what would have become of him if I never fixed his seal. His asshole of a father wouldn't have been of much help either."

"I wonder how Naruto would have fared against him," Tsunade wondered.

"We might get to see that, given that they're both in the finals now," Jiraiya observed. "Which means that I need to accelerate Naruto's training."

After Gaara was congratulated by his teammates and Shino was comforted by his, all the eyes were once again in the screen flashing names. More than half of the Genin there had already fought, so those who still hadn't were starting to grow antsy. The screen displayed the names of the next two combatants:

 **Hinata Hyuga VS T**

"Your turn, Hinata! Go and kick some ass!" Naruto cheered.

"R-Right!" The white eyed girl nodded, before heading to the arena.

"Interesting. Hinata was kidnapped by Kumo ninja when she was a toddler, and she has to now fight against another ninja of that village. What are the chances?" Kurenai wondered.

Meanwhile, T was also getting prepared for her upcoming match.

"You better not lose like this moron did, you get that?" Karui told her female teammate in a not-so-friendly way.

"Yes! Don't worry, I have this under control!" she assured.

"T is gonna put on an impressive show, all who watches will have their heads blown! As she fights in front of a crowd, she will make her village feel proud!" Killer B rapped while waving his hands wildly.

"Thank you, sensei, I'll do my best!" The blond girl replied before going to the arena.

Once the two kunoichi were in front of each other, Yugao made sure they were ready to fight.

"Begin!"

Both girls adopted a fighting stance –and in Hinata's case, activated her Byakugan–, and after a few seconds of eying each other, Hinata took the initiative and dashed at her, ready to deliver a palm strike to her chest. T blocked Hinata's attack by grabbing her by the wrist with one hand as she tried to stab the Hyuga with the other, but Hinata grabbed T's other wrist as well. After struggling for a bit, both girls broke from each other's grasp and jumped backwards.

"You're good. I wouldn't expect a foreign ninja knowing the proper way to block the Gentle Fist," Hinata praised.

"I did my homework," T smiled at her. "You're good too, not to mention pretty."

Hinata was taken aback. "...p-pretty?"

"Sure. Short hair doesn't look good in most girls, but you manage to pull it off," T began. "Plus you have a really soft skin! You have to tell me what you use to-"

"Goddamit T, stop flirting with the enemy!" Karui bellowed from the stands. "Focus!"

"R-Right! Sorry Karui!" T fearfully apologized as she grew more serious. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but I'll have to harm that cute face of yours."

 _"Hinata-chan? Cute face? Flirting?"_ Hinata wondered to herself. _"Is this girl...?"_

T flew through several hand seals. "Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"

Suddenly, T's body started to glow with an extremely white bright light, illuminating the entire place. Everybody instinctively shielded their eyes, since it was almost like looking directly into the sun. And in Hinata's case, the Byakugan made it even worse.

"AAAAARGH! My eyes!" she yelled as she brought her hands to her eyes and deactivated her Byakugan.

T smirked, having obtained the desired effect, and pulled a bunch of kunai from her tool pouch and tossed them all at the blinded Hyuga.

However, Hinata's eyesight returned earlier than T had expected, and pulling her own kunai, she used it to deflect the flying knives aside with a series of swings while she slowly stepped back.

 _"She's a ranged fighter. If I have to win this, I can't let her to stay away from me. I need to get closer!"_ Hinata thought.

The Hyuga launched herself at the Kumo kunoichi, ready to hit her with a palm strike. However, rather trying to grab her like she did before, T made several hand seals while jumping back.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Shield!"

T's whole body crackled with electricity as blue sparks ran through her body. Hinata didn't have her Byakugan activated, but she realized that whatever that was, it wouldn't be wise to touch her and canceled her attack.

"You stopped," T stated.

"Even without my Byakugan, I know that you created some sort of protection around you that will harm me if I touch you, am I right?" Hinata asked.

T smirked at her. "It seems that you're more than just a pretty face. Yeah, you nailed it. As you probably guessed now, I'm not very comfortable in close combat. Omoi and Karui take care of that. I'm the team medic and ranged specialist. That's why I learned this kind of jutsu in case I can't rely on them to protect me."

"You thought about everything. You're a very dedicated kunoichi," Hinata praised.

"Aw, thanks. It's nice to see somebody recognizing my skill," T replied, while glancing at Karui, who scoffed.

"Though sadly for you, that shield won't do much good in the long run," Hinata commented while she made several hand seals.

T smirked once again. "You think so? Okay, come and try to test my shield's effectiveness yourself."

"I plan to!" Hinata said before launching at T once more.

T watched Hinata readying another palm strike. She chuckled. "Do you think you can overpower my shield with brute fo-"

But much to her shock, that's exactly what happened. Hinata struck the Kumo kunoichi in the abdomen, causing her to bend over. Hinata landed another hit on her jaw, sending her backwards.

"What!?" Karui asked, incredulous.

"Alright! Show her who's boss, Hinata!" Naruto cheered.

Hinata couldn't help but blush a bit upon hearing her blond teammate's encouraging words. Still, she forced herself to push Naruto out of her mind and focus solely on the recovering T, who was rubbing her jaw, her shield no longer active.

"H-How...how could you...?" T asked, incredulous. Then, she noticed something about Hinata's hands. They were also crackling with electricity. "What? You're a lightning user too? But Hyugas don't use ninjutsu!"

Hinata just shrugged. "I'm not your typical Hyuga," her Byakugan activated once again. "And I'm sorry, but I have to end this now."

T panicked as Hinata approached her and tried to made the hand seals of her blinding jutsu, but she wasn't fast enough.

"Lightning Release: Lightning-"

"Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms! Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms!"

Hinata guessed that the weaker version of her clan's signature combo would be enough to deal with her, and her assumptions turned out to be correct. After her attack was over, T laid on the floor, bruised and unable to move, but still alive nonetheless.

Yugao went to check the fallen Kumo kunoichi, and upon seeing her state, she took a decision. "T can no longer fight! Winner, Hinata Hyuga!"

Hinata sighed in relief. Karui groaned, but her groans were drowned by Naruto's loud cheers. A couple medic-nin arrived to take T away, while Hinata returned to the stands with her team.

"Way to go, Hinata!" Naruto pat her on the back. "I knew you could do it"

Hinata's cheeks slightly turned pink. "T-Thank you. She was a really strong opponent."

"And if her words are to be believed, she wasn't even an actual fighter," Kurenai added. "Kumo is usually very rigorous with the training of their ninjas."

"Well that dude Tenten beat didn't look strong," Naruto pointed out.

"Because he was a close combat specialist, one of the best opponents Tenten could have faced. If Tenten had faced a long range specialist, like say, that Suna kunoichi, I don't think she would have risen victorious," Kurenai explained.

Naruto nodded, then turned at Haku. "Alright Haku, only you're left. Be sure to win, we can't go into the finals without you!"

Haku smiled at Naruto. "Don't worry, I don't plan on losing."

"There are very few Genin left. Maybe Haku-kun will be the next one to fight," Hinata said, noticing that the screen was shuffling names once again.

However, it wouldn't be Haku's turn just yet.

 **Kiba Inuzuka VS Karin Uzumaki**

"Alright, finally my turn!" Kiba cheered as he jumped into the arena. "Come on Akamaru, we got lucky we got such an easy opponent!"

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" an enraged Karin asked.

Kakashi sighed. _"I thought that I had taught Kiba not to underestimate any opponent. Guess that I need to work more on that."_ The Copy Ninja thought.

"Don't let him get to you," Shizune advised her. "Now, Inuzuka's usually rely in moving fast and hitting hard, so if you keep track of him you shouldn't have any problems. Don't let that dog blindside you either."

Karin nodded. "Don't worry sensei, I'll make you proud!"

Kiba and Karin walked to the center of the arena. Once Yugao checked they were ready, she announced the beginning of the fight.

"Begin!"

Both combatants wasted no time and made a hand seal with both hands.

"Beast Mimicry Art: Four Legs Jutsu!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Kiba stood in all fours like an animal. There was a thin veil of chakra flickering all over his body. His fangs and fingernails grew a little, but enough to give him an animal-like appearance. Meanwhile, four clones appeared alongside Karin.

"You idiot, you think that impresses me? You only gave me more targets to hit! Come on Akamaru!" Kiba shouted before charging at Karin, his loyal dog rushing behind.

Karin and her clones pulled out a kunai each, and got ready for the fight. They all noticed Kiba reaching into his tool pouch and pulled something the redheads weren't able to see.

"Take that!" Kiba shouted while tossing the items at Karin's feet, which exploded in a cloud of smoke.

'Smoke bombs?' Karin thought.

By focusing their chakra on their noses, members of the Inuzuka clan could develop a sense of smell so fine it was almost as good as their canine companions'. This allowed them track their enemies by their smell, usually in places with no or very little light. So naturally, the logical way of using this advantage is to create a situation of blindness for both combatants. With the enemy blinded, the Inuzuka's could move for the kill. Sure, they could be heard, but that could be easily fixed with stealth.

Unfortunately for Kiba, he did forget that he was fighting an enemy that had another sense that could use to replace eyesight. When Kiba and Akamaru moved to hit Karin –or one of her clones, all of them smelled the same– their attacks were expertly blocked, much to their shock, and in turn were kicked out of the smoke cloud, which dissipated on its own a few seconds later.

"What? How were you able to see me?" Kiba asked, outraged, as he stood up.

"I'm a sensor, you moron! I can pinpoint your location at all times, so trying to blind me is useless," Karin replied.

"Alright then. I didn't want to resort to this so soon, but I need to win this," Kiba pulled another object from his tool pouch, something very small, and tossed it at Akamaru, whose white fur turned red.

"The hell...?" Karin asked. "Did you feed your dog a soldier pill?"

"Indeed I did," Kiba then ate another pill himself. "Now the real fight begins. Come on Akamaru!"

Kiba hunched over and made a hand seal, and the now red Akamaru jumped at his back.

"Beast Mimicry Art: Beast Human Clone!"

After a smoke explosion, everybody saw that Akamaru had turned into a perfect copy of Kiba. Karin was unimpressed.

"You know I still can tell which is which, right?" Karin asked, as she adjusted her glasses. "Human chakra and animal chakra couldn't be more different. Though in your case, just barely."

"Hmpf. You must think I'm trying to trick you," Kiba retorted. "I'm going to tear you to shreds!"

Kiba and his human-turned dog dashed at Karin once again. The redhead and her clones adopted a defensive stance, though neither of them were ready for what was about to happen.

"Fang Passing Fang!"

Kiba and Akamaru turned into living drills, flying at Karin at high speed. The clones instinctively went to met them in combat, all of them poofed the moment the spinning Inuzuka and his dog made contact with them. But the attack didn't end there; once Karin's clones were destroyed, Kiba and Akamaru went for the real Karin, who could barely dodge the fierce attacks.

 _"Dammit, why the hell did I have to underestimate the mutt?"_ Karin cursed inwardly. _"Come on Karin, think! There has to be some weak point to...oh, I know!"_

After dodging an attack, Karin's hand reached her tool pouch, and echoing Kiba's actions from before, she pulled out a few smoke bombs and threw them the moment Kiba and Akamaru dashed at her, spinning once again.

While Kiba had an amazing sense of smell, it's too hard, not to say impossible, to use it when you're rotating at high speed inside a cloud of smoke. Disoriented, Kiba and Akamaru were forced to stop.

"You have quick mind, but you're only delaying the inevitable," Kiba taunted.

"You think so?" Karin asked back.

"Yes. You can't avoid me forever. I'm faster and stronger than you, and you will run out of smoke bombs. Then you have nowhere to hide," Kiba replied.

Karin chuckled. "Oh, you'll see that I have an excellent hiding spot," Karin retorted back.

Kiba was about to say something when the smoke started to dissipate, revealing Karin's figure. Kiba was about to attack, when much to his shock, he realized that Karin was holding him PRISONER –or better said, the transformed Akamaru–, wrapped with some strange chains that came from Karin's back. The spectacled redhead was holding a kunai to his neck.

"A lot of people think that being a sensor is only good for looking missing people, and tend to ignore the many uses it has for battle. Such as locating enemies inside a cloud of smoke," Karin smirked at Kiba, while she pressed a kunai against Akamaru's neck, drawing some blood. "Now you have to ask yourself, what's more important to you: becoming a Chunin, or your doggy?"

Kiba was left speechless for a few seconds, as his brain thought possible ways to rescue his four legged best friend. But he was alone, without any kind of support, and he couldn't surprise Karin. He greeted his teeth, while cursing something inaudible.

"Okay, you win," Kiba admitted, sighing. He looked at Yugao. "Protcor, I wish to forfeit."

Yugao nodded. "Very well. The winner of this match is Karin Uzumaki!"

Karin released Akamaru, who reverted back into a dog, and walked to Kiba, whimpering in guilt.

"Hey, don't feel bad for that," Kiba reassured as he scratched the dog's ear. "It can happen to anybody. We just got overconfident, that's all. Next time we will do better."

Akamaru let out a weak bark as an apology. After that, both winner and loser returned to the stands.

"I won, I won, I won, I won, I won!" Karin cheered, bouncing up and down upon returning to her team.

"Good job, Karin. I knew you could win," Shizune praised her as she gave her a pat on her shoulder.

"We know, we saw it," Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You only say that because you're jealous you can't be as great as I am," Karin childishly stuck her tongue at Sakura, then she turned at Sasuke. "Did you see that, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke sighed. "Didn't you hear Sakura? We were actually watching."

This time, it was Sakura who stuck her tongue at Karin.

"Man, I'm so glad that Karin-neechan won," Naruto told his teammates. "Uzumaki clan for the win!"

Once again, the screen started to flash names at an imperceptible speed. Only six people remained, all of them were looking intently at the screen until it stopped, this time much quicker than before.

 **Ino Yamanaka VS Karui**

"About time," Ino said as she headed towards the arena.

"Good luck, Ino!" Choji told her.

"What he said," Shikamaru added.

"Ugh, I can't afford to lose," Karui said as she eyed her opponent. "If none of us make it to the final round, Raikage-sama will flay us alive! Thank goodness my rival doesn't look too though."

"I wouldn't get too confident. Maybe she's pretending to be weak to make you lower your guard," Omoi began. "And she has some sort of super devastating bloodline limit that didn't show yet because she didn't want to draw attention, and then lots of villages will go after her for-"

"Don't be such a fool, or I'll crack your skull! Karui's not gonna lose, her foe doesn't confuse, and she can even brag, since the match is on the bag!" Killer B interrupted Omoi with one of his raps.

"Thank you, sensei. Unlike those two, I won't lose," Karui firmly stated.

Once the two kunoichi were in front of each other, the proctor checked they were also ready to fight. She made a chopping hand motion.

"Begin!"

Karui wasted no time, and like her male teammate, the first thing she did was unsheathe her katana and charge at Ino. Ino smirked and pulled something out of her tool pouch. Karui saw it was a smoke bomb. She couldn't stop the blonde from using it.

The redhead was forced to stop as she lost track of her enemy. Unfortunately for her, Ino was completely aware of where she was.

"Mind Scream Jutsu!"

Karui felt as if a hundred voices screamed at the top of their lungs into her ears. She dropped her katana as her hands instinctively covered her ears in pain, while she stumbled back. The smoke dispelled shortly afterwards.

"My Mind Scream Jutsu doesn't have much range, but it's pretty effective, don't you think?" Ino asked, her mouth forming a smirk. "And it serves its purpose of keeping you far away from me. Judging by your katana, you're a melee type, aren't you?"

"And I guess that you're a long range ninjutsu specialist," Karui replied back. "Smart. Very smart. But like my teammate T demonstrated before, we trained to eliminate our weaknesses," she said as she pulled out a couple shuriken.

"Ohhhh, you know how to use shuriken, that changes everything!" Ino replied in mock terror as she shook her hands in a theatrical way.

"Now I'm going to give you a reason to be afraid for real! Lightning Release: Shuriken Lightning Transmission!"

The Kumo kunoichi infused her shuriken with lightning chakra and tossed them forward in a wide angle, creating a lightning chain between the two of them.

"If you think I'm afraid of that, think again!" Ino shouted before nimbly jumping over the lightning chain, landing on her feet. "That's the best you have?"

Karui smirked. "Not even close."

This time, Karui tossed a dozen shuriken, all of them forming lighting chains with each other, creating what could be described as an electric spider web. An electric spider web that was flying at Ino. The Yamanaka heiress only had a couple seconds to choose which gap she could use to avoid the attack. She jumped through the gap she thought was the biggest, but miscalculated the jump and her leg graced a lightning chain, electrocuting her.

Fortunately for Ino, the shock was painful but not powerful enough to knock her out. She only needed to shake the numbness of her body and get back to her feet as soon as possible. However, when she was trying to do that, Karui had already picked back her katana and rushed at Ino. She kicked the blonde, knocking her back on her back. Wasting no time, Karui planted a foot on Ino's chest, and pointed her katana at her face.

"Say it," Karui ordered.

Ino cursed inwardly. She knew that there was nothing she could do. "Fine. I give up."

"Winner of the match, Karui!" Yugao announced.

Her victory already secured, Karui sheathed her katana, and helped Ino on her feet. "It was a nice match. You fought with fierceness and courage," Karui told Ino.

Ino merely sighed. "Thanks, but guess it wasn't enough to win."

"Keep training, and I'm sure that you'll make it far. There will always be more exams in the future."

Both girls returned to her teams, one being comforted for her loss and the other congratulated for her win. After that, everybody else turned again to the screen, which flashed the four remaining names for a few seconds before showing the second to last –and by elimination, the last as well– preliminary match.

 **Kankuro VS Fu**

"About time," Kankuro scoffed as he headed down to the arena.

"Yay, my turn~" Fu happily chirped as she flew down to the arena.

"So that means that I will fight against Rock Lee for the last match," Haku concluded. "Too bad I have to fight against one of the few Konoha Genin that I know almost nothing about."

"From what Neji-nii-san told me, Lee-san can't use ninjutsu nor genjutsu for some reason, and he uses exclusively taijutsu," Hinata informed the Ice Ninja.

"Which means that as long as you keep the distance between the two of you, you should be fine," Naruto added.

"Easier said than done. Lee-san looks like a though opponent," Haku replied while looking at Lee, who in turn had all his attention focused on the second to last fight.

"You know, I'm kind of interested in Kankuro," Naruto mentioned. "He was training to be a ninja puppeteer. I want to see how they fight."

Once both fighters were ready, Yugao signaled they could start.

"Begin!"

Kankuro wasted no time and unslung the wrapped package at his back, and unwrapped it as well, revealing his puppet, a three-eyed, four-armed humanoid with jagged teeth and spiky brown hairstyle protruding from the top of its head and framing the sides, its body covered by a dull brown ragged cloak.

"Now, everybody will see the power of the ninja puppeteers of Suna! Behold Karasu, my first puppet!" Kankuro boasted as he created several chakra threads from his fingers and latched them to the puppet. "Now, let's begin!"

Kankuro made a hand motion, and Karasu opened its mouth and fired a barrage of senbon at the green haired girl. Wings sprouted once again from Fu's hips and flew high into the air to avoid being hit. Kankuro smirked.

"Do you think you can escape my puppet? There's no escape from Karasu!" Kankuro shouted while motioning his arms upwards.

Karasu elevated in mid air and dived at the flying Fu, who flew back while making a few hand seals.

"Actually, I believe I can hide!" Fu replied, never losing her smile. "Hiding in Scale Powder Jutsu!"

Fu exhaled shiny powder from her mouth, forming a bright, sparkly cloud that blinded everybody who looked at it. Kankuro instinctively shielded his eyes, which incidentally made Karasu move in a random direction, getting out of the way and leaving an opening for Fu to attack.

"Gotcha!" The Taki kunoichi shouted as she dived at Kankuro, "Takigakure Whirlwind!"

Fu's fist connected Kankuro's face, making a sickening "crunch", causing those who heard it to wince. Fu, however, was a bit confused. When she hit Kankuro, she didn't feel as if she hit flesh, skin and bone, but a much harder material, like wood. And to further her confusion, Kankuro's face started to peel and fall off, revealing Karasu.

"Uh?" she asked dumbly.

"Haha! It's me whose got you!" Kankuro said from behind. With a few finger motions, Kankuro made Karasu to trap Fu with a four-armed hug. "Now surrender, or my puppet will crush you to death!"

"You're a funny guy," Fu replied, unable to look Kankuro in the eyes. "I never seen a ninja who uses such contraptions to fight."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Do you surrender or not?"

"Nah, I don't think so," Fu nonchalantly replied as she broke from Karasu's deathly embrace, blowing all four arms away from the main body.

"WHOA!" Kankuro shouted, shocked. Not even the adults were strong enough to break Karasu's tight grip. "What the hell do they feed you, girl?"

"Sorry for breaking your toy, by the way," Fu replied. Her apology seemed genuine. "It looks expensive."

"It is. But it's not a toy, and it's not broken. Now behold!" and with more hand motions, Kankuro reattached the four arms to the main body. "Good as new! No matter how hard you hit it, you won't be able to break my puppet!"

"I'm starting to like your puppet more and more," Fu mentioned, clearly intrigued. "Do you mind if I borrow it?"

"Ha! Like hell I'll give this work of art to anybody that-WHAT THE HELL!?" Kankuro yelled in shock. Much to his horror, Fu had created chakra threads from her fingertips and attached them to Karasu as well. "You can use chakra threads too?"

Fu shrugged. "Yeah. Can't everybody?" she asked.

Both Fu and Kankuro started to wrestle with their chakra threads for a few seconds, until Fu managed to overpower Kankuro and snatch Karasu from his grasp.

"Hey, give me back Karasu, you thief!"

"Now your toy is mine!" she childishly shouted, before making some hand motions in order to make Karasu attack, but all she did was make the puppet to move around in an erratic pattern while waving all four arms wildly. It looked as if the puppet was having a seizure. "Boy, this is much harder than it looks!"

"Of course it is! It takes years of practice to learn to control a single puppet! Now give me back Karasu!" Kankuro angrily repeated as he charged at Fu.

"Oh well. I thought it would be fun to use this to defeat you, but guess that I'll have to do it the old fashioned way," Fu dispelled the chakra threads, releasing Karasu, as wings sprouted from her hips, and flew at Kankuro, her right fist reared back.

Kankuro, who was charging at Fu as well, didn't have time to react or use the Body Replacement as the green haired girl's fist connected with his left eye, hurling him spinning backwards, making a loud 'thud' upon falling.

"Ugh..." Kankuro groaned, dizzy. After a few seconds, he managed to stand up, but after a hit like that, there was nothing much he could do.. "Proctor...I wish to forfeit..."

"Alright. Winner of the match, Fu!" Yugao declared.

Fu cheered loudly, while a couple medic-nin carried Kankuro away.

"Well, maybe he lost, but his puppet was pretty impressive," Naruto commented, as he saw the Suna ninja being taken away.

"Plus he had the bad luck to fight against somebody who happened to know how to use chakra threads, not to mention being insanely strong," Haku mentioned. "Seriously, where does she hide the muscle? Because that didn't look like Tsunade-sama's super strength technique."

"You can worry about that later, Haku. Now you have a match to win," Kurenai reminded him.

The giant screen displayed the names of the last two remaining Genin.

 **Rock Lee VS Haku Yuki**

"I can't believe it took this long so I could fight!" Lee enthusiastically shouted. "YOSH! If they made me wait any longer, my flames of youth would have burned me on the inside!"

"If it makes you feel better, think that they left the best for the last!" Gai replied just as excitedly. "Now go there and make me feel proud!"

Lee nodded, and jumped into the arena.

 _"And I won't make only you proud, sensei. I'll be sure to impress Sakura-san with my youthful and powerful moves!"_ Lee thought while casting a glance at the pinkette.

Haku got there at a much calmer pace. He looked at his team, who smiled at him –and in Naruto's case, gave him a thumbs up–, then he looked at Lee's team, or better said, as the sole female member.

 _"I better be careful not to hurt Lee much. Tenten-chan wouldn't appreciate me injuring her teammate..."_ he then shook his head. _"What the hell I'm thinking? I don't even know how strong Lee is to think that. And I should focus on winning this. Zabuza-sama is watching me as well, besides Yugao-san. I can't disappoint them."_

"Are you ready?" Yugao asked the Genin. Both nodded in return. "In that case, let the last preliminary match begin!"

Lee wasted no time and dashed at Haku, his fist already reared back. In less than a second, he was already in close combat range, and the green clad Genin punched Haku in the face. However, Haku expertly deflected his fist with a light tap to the wrist, and dashed past him as he pulled something from between his kimono. Lee turned around and saw a growing puddle of water forming at Haku's feet. Lee could see that the water was coming from a sealing scroll. He deduced Haku would use that water for his jutsu.

"You're fast. There are very few Genin that are able to match my speed," Lee commented.

"Thanks. For ninja who aren't physically strong like myself, building up speed is essential," Haku replied. Some would say that admitting to have a sub-par physical endurance was foolish, but in this case, it didn't matter. It's not that Lee wouldn't do anything different.

"And you used the window of opportunity to summon that water," Lee wasn't deterred in the slightest. "Alright, let's see what's stronger, your ice, or my flames of youth!"

Haku smiled, and started making hand seals at an almost imperceptible rate. "As you wish, Lee-san. Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"

The water from the puddle started to rise and take the shape of three vaguely humanoid figures that quickly turned into exact replicas of Haku. The four of them scattered across the arena.

"Nice trick, but I know which one of you is the real one!" Lee declared as he dashed at one of the Haku's and jumped at him. "Konoha Whirlwind!"

However, the moment Lee kicked Haku, the Ice Ninja burst into an explosion of water that completely soaked the green clad Genin. After a moment of confusion, Lee realized what happened. "I see. You used Body Replacement with one of your clones, just like Naruto-kun did."

Haku shrugged. "We're teammates after all."

The three Haku's then pulled several senbon each and started to pelt Lee with them. The green-clad ninja managed to dodge most, but some were embedded on his flesh, causing some pain even if they didn't cause much damage. Lee managed to reach to another Haku, and delivered a punch to his face, once again making it turn into water, soaking Lee once more.

Haku and his remaining clone decided to dash at Lee from opposing sides before he destroyed the last clone. Still, Lee managed to block both attacks, and in a display of insane speed, punched the real Haku back and destroy the last clone, who soaked Lee even further.

"Fighting your clones was a worthy challenge, but I think that this ends now," Lee said as he prepared to attack the real Haku.

"I couldn't agree more," Haku replied as he made a hand seal.

Lee charged at Haku, but realized that he wasn't moving as fast as he should. He was also cold, very cold. Ice was growing all over his body, slowing him down and trapping him inside a block of ice.

"You probably thought that some water wouldn't hurt you, and didn't care about being soaked when you destroyed my clones," Haku stated as he walked towards the frozen Lee, whose head was the only part of his body not encased in ice. "Surrender, you lost."

"Surrender so soon? That would be mostly unyouthful!" Lee replied, as he tried to struggle.

"There's no way for you to break that ice. Only a Jonin level ninja could. It's impossible to break free."

Lee smirked confidently at Haku. It wasn't a smirk of smugness, but the joy of taking a worthy challenge. "Impossible only means that it hasn't been done yet!"

Lee then started to glow with a green light, as the ice encasing him started to tremble. Even if he wasn't a sensor, Haku noticed that Lee's chakra levels were dramatically increasing. The ice block started to crack.

"No! It can't be...!"

"Gate of Opening, open!"

The ice block trapping Lee shattered in a million pieces, releasing the green clad ninja, who was smiling confidently.

Back in the stands, Lee's display didn't go unnoticed to the more veteran ninja watching.

"Gai? Did you teach Lee to open the Celestial Gates?" Kakashi asked the green clad Jonin with an air of incredulity.

"Indeed I did, my rival!" Gai replied, excited as ever, especially now that he managed to surprise the Copy Ninja, something of a rare feat.

"But...that's something extremely dangerous to teach a mere Genin!" Kakashi protested.

"I couldn't agree more, but Lee is more than capable of handling the backlash of the gates, and he knows its limits and which situation should he use them!" Gai explained.

Kurenai, who heard the conversation, was worried. "If that kid is able to use the Celestial Gates, then Haku is in trouble."

Naruto and Hinata noticed their Jonin-sensei's reaction, and decided that they should get some answers.

"Kurenai-sensei, what are those 'Celestial Gates' Kakashi-sensei and Bushy Brows-Sensei talked about?" Naruto asked.

"As you probably learned in the Academy, our chakra system has eight spots that act as dams that regulate the chakra that flows through our body," Kurenai began. "However, there is a way to temporary open those dams, increasing the chakra flowing through the body. This has a multitude of positive side effects, such as increased strength, speed and power."

"But it has a downside, doesn't it?" Hinata guessed.

Kurenai nodded at her. "Yes. This power boost is temporary, and when it ends, there's a massive backlash that damages your body, which becomes worse the more gates you open. In some cases, the damage might be irreversible. And if you open all eight gates, while it will give you the power of a god, you'll die shortly afterwards."

Naruto and Hinata pondered their sensei's words. Now they both also shared her worry for the Ice Ninja.

"Gai-sensei, how many gates can Lee-san open?" Hinata asked.

"I'm glad you asked! Lee can open up to five gates already! Quite a feat, don't you think so?" Gai stated proudly.

While most Genin didn't know if that was a lot or not, all the Jonin visibly choked. Kurenai looked as if she was going to have a heart attack.

"Haku!" The genjutsu mistress yelled. "You can't let him open more gates! You have to finish this as soon as possible!"

"Don't be afraid, Kurenai! Lee knows that this match isn't a matter of life or death. He won't risk neither his rival's nor his own safety opening more gates than necessary!" Gai interceded. However, his words did little to soothe Kurenai.

"That was a nice warm up. Let's fight for real!" Lee shouted at he dashed at Haku, fist raised ready to strike.

Haku managed to dodge the attack and Lee punched the floor, making the whole instance tremble. Haku gulped, uneasy.

 _"His strength and speed increased dramatically. If I let him hit me, then it's over,"_ the Ice Ninja thought as he started to think possible strategies to counter Lee's massive power boost.

For the most part, Haku tried to run away from Lee, trying to stall for time. He either dodged or redirected Lee's vicious punches and kicks, but never blocked them. If he tried to block them, it would be over.

"Are you trying to see which one of us gets tired first?" Lee asked, not slowing down on his assault. "Very well, I accept your challenge!"

 _"Dammit, this doesn't look good!"_ Haku continued dodging hits, but he was starting to run out of breath. Suddenly, an idea formed in his brain. _"I believe this could work."_ Haku thought, and made a single hand seal.

"Hiden Mist Jutsu!"

In a few seconds, a thick cloud covered the battlefield. Lee lost track of his opponent and was forced to stop his attack. In the stands, Kurenai visibly sighed.

 _"Good job, kid. That might give you some time to recover, and maybe even you can catch him off guard,"_ the red-eyed Jonin thought.

Meanwhile, inside the fog, both combatants were planning their next move.

 _"This jutsu is easy to learn and cast. But without silent killing, it's nowhere near as useful as it could be. My stealth isn't near as good as Zabuza-sama's , but I think it will be enough for this opponent. Or so I hope."_

 _"Haku-san forced me on the defensive. He'll try to ambush me any time. If I know where the attack comes from before I give him time to move, victory will be mine."_

A whistle alerted the green clad Genin, who caught in his hand a trio of senbon a second before they embedded on his neck, and tossed them away. Lee immediately dashed towards where the senbon came from, but Haku had already moved.

Again, the whistle of senbon flying alerted Lee. This time, he pulled out a kunai and parried them, while running towards Haku's location. The Ice Ninja moved already, but this time Lee heard the sound of his steps. An idea formed in his mind.

When a new barrage of senbon came, Lee countered it by tossing several kunai in the opposite direction, which stopped the much lighter weapons and continued flying at Haku. Paying attention to the sound, Lee dashed at the same place Haku was running to and...

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Lee's flying kick impacted Haku in the torso, sending the Ice Ninja flying backwards, spinning mid air. The mist dispelled almost instantly.

"Oh man, that doesn't look good for Haku..." Naruto muttered.

"Have faith in him, Naruto. Haku hasn't played all his cards yet," Kurenai told the blonde, who looked at her a bit puzzled.

"Your tactics are clever, and your skill is worth admiring, Haku-san," Lee said as he walked towards Haku, who tried to stand on his feet as fast as he could. "I feel the fight is already over, but if you wish to continue, I won't deter you."

"Yeah, I'm not going to surrender yet..." Haku said as he clutched the pained sides of his torso. "At least not until I tried everything."

"Very well! Opponents who fight until the very end are the ones I like to fight the most! Your flames of youth burn bright as well, even if not as much as mine!" Lee excitedly shouted as he prepared to finish the fight.

"If that's the case...then take this!" Haku shouted back as he made several hand seals.

Suddenly, Rock Lee found himself trapped inside another block of ice, with only his head free. He wasn't afraid in the slightest, this was something he could easily break out from. Yet for some reason, this ice felt...different than the ice Haku had used before.

"This is your trump card? I'm very disappointed, Haku-san, to see you using something that proved to be inefficient before," Lee said, shaking his head.

"Try breaking that ice then, if you're so sure," Haku challenged.

"Very well!" Lee tried to either break or melt the ice with the force of his chakra, but this ice proved to be much sturdier than before. "I see that there's more to this jutsu than I initially thought, but it doesn't matter! There's no ice my flames of youth can't melt! Gate of Healing, open!" With an additional power boost, the ice wouldn't stand a chance. But much to Lee's shock, the Second Gate remained closed. "Gate of Healing, open! Open! OPEEEEEEEEEEN!"

"Save yourself the effort, you won't be able to open more gates," Haku calmly told Lee as he made a hand seal. Spikes of ice started to grow near Lee's face, who flinched when a spike came way too close to his cheek. "Now surrender. There's no way you can break that ice, I don't want to inflict you unnecessary damage."

Lee struggled one last time, but his efforts were in vain. Despite being taught to never give up in the long run, Gai also taught Lee that there were times in which you should fall back and fight another day. It seemed to be one of those situations.

"I see there's nothing I can't do. Alright, I admit that this time, victory belongs to you! But don't think this ends here! Once I redouble my training, I shall challenge you again and win!" Lee proudly declared.

Haku couldn't help but smile. "I'll be looking forward it."

"Proctor, I wish to forfeit!" Lee told Yugao.

The purple haired woman raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure?"

"Very sure!"

The proctor shrugged. "Alright. Winner of the match, and last finalist, Haku Yuki!"

After being declared winner, Haku fell on his knees and slumped, exhausted. Yugao walked past him, and put a hand on his shoulder. "Good job, kid," she whispered in his ear.

"Uhhh...Haku-san? Would you mind getting me out of this block of ice?" Lee asked.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I kinda forgot!" Haku replied, chuckling a bit.

However, rather than doing a hand seal or something similar, Haku tapped Lee's forehead, and suddenly the ice vanished as if it was never there. It took Lee a few seconds to realize what had happened.

"Wait a minute, that ice...that was a genjutsu!" Lee exclaimed in realization.

"Indeed. Had you reached that conclusion a minute earlier, and I would have lost the match," Haku told him.

Lee gritted his teeth in anger, and his eyes started to water. He had the victory right there and let it slip between his bandaged fingers. Haku was afraid of what the Genin of the thick eyebrows would do after realizing he was tricked. But then he wiped his tears and smiled brightly.

"Oh, I can't get mad at you for a mistake I made!" Lee said in an oddly cheerful tone. "I'll train even harder to make sure such thing never happens the next time! And if it happens, I'll run one hundred laps around the village, on my hands, with one hand, while carrying a boulder!"

Haku was a bit taken aback by Lee's extreme self-punishment, but didn't say anything.

"And you keep training as well, so when the day come that we clash again, you will still be a worthy adversary!" Lee said.

Haku smiled. "Don't worry, I have no plans on getting any weaker."

With that. both combatants returned to their teams.

"Good one, Haku!" Naruto cheered as he pulled the ice ninja into a bear hug. "The three of us are going to the finals!"

"You were amazing down there. There were times in which I was afraid you'd lose," Hinata added.

"Thank you both," Haku replied. "Though luck played a role in my victory. Had Lee realized of my genjutsu, he would have won."

"But he didn't," Kurenai interjected. "The beauty and the danger of a genjutsu is that many times it comes from not being identified as such in time. You did pretty good Haku, and your victory is completely deserved."

Meanwhile, Lee, this time not holding back his tears, walked towards his sensei.

"Gai-sensei, I'm sorry I lost. I brought shame to both of us. I'll accept whatever punishment you deign appropriate," Lee glumly told his sensei.

"YOU IDIOT!" Gai yelled as he knocked Lee on his back with a punch to the jaw, drawing everybody's attention.

"Gai-sensei...?" Tenten fearfully asked.

"You think that your defeat brings me shame? It does not! It brings me joy like no other, because even if you lost, you gave it all and showed everybody the results of your hard work!" Gai shouted excitedly as he started to cry as well. "There's no shame in losing if your heart remains unconquered! This won't be the last defeat you face, that's for sure! Life is full of failure! But that doesn't matter as long as we keep going on and fight for what we love!"

"Gai-sensei...oh, sorry for thinking that I had ashamed you, you are so right!" Lee passionately exclaimed as he hugged his sensei.

"It's okay, Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

Much to everybody's shock, the makeshift arena turned into a beach where the sun was falling. Waves started to crash against the shore as master and student hugged each other.

"Okay, enough of that!" Jiraiya shouted, making Gai and Lee to break their hug, dispelling the illusion. "So, the preliminaries are over! Congratulations to all of you who passed on to the finals!"

Said finalists cheered in joy.

"Can all the finalists come down?" Yugao asked, and the Genin did as she instructed.

"Now, the final part of the exam will be held one month from today and will be like a tournament of one on one fights, which will end the moment we have a champion," Jiraiya explained.

"And said champion becomes Chunin?" Haku guessed.

Yugao shook her head. "No. There will be several examiners that will review your performance. Their reports will be sent to the Hokage and his advisors, who will decide the new Chunin based on them. It's possible to lose your first fight, and still earn a promotion. But remember that if you win, you'll get to fight more, and have a greater chance to impress the examiners."

"Wait, the _Hokage_ gets to decide if I am a Chunin or not?" Karui asked, a bit indignant.

"Sorry, I mean the Hokage for Konoha ninja. For non-Konoha ninja like yourself, the reports will be sent to the head of your villages, who will decide if you deserve to be Chunin or not," Yugao clarified.

Jiraiya let out a hearty chuckle. "It would be incredibly unfair if it was up to me to decide the promotions of foreign ninja, don't you think so? It's common sense."

"The match-ups for the finals will be decided randomly, just like the preliminaries. If you look up, the screen will display the first round of fights."

The giant screen above them flashed to life once more, displaying the twelve names:

 **1st Match: Sasuke Uchiha VS Haku Yuki**

 **2nd Match: Choji Akimichi VS Karui  
**

 **3rd Match: Naruto Uzumaki VS Temari**

 **4th Match: Hinata Hyuga VS Tamaki**

 **5th Match: Tenten VS Gaara**

 **6th Match: Karin Uzumaki VS Fu**

 **7th Match: Winner of the 1st Match VS Winner of the 2nd Match**

 **8th Match: Winner of the 3rd Match VS Winner of the 4th Match**

 **9th Match: Winner of the 5th Match VS Winner of the 6th Match**

 **Final Match: Winner of the 7th Match VS Winner of the 8th Match VS Winner of the 9th Match**

Sasuke and Haku glanced at each other, both trying to hide their reactions. Karui smirked as she looked confidently at Choji, who looked at her nervously. Naruto and Temari smiled at each other, showing their eagerness to test their skills against each other. Hinata and Tamaki shared an look of indifference, before they both politely smiled at each other. Tenten looked at Gaara a bit afraid, who didn't bother to look back at her. Karin shot Fu a determined and challenging glare, and upon noticing this, Fu smiled brightly and waved at her.

Karin sighed in defeat. "There's no way to create an epic rivalry with this green haired moron..."

"Now that you know who will be your first opponent, my advice is to train like there's no tomorrow," Jiraiya began. "Training Grounds Fourteen, Sixteen and Eighteen have been reserved for Suna, Taki and Kumo respectively, and have been marked with flags with the symbol of said villages. "A boat will take you out of here. Good luck to everybody, and see you in a month."

* * *

 **Author's note: Like the previous chapter, long ending note incoming.**

 **Okay, I know that some people will be a bit disappointed by how short Gaara's fight was, but honestly, of all the people who were meant to lose, none of them bar Rock Lee could be much of a challenge to him (and I wasn't going to redo another fight from canon). But fear not, the next time Gaara fights, it will be far more epic (Tenten has a month to become a suitable challenge for him).**

 **You know, planning who was going into the finals took me more effort than writing the actual fights. You see, I had this criteria:**

 **1\. First of all, I wanted more girls. Temari being the only kunoichi who made it to the finals in canon was unacceptable.  
**

 **2\. Second, I wanted at least one member of every team making it to the finals.**

 **3\. I also wanted to do some fights in particular, such as Choji vs Karui, as well as others that are spoilers right now.**

 **Even with the expanded roster of finalists (12 here vs 8 in canon) that means that some Genin who made it to the finals in canon would not make it here, so sorry for Shikamaru, Kankuro, Shino, Neji and their respective fans.**

 **Also, before some people ask why Lee didn't take his weights: In canon, Lee only took off his weights when fighting against Gaara, a clearly deranged madman who would try to kill him. Here, Lee's opponent is way friendlier and would never try to kill or even maim him. Besides, it's not that he needed it, since Lee was already kicking Haku's ass with just one door opened and the weights still on him. All what Haku did was stall Lee, first with ice, then with the mist and lastly with a genjutsu. He just got lucky that the last one worked.**

 **So, guess that's all. Don't expect the finals to come next. There are still two chapters for the finalists to rest, train, and go through some more character development (as well as developing several relationships). Not everything can be nonstop action ;)**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	25. The Training Begins

**Author's Note: And we just reached chapter number twenty five! Let's give a review of this story's stats now that we reached such a milestone.**

 **192873 views**

 **950 favorites**

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 **and 702 reviews!**

 **Wow, look at that! I know we reached this point long ago, but damn, I never imagined that this story would become my most popular fic but such a huge margin. Thanks a lot to all of you who contributed to this fics' success!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25:**

The Training Begins

 _or_

 _My new justu is stronger than yours!_

 _Icharaku's Restaurant_

Naruto, Hinata and Haku were celebrating that the three of them had passed. The celebration turned even better when Teuchi decided to treat them to the first bowl of ramen, as a way to reward and encourage them for their hard work.

"Whoa, thanks old man!" Naruto cheered as he started to wolf down the food.

"But remember, just the first bowl!" Ayame reminded Naruto, shaking her index finger at him. "Seriously, with that bottomless pit you call a stomach, we can't be too generous with you or else you'll bankrupt us!"

Everybody, including Naruto, laughed at Ayame's jab.

"By the way, how is that your sensei is not here celebrating with you? It's as much a victory for her as it is for you, given that she taught you and all that," Teuchi asked.

"Kurenai-sensei went to a bar with the other senseis to celebrate on their own," Hinata replied. "She didn't say anything, but she's a bit miffed that she won't be training any of us for the finals. Though, she will check on our progress every few days."

"How so?" Ayame asked.

"I will be training with dad, Hinata with her mom and Haku with Zabuza," Naruto explained.

"Kurenai-sensei is a great teacher, but unfortunately for her, we have other people better suited to train us in our specialties," Haku added. " Then again, I might ask her to continue training me in genjutsu if I have some time."

"I don't think genjutsu will be very useful against an Uchiha. The Sharingan can see through all but the most potent of genjutsu," Hinata interceded.

"I know," Haku replied. "But Sasuke won't be my only opponent. If I win, I'll get to fight either Choji-san or that Kumo kunoichi, and I think genjutsu will work on them just fine."

After all, genjutsu pretty much gave Haku the victory against Lee, his newfound enthusiasm about it was understandable.

"How do you feel about fighting Sasuke?" Naruto asked as he finished his bowl.

"I'm going to admit that I'm a bit worried. Sasuke-san is really strong, and I never managed to beat him in the Academy. I know how he fights, but that won't be enough. Plus I'm sure his brother and Shisui-san will train him this month, and I know that those two are among Konoha's strongest."

"Well, you're going to train with a Swordsman of Kiri," Naruto replied. "Your teacher isn't that bad, you know."

"Don't get me wrong, I wasn't doubting about Zabuza-sama's teaching capabilities, but I will need to learn all I need to defeat Sasuke-san. Besides, I'll have to make sure he doesn't get angry. Sasuke is really vicious when angry," Haku recalled.

Naruto shivered upon remembering Sasuke's fight with Neji. "Indeed! I know that that idiot had a short fuse, but that...boy, that was too much! I swear he would have killed Neji if Shisui didn't intervene. Let's hope Shizune-neechan can knock some sense into that thick skull of his. And if he does something to you..." Naruto cracked his fingers. "Well, I'll make sure he regrets such a thing."

Haku smiled at the blond. "Thanks for wanting to avenge me, but I'm sure that it won't be necessary. Then again, even if Sasuke shows restraint, it won't be an easy fight. I'm a bit jealous of Hinata-san, her opponent isn't that strong."

"Well, Tamaki-san might not have been the strongest kunoichi of our class, but underestimating your rival is unwise," Hinata replied. "Besides, her fighting style is wild and chaotic, and thus hard to fight against."

"I'm sure that you'll do fine," Naruto reassured.

"What about you, Naruto-kun? We don't know anything about those Suna ninja, but you seem to know them really well. What do you know about the girl?"

"Temari?" He was about to reply, when something dawned upon him. "Well, I know her, but I never saw her fighting until yesterday. She's really good with Wind Jutsu, even better than me, so I guess that won't be an option. Anyway, I'm sure dad can teach me something to help me beat her."

"By the way," Haku interceded. "There's a high chance we might end up fighting each other. In fact, you two will end up fighting each other if you win your first match."

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other, a bit shocked upon hearing Haku's words. Sure, they had fought a lot in the past, but those were sparring matches in which both of them held back a lot. And they couldn't afford holding back if they wanted to become Chunin.

"Eh, we'll worry about that when the moment comes," Naruto said, dismissing the topic at hand.

…

Not far from there, Sasuke was heading towards his house. After listening to what appeared to be hours of both Shizune and Shisui chastising him for his brutality during the match with Neji, Karin had asked Sasuke to go to celebrate together their victories. Sasuke declined it before Sakura had any time to protest. The Uchiha wasn't in the mood for any sort of celebration. All he wanted to do was head home, have some light dinner, sleep and erase this day from his memory.

However, when he arrived home, he'll find a surprise waiting for him.

"Hello, little brother. I presume that you made it to the finals, am I right?"

Sasuke blinked, and repressed the urge to show a smile. "Itachi?"

"Good, you still remember me. I was worried, given how little time we spend together now," Itachi chuckled as he walked towards Sasuke. "As for my question..."

Sasuke averted his gaze. "Yeah, I passed. The finals are in one month."

"Good. I suggest you to get a good night of sleep, because starting tomorrow, you're going to train as you never did before," Itachi told him.

Sasuke frowned a bit. "Yeah, I had that in mind," then, a realization dawned upon the youngest Uchiha. "Wait a minute, are _you_ going to train me?"

"Sure. Or do you prefer somebody else?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's that, well, with your new job...do you have time for that?"

Itachi's mouth curved into a smile. "I took this month off. Let's say that Hokage-sama owed me some vacation weeks, and I'm going to take them now."

"Really? That's great!" Sasuke said in an unusual display of cheerfulness.

"Good to see that the news improved your mood a bit. Because I can tell that something happened to you today that soured your mood. At first I thought that maybe you didn't make it to the finals, but it looked like it was something else..."

"Well, it was something that I did during the preliminaries..." Sasuke began, but Itachi held up his hand.

"It's okay, you don't have to tell me. At least not now. Go and make yourself some dinner if you're hungry, and go to bed. Tomorrow you will tell me everything, and whatever wrong you did, we'll make sure to fix it," Itachi reassured.

Sasuke doubted that, but decided not to contradict his brother, and he was too tired for another argument. It was better to do what Itachi said.

…

At the same time, in a bar of Konoha, the five Jonin-sensei of the Konoha teams that made it to the finals were also celebrating their victory.

"To our Genin! May their victory in the finals be swift and decisive!" Asuma said, raising his glass, and the other four joined his toast.

"You know, I can't help but find it funny that, with the exception of Tenten, all the Genin that passed to the finals are actually rookies," Kakashi commented.

"Well, this generation has a lot of potential," Shizune chimed in. "We have quite a few clan heirs, and those who aren't have displayed a lot of talent. Not to mention Jiraiya-sama's Academy reform."

"But still, you'd think that age and experience would triumph over potential," Kakashi continued. "Many Konoha teams that took the exam multiple times barely made it to the second phase."

"I know luck is a factor in these exams, but the fact that no veteran Genin from the previous exams made it to the finals speaks poorly either of the Genin themselves, or their sensei," Kurenai mentioned as she took a sip of her drink, then smiled cockily. "And my guess is the latter."

Asuma chuckled. "Of course you'd say that, the only sensei whose whole team made it to the finals."

"Well, my team would have made it to the finals too if Sakura didn't have the misfortune of fighting Naruto," Shizune added, clearly miffed by Kurenai's comment. "You might not see it now, but Naruto's scarily strong. In a few years, he'll leave all of us in the dust."

"Like I said before, luck is also factor, Shizune-chan," Kurenai replied as she winked at the medic-nin, while Shizune stuck her tongue out at the genjutsu mistress.

"Well, it's all great that at least one of our respective Genin made it to the finals, but the exam is not over yet! Pretty much the opposite, the worst is yet to come!" Gai exclaimed. Upon noticing the looks he was getting, the green clad Jonin decided to get to the point. "What are you training plans for your Genin?"

Everybody stared at Gai incredulously, who was still expecting an answer, while flashing his impossibly white and pearly smile.

"Gai, some of our Genin will fight each other. Not all of them in the first round, like Tenten, but if Tenten wins her match, then there's a chance she will fight another Konoha Genin. You can't expect us to tell you what kind of training are we going to give our Genin," Kakashi calmly explained.

Gai was taken aback. "What? You think I'm asking you this in order to gain some leverage! Come on Kakashi, that would be mostly unyouthful! We're all Konoha ninja, and we should be in this together! I asked because maybe we could trade training tips and advice, nothing else!"

"Well, I can tell you what I'm going to do: nothing," Kurenai dryly replied. Before Gai could voice his reaction, the red-eyed woman continued. "Naruto is going to be trained by Jiraiya, Hinata by her clan, and Haku by Zabuza, and I think that Yugao and Hayate may train him too. Which means that other than making weekly checks on their progress, I have nothing to do."

"Really?" Shizune asked, her interest peaking. "Because if that's the case I might ask you for a favor..."

"The same goes for me. Choji is going to train with his clan, but I know I can still teach him a few useful things before the finals begin," Asuma interjected.

"Well, the only one of my Genin who passed has no clan to train her, so lucky me, I'll spend the whole month training Tamaki," Kakashi added, and then turned at Gai. "And I believe that you're going to the same with Tenten."

"True! But that doesn't mean that my two other Genin will spend the month slacking off! They will keep their flames of youth as bright as they were when they entered the exam!" Gai replied.

"Still, you should focus more on Tenten. She's the one who will fight for a promotion," the white haired Jonin insisted. "Especially given who she will be fighting against in the first round."

"Indeed. That Gaara kid is sure something. I'm glad Choji doesn't have to fight a Jinchuriki. At least in the first round," Asuma added, as he took a sip from his sake.

Shizune perked up, as if she suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, speaking of Jinchuriki, I believe there is another one in the finals besides Naruto and Gaara: that girl from Taki. Fu, I think is her name."

"She has displayed unusual abilities, but Naruto didn't tell me anything. How do you reach such conclusion?" Kurenai asked her.

"My Genin told me. Karin said that her chakra was very potent, and it felt as if she has two kinds of chakra in her body," the medic-nin explained.

"Well, four if we count the sensei of the Kumo team," Kakashi punctualized. "But he won't fight in the finals, so it's kind of a moot point."

"Still, it's kind of suspicious that the Raikage allowed his brother to come here unsupervised," Asuma pondered.

"Oh, I'm sure he isn't unsupervised," Kurenai added.

Asuma turned at her. "What do you mean, that there are Kumo spies among us right now?"

"Indeed they are," it was Kakashi who answered. "Though they'll be more focused on keeping an eye on the Jinchuriki than anything else."

"Still, we better keep our eyes open, just in case," Kurenai added.

"Isn't that part of our job description?" Shizune asked with a chuckle.

...

 _Next day, Training Ground Three_

Naruto and Jiraiya were at their usual training ground, ready to begin the former's training for the finals. Jiraiya contemplated his adoptive son, pensive. He was overflowing with excitement, and for good reason. He looked far more confident than usual. Guess that being one of the few to make it to the very end of the exams out of the hundred Genin who took part in the exam had such effect on him.

"Okay, you've been doing great so far, but now things will get really uphill. You won't have your teammates to rely upon if things go wrong, plus you need to do your best to impress the examiners," Jiraiya explained.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. You explained that when the preliminaries ended. I have memory, you know!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Yeah, sorry. I wanted to make sure that you know what you're going against."

"By the way, are you the real dad or a Shadow Clone?" Naruto asked, remembering that after Jiraiya had become Hokage, Naruto almost never trained with the real one.

"I'm the real Jiraiya," the Sannin replied, and before Naruto could say anything, he added: "Sarutobi-sensei is standing in for me until the finals begin. I want to make sure you have the very best overseeing your training. Now, your first opponent, Temari, looks to be quite strong, and has very powerful wind jutsu, which means-"

"...that I shouldn't use my own wind jutsu to counter hers. I can reach that conclusion on my own, dad. Can we just start the training?" Naruto impatiently asked. "Besides, Temari won't be the only opponent I'm going to face."

"She will be the only if you lose against her," Jiraiya added, making Naruto frown. "So we need to make sure such a thing won't happen. She specializes in long range jutsu, so if you manage to reach her in hand to hand combat, victory will be yours."

"Okay, get close to her, and strike her down, got it. Do you have a jutsu that can help me with that?" Naruto asked.

"While I was planning to teach you a new jutsu, I believe you won't need it to defeat Temari. Between your clones and the toads, you should be fine. That's why you will train to improve those two jutsu. Your clones need to be stronger, and you need to learn to summon toads stronger than Gamakazu."

"I already summoned stronger toads," Naruto countered.

"Intentionally?"

The blond awkwardly scratched the back of his head, and smiled sheepishly. "Okay, you got me there. But about that new jutsu...?"

"Ah yes. My fault for mentioning it so soon, but guess that the sooner you see it, the sooner you will master it," Jiraiya extended his arm, and opened his hand. "Okay, take a look at my hand."

Naruto did so, and while he didn't see anything at first, soon a spinning sphere of pure chakra appeared on the Sannin's hand.

"Now, behold!" Jiraiya said before smashing the chakra ball against a large boulder, shattering it completely on impact.

After being stunned for a few seconds, Naruto was starry eyed. "WHOA! That was so cool! What is that jutsu?"

Jiraiya smiled, pleased he got the desired reaction. Though in Naruto's case, it wasn't that hard. The kid was easy to impress. "That, is the Rasengan. A jutsu developed by your father, the Fourth Hokage!"

"Great! Then with that jutsu, no opponent will stand in my way!" Naruto cheered as he imagined himself easily defeating all his potential opponents with the Rasengan.

"Slow down, kid. You're going to need something more than a strong jutsu to impress the judges. There's more to being a Chunin than mere power. But it will definitely help. Now," Jiraiya made a hand seal, and six Jiraiya clones appeared besides him. "We will take advantage of the Shadow Clones to speed up the training. Create twenty clones."

Naruto did so, and created as many clones as Jiraiya requested. "I can create more if you want."

"No, that will be enough," Jiraiya replied. "That way, there will be three Narutos for every me. Now, the real you and two clones, come with me. The rest, form groups of three, and follow one of my clones each."

All Narutos looked around and followed the Jiraiya that was closest to them, until all of them were gone, leaving the original Jiraiya and Naruto with just two clones.

"My clones will work with your clones in other areas that I think you could improve a little, like the aforementioned summons. Now, you will start practicing the Rasengan."

"Great! What do I do?"

Jiraiya pulled a sealing scroll from under his clothes. "The learning process consists in three steps. Now, you will need this for the first step," Jiraiya said as he unsealed the scroll's contents, revealing a large opened cardboard box.

The three Narutos quickly went to check the box, and their excitement faded upon seeing its content.

"Water balloons?" Naruto incredulously asked.

"Indeed. Now, get to work."

…

 _Hyuga Estate_

Hinata began her training with a spar against Neji, her attacking and him mostly defending from his cousin's palm strikes. From time to time, Hikari, who was watching the match, would point whenever Hinata was doing anything wrong.

"Come on Hinata, a bit faster! Speed is essential for the Gentle Fist!" Hikari pointed out.

"Y-Yes, Mother!" Hinata replied, as she tried to attack at a faster pace. It made little difference for Neji, who continued blocking her strikes as if nothing had happened.

After a few minutes, Hikari told them to switch roles, now Neji being the attacker and Hinata the defender. Neji attacked very slowly at first, but Hikari told him to increase his attack speed, until Hinata was no longer no able to keep up with him, and was overwhelmed.

"Okay, that's enough," Hikari told them, and the two teens immediately stopped. "I think I already saw enough."

"Mother...?" Hinata fearfully asked, afraid of her reaction.

"The two of you, follow me outside," Hikari said, leaving both Hinata and Neji a bit confused, but decided to obey her.

Once outside, Hikari cleared her throat before she began to speak again.

"I made you spar since I wanted to get a good look at your level with the Gentle Fist," She looked at her daughter. "Neji's level is above yours, but I believe that your level is still good enough to learn a new technique that will become really useful for the Chunin Exam finals. Now watch. Heavenly Spin!"

And without further ado, Hikari started to spin and turned into a spinning blue chakra dome. Hinata and Neji already saw her using that move against the Uchiha that invaded their home five years ago.

"This is the Heavenly Spin, our clan's ultimate defense. In order to use it, you need to spin at a high speed while releasing chakra from every tenketsu in your body at the same time. It's not easy to learn, but I think that you can learn the most basic version before the finals," the Hyuga Matriarch explained.

"Alright Mother, I' won't disappoint you. I'll make sure I'll learn the Heavenly Spin in time," Hinata stated, trying to sound determined. Doing so would leave the clan in a good place.

"Hikari-sama, if may I ask, why do you need me to teach this technique to Hinata-sama?" Neji asked.

"I didn't bring you here to be my assistant, Neji-kun. You'll be learning this jutsu as well," Hikari said, smiling warmly at Neji.

The Hyuga prodigy was taken aback. "B-But...but the Heavenly Spin is a Main House technique! I'm not allowed to be taught such a move!"

While what Neji said was true, there was no rule against trying to learn Main House techniques on your own, something Neji had already started to do.

"So? The Branch House's role is to protect the Main House, so it's in my interest for you to be stronger. Besides, I'm the clan head, so my word is law," Hikari firmly stated. "Now watch carefully, I'll explain you the steps to learn this technique..."

…

 _Training Ground Nine_

The entire Medical Squad, minus their only male member, was in their usual training spot. Since Sasuke was going to be trained by his family and Karin had no one to train her, Shizune would dedicate most of her time to train the redhead.

"Er, Shizune-sensei?" Karin asked, while eying the pinkette

"Yes, Karin?" the medic-nin replied.

"Why is Sakura here? Are you going to train her alongside me?" Karin asked, though it made it sound like it was an accusation, something Sakura didn't appreciate in the slightest.

"Why, yes, of course. Just because she didn't make it to the finals doesn't mean that I should forget about her. What kind of neglectful sensei would do that?" the black haired woman asked to one in particular.

Meanwhile, on another training ground not far from there, a certain silver haired Jonin sneezed.

"But...shouldn't you focus on me instead? I mean, I'm the one with a promotion at stake," Karin told her.

"As much as I hate to admit it," Sakura interceded while gritting her teeth. "Karin has a point. I really appreciate the thought, sensei, but Karin needs you more than I do. For the time being, at least."

"Neither of you should worry. I'm going to focus on Karin, while I asked a friend to take over your training until the exam ends," Shizune explained. Before Sakura could have a chance to ask anything else, Shizune looked at something behind the girls and smiled. "And there she is!"

Sakura and Karin turned around to see Kurenai walking towards them. She also smiled and waved at them.

"I believe you already know Naruto-kun's sensei, Kurenai," Shizune said. "Like I said before, she will teach you a couple things that I believe will make you a more versatile kunoichi."

"Good morning, everybody," Kurenai greeted. Then she looked at Sakura and smiled. "Ready for the training?"

"Uh, sure," Sakura awkwardly replied. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate that you're taking time to train somebody who didn't even make it to the finals but...shouldn't you be training Naruto and his teammates?"

"Yeah, I should. But Naruto is training with Hokage-sama, Hinata with her clan, and Haku with Zabuza, so I have quite a lot of spare time this month," Kurenai explained, sounding not too happy about not being involved in her Genin's training.

"I see. And what are you going to teach me?" the pinkette asked.

"Genjutsu. From what Shizune told me, you have quite the chakra control, which is a must for genjutsu," Kurenai explained.

Sakura couldn't help but a smile a bit upon being praised for something. "Yeah, they told me that. That's one of the reasons for becoming a medic-nin, a fine chakra control is a must as well."

"Okay, we should put some distance while training so we don't get in each other's way," Shizune suggested. Kurenai nodded in agreement. "Maybe we should meet in a couple hours or so for a spar?"

"Alright. Come on Sakura, there's much for you to learn!" Kurenai enthusiastically stated as she turned back and started to walk.

...

 _Uchiha Training Grounds_

Sasuke was unable to dodge the fist aimed to his face, which impacted with such force that sent the young Genin into the ground, spinning. Despite restricting himself to taijutsu, Itachi wasn't kidding when he said that he wasn't going to hold back during the training session.

"Come on, get up, we just got started," Itachi said.

Rubbing his pained jaw, Sasuke complied. "Alright, but this time, I get to use the Sharingan."

"Absolutely not," Itachi coldly stated.

"Oh come on, why not?" Sasuke asked in frustration, throwing his hands into the air. "What's the point of having a Sharingan if I can't use it? It's due to some sort of misguided attempt of giving my enemies a fair fight?"

"What's the point of learning hand to hand combat, if we have kunai? What's the point of learning to use kunai, if we have shuriken? What's the point of using shuriken, if we have ninjutsu?" Itachi asked in rapid succession, leaving Sasuke utterly flabbergasted.

It was then that the third Uchiha, who was a mere silent spectator, decided to intervene.

"What your older brother is trying to make you realize is that the Sharingan is a tool, no different from kunai and shuriken, and you should learn to fight without relying too much on it," Shisui calmly explained. "The Sharingan should be our trump card, not a crutch to replace genuine skill."

"But in a real fight, I will always use the Sharingan. If I have an advantage over the enemy, it would be stupid not to use it," Sasuke countered.

"Yes, but there will be times in which you won't be able to use the Sharingan, such as having your chakra reserves depleted. If you develop your reflexes and skill with the Sharingan, they will be gone if you can't use it," Itachi added.

"Think about training with weights. It makes training far more grueling, but when you remove them, you feel much lighter and move much faster. Think of not using the Sharingan as the weight in question," Shisui continued.

"Besides, there's more to that. If you rely too much on the Sharingan, your enemies will develop ways to counter it, and then you'll be defenseless," Itachi added.

Sasuke was skeptical. "Really? How can the Sharingan be countered then?"

"A mere smoke bomb will suffice," Was Itachi's answer. "Remember that, unlike the Byakugan, the Sharingan can't see through solid matter or walls of mist or smoke."

"Plus your opponent is Zabuza's protégé, who knows how to use the Hidden Mist Jutsu," Shisui mentioned. "I'm ninety nine percent sure he'll try to use that in order to get you. So not only should you learn not to rely on your Sharingan, but not even on your eyes."

"Oh come on..." Sasuke scoffed, throwing his hands in the air.

"So that means no Sharingan until the finals," Itachi stated. "Enough chitchat, let's resume the spar. We won't stop fighting until you manage to land a hit on me."

Sasuke groaned, but complied. The youngest Uchiha adopted his usual fighting stance, and charged at his elder brother.

…

 _Training Ground Twenty Eight_

Many of Konoha's training grounds had something that made them special. The Forest of Death has an extremely deadly fauna. The Shipyard is set in the middle of a very large lake. And many others had some sort of characteristic to emulate any possible environment a ninja might find themselves in. On the other hand, all what Training Ground Twenty Eight had was a small river crossing it, which made it a perfect place for Water Release users.

At least, that was on a normal day. Today, it had something that made it special: a very thick fog covered the place.

And inside that fog, a certain Genin was looking for his target. Pulling a few senbon from his tool pouch, Haku prepared to strike.

"Gotcha!" he whispered as he threw the metal needles at when he though his target lied, only to hear the sound of the senbon stabbing on the ground. "What?"

A kunai appeared on his throat. Haku raised his arms in defeat.

"If this was a real fight, you would be dead," his prey turned hunter told him in cold delight. Soon, the fog began to dissipate.

"Agreed. Though I don't think the proctors will allow death to happen in the exams, so you shouldn't be worried, Zabuza-sama," Haku replied.

Zabuza raised a nonexistent eyebrow and shook his head in disappointment. "This place has surely corrupted your mind if you think like that. Haku, you must treat every moment as a life or death situation. Never let your guard down, and be ready to kill. Otherwise, you won't be prepared to face enemies that will try to kill you."

"I already faced enemies that tried to kill me, Zabuza-sama. I believe I told you about my mission in the Land of Sound? We had to face one of the Sannin and his top underling," Haku explained.

Zabuza remained unconvinced. "And just because you saw your sensei fighting Orochimaru, you think you already saw everything?" Zabuza asked in a very disapproving tone. "Haku, when we return to the Land of Water, we will have to face opponents far worse than the Sannin, hard to believe as it may be. And I don't need you to let this place make you feel complacent. It could end in your death. Or worse, in _my_ death."

"You'll know such thing won't happen. I'll die before letting anybody cause you any lasting damage," Haku quickly stated.

"That's the problem, that you might die and still won't accomplish anything," Zabuza pointed out. "Haku, in the face of our long term goal, promotions in this village means nothing. But even then, this exam will be a great chance to test your skills. And if you defeat that Uchiha, you will be one step closer to being the ally I need to conquer the Mizukage's hat."

Haku raised an eyebrow. "Ally? Not a tool?"

Zabuza grunted, and looked away. "Ally, tool, they're the same. Let's not waste more time, we have less than a month to get you ready for this," Zabuza said as he made a hand seal, and the fog covered the training ground again.

Haku nodded, and prepared to fight Zabuza without the aid of his eyes once more.

…

 _Downtown Konoha, a couple days later_

After a nice lunch at home, Naruto decided to go for a walk before resuming his training with Jiraiya. Even with clones, learning the Rasengan was way harder than he had originally expected. Of course, that wasn't nowhere near enough to deter him from trying, but even if he loved challenges, his relatively slow progress left a sour taste in his mouth.

He was hoping that either Hinata or Haku could hang out with him, but both of them were dedicating almost all their spare time to train. So since he had nobody to talk to, or even spar against, Naruto guessed that his walk would be short lived, and would return with his adopted father as soon as he grew bored.

However, there was something that snapped Naruto from his thoughts. A...presence. Naruto wasn't a sensor, but he could sense a certain person nearby, whose presence subtly pulled him towards it. With nothing better to do, Naruto decided to follow this.

His senses brought him to an almost empty bar, with a couple patrons in the counter, and a man sitting alone in one of the tables. Naruto immediately recognized the man as a Kumo ninja –the skin color was a dead giveaway–, and more specifically, as the sensei of the only Kumo team who made it to the prelims.

And, if he remember correctly, this man was, according to Jiraiya, is the Jinchuriki of the Eight Tails.

 _"So that's why I sensed him. Guess that the Kyubi just wanted to meet one of his old friends again,"_ Naruto deduced.

 **"As if,** " the Kyubi unexpectedly replied. **"Do you think I have any interest in associating with any of those weaklings?**

Naruto shrugged. _"I don't see why not. They're your kin, right? Or do you hate them too, just like you hate humans?"_

 **"You know very little about me to make such assumptions, brat,"** The Kyubi scoffed.

 _"I know that you hate a lot of things. Maybe there is stuff you like?"_ Naruto asked.

 **"There is. A good massacre of your kind. The screams of terror are music to my ears,"** The Kyubi replied.

Naruto sighed, and shook his head. _"You're hopeless. But you know what? Maybe that guy can help with that nasty attitude of yours."_

This time, it was the Kyubi who shrugged. **"You're welcome to try."**

After finishing his mental conversation with his host, Naruto approached the man, Killer B, if his memory was right. He was writing something on a notebook, while he took a sip from a cup of sake from time to time.

"Hello, I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto cheerfully said.

Killer B raised his eyes from his notebook and stared at Naruto for a couple seconds, before going back to writing.

 _"Rude,"_ Naruto angrily thought. "Hey, don't ignore me like that!"

"Step aside, don't you see I'm occupied?" Killer B replied.

"Doing what?" Naruto asked, taking a look at the Kumo Ninja's notebook. "Is that a song? Do you write songs as a hobby?"

Killer B glared at Naruto. "Hobby? HOBBY? Killer B is no amateur, and saying so my wrath will incur! My lines and my rhymes are pretty sweet, all who listens to them are in for a treat!"

"Okay, okay! Geez, you are so susceptible..." Naruto replied.

"What do you want, brat? I'm occupied, didn't you notice that?" Killer B asked.

"Okay, I'll go directly to the point," Naruto breathed deeply before continuing. "I know you're a Jinchuriki."

Killer B stared at Naruto. Not in shock, but as if the blond had say something obvious. "So, do you want a prize? You must think you're pretty wise."

"I also know that you have control over your Tailed Beast," Naruto continued. "I'd like to know if you could teach me."

 _'Hm. So this is the kid that Jiraiya guy mentioned those years ago,'_ Killer B thought. _'He's the splitting image of the Yellow Flash. His son, maybe?'_

"I'm sorry kid, but I already have people to train, and having more would be quite the pain," Killer B replied.

Naruto sighed in defeat. He was forced to admit that there was some truth in those words. Besides, he was a ninja of a non-allied foreign village. He wouldn't aid a potential enemy like that.

 **"Nice work, champ,"** the Kyubi laughed.

 _"Shut up, you furball!"_ Naruto snapped back.

Naruto then decided that it was time to do something productive, and went back to his usual training ground.

...

 _Nighttime, Senju residence, a few days later_

"When was the last time we did this?" Jiraiya asked, as he poured some sake in a couple cups.

"I don't even remember doing this in the first place," Tsunade replied as she gulped her cup in one drink. "Turns out being married, taking care of children and having jobs that affect thousands of people doesn't leave you with too much time and energy for these kind of stuff. Who would have guessed?"

"See? This is why I didn't want to be Hokage. Seriously, Sarutobi-sensei might not be able to be a ninja anymore, but it's not that you need unique combat skills to do paperwork, you know?" Jiraiya complained as he also finished his sake in one sip.

"Eh, I think that sensei deserves to enjoy his twilight years in peace. He had been a Hokage for far longer than the other three put together," Tsunade replied.

"How is that you never take my side?" the white haired man protested.

"I'll take your side when you make a valid point," Tsunade replied before pointing at her empty cup, which Jiraiya proceeded to refill. "Besides, isn't sensei pretty much filling for you full time now?"

"Hey, it's a special circumstance so I can train Naruto! Besides, sensei himself admitted that he didn't know what to do with all the spare time he has now," Jiraiya countered. "Contrary to what Koharu and Homura claim, being an advisor doesn't have much of a workload."

"Speaking of which, how's Naruto's training going? Did you teach him anything new?" Tsunade asked.

"With the Shadow Clones, the training is going way better than I could hope. I can train Naruto at multiple areas at once, and check this out: he learned how to do the Rasengan!" Jiraiya proudly announced.

Tsunade stared at Jiraiya in disbelief for several seconds. "What?" she flatly asked. "You taught Naruto an A-Rank ninjutsu? Like, seriously?"

"I thought that Naruto needed something with some more packing power, you know? Besides, given that it was one of Minato's signature jutsu, I find it fitting," Jiraiya explained.

Tsunade remained skeptical. "I don't know. Do you think he's ready to handle such a jutsu?"

"The sooner he learns it, the sooner he'll be able to master it. He still takes too much time preparing the jutsu, but he got the basics down pretty quickly. Still, I told him to keep the Rasengan as a last resort," Jiraiya told her.

"Speaking of which, I decided it was about time to introduce Kaida and Hagane to the basics of elemental ninjutsu. Especially Kaida, since she needs to master her wood release. Thank goodness we have Tenzo," Tsunade mentioned.

"Nice. We can't forget about the training of the Hokage's other children, right?" Jiraiya asked with a wide grin. "And how did it go?"

"Good, albeit something really weird happened while I was trying to determine Hagane's affinity..."

Tsunade then proceeded to retell what happened earlier that day...

 _..._

 _Training Ground Four, earlier that day  
_

Kaida was in front of an unmasked ANBU, a man her mother told her his name was Tenzo. For some reason, this man also had Wood Release just like her, despite not being part of the Senju Clan. When she asked Tsunade about it, Tsunade told her that it was classified information. When Kaida asked what "classified" meant, Tsunade told her "shut up and get to the training already".

"Wood Release is a combination of two basic elements, earth and water. But I'm sure you know this already, don't you?" Tenzo asked. Kaida merely nodded. "I know that you've experimented with Wood Release, but did you try to use an earth or water ninjutsu?" this time, Kaida shook her head. "And why's that?"

"Because Wood Release is way stronger and cooler than Water and Earth Release," Kaida replied, as if stating something obvious.

"True. But given that Wood Release is a complex element, you won't be able to master it completely unless you master its components. That's why, before we start with Wood Release, we'll train on its components first," Tenzo explained.

Kaida puffed her cheeks and crossed her arms indignantly. "But that sucks! I want to master Wood Release now!"

"I know, but you can't run if you don't learn to walk first. Besides, Earth and Water Release will provide you abilities that Wood Release lacks. While not technically necessary, mastering the basic elements makes mastering the complex one much easier, and this is especially true for Wood Release, since it's different from the other elemental combinations."

Kaida raised an eyebrow. "Different? How so?"

"Fire and earth produce lava. Water and wind produce ice. Earth and lightning creates explosions. And many more. Can't you guess what makes Wood Release different from the elemental combinations I just mentioned?" Tenzo asked.

Kaida spend a few minutes thinking, until the answer came to her mind. "Unlike ice or lava, wood and plants are actually alive."

"Exactly!" Tenzo replied. "You're not only combining two elements, you're creating life. That's what makes Wood Release such a special element, and that's why all its previous users had such a potent life force. But before you can tap that power, you need to learn how to use earth and water first. Are you ready then?"

Kaida sighed, and reluctantly nodded.

Meanwhile, not far from there, in the same training ground, Tsunade was about to introduce Hagane to the basics of elemental ninjutsu as well.

"Alright son. So far, you're doing pretty good on your medical ninjutsu training, but I know you're going to need something more potent if you want to defend yourself, and you're nowhere ready enough to learn my super strength technique," Tsunade told her son. "While this is more your father's specialty, I'm still good enough to introduce you to the basics," Tsunade produced a small brown paper, and handed it to Hagane. "The first step is to learn your elemental affinity. Channel chakra into that paper."

"Right!" Hagane enthusiastically said as he did what his mother told him. "It turned to stone! What does that mean?"

Tsunade was taken aback. "What do you mean, it turned into stone?" Tsunade took the petrified litmus paper and examined it. "No way, this thing has to be defective...do it again."

Tsunade gave him another paper, but the result was the same.

"Mom?" Hagane asked, noticing Tsunade's worried face. "Did I do something wrong?"

...

"...and every time I tried to give him a litmus paper, it turned to stone. What does that mean? No element has such a reaction!" Tsunade wondered aloud.

"Actually...I know something that causes petrifaction. Nature chakra," Jiraya told her.

"What? You're implying that our son's affinity is not an element, but nature itself? That's ridiculous!" Tsunade protested.

"I'm not saying it's not, but it makes sense. Remember when Hagane used that power boosting ability of his? It felt a lot like nature chakra, albeit more refined. I would need to make a few tests to determine if that's the case, though that will have to wait since I'm busy with Naruto," Jiraiya explained.

"What I'm supposed to do then if we don't know his real affinity?" the blond Sannin asked.

"Introduce him to the basics of elemental manipulation. I'm sure that there will be an element that will have an easier time mastering. Given that Kaida's affinities are earth and water, try those for starters," Jiraiya explained.

"Or maybe I could postpone this and continue with medical jutsu. He's almost as good as I was at his age," Tsunade added.

"You know, like you said, this may sound ridiculous, but maybe Hagane might be the first bearer of a new Bloodline Limit. I knew that there was something more to that power boosting ability," Jiraiya then couldn't help but let out a hearty chuckle. "Ha! My genes are so good that not only they did awake a powerful dormant Bloodline Limit, but they created a completely new one from scratch!"

"Yeah, keep thinking that," Tsunade rolled her eyes, as she took a sip from her cup. "I think that I've had enough. I'm going to bed. Wanna have sex?"

Jiraiya had a huge grin on his face. "Do you really need to ask?"

Tsunade rolled her eyes again, but smiled a bit as well. "Yeah, that was dumb."

…

 _Undisclosed Location_

Inside a deep, underground, sealed chamber, laid a huge green cocoon, rhythmically beating as if it was a human heart. Multiple vines came from the cocoon that were attached to several White Zetsu surrounding it, each of the Zetsu standing immobile, while making a hand seal.

This chamber is Akatsuki's most well guarded secret, to the point that only two members are aware of its existence, and have the means to access it. The place was designed so it could never be accessed even if its existence or even its location managed to fall onto enemy hands.

And today marked the first day the chamber received visitors from the outside world in more than a year. From a spiraling portal, the mask wearing Akatsuki Obito Uchiha, known as Tobi or Madara to the rest of the world, stepped out. And emerging from the ground besides him appeared Zetsu, the black and white version engulfed by a giant Venus fly trap plant.

He removed his mask, since there was no danger of people learning his true identity, and without acknowledging the White Zetsu connected to the Cocoon, he walked towards it and inspected it with a critical eye.

"How long until it opens?" Obito asked one of the White Zetsu.

"It's hard to come up with an specific number, but I'd say four years. Maybe three," one of the White Zetsu replied, not moving a single muscle from his body.

"That long?" Obito complained. "This has been going on for more than a decade! Can't you do something to speed this up?"

"Please understand that this is a delicate process, Obito-sama," Zetsu told his leader. "If we fall victim to impatience, we may end up ruining all our hard work."

"Nonsense. The other cocoon already opened more than a month ago. I don't see why this one takes so long," Obito protested once again.

"The other subject was a mere test, something to see if the process was viable. If it opened so soon it was because it held an individual with far less power than this one," Zetsu explained. "Besides, what's the rush? We have all the time in the world to carry out our plans. Is not like we're on a schedule."

"Actually, we are," Obito corrected him. "Our failure in capturing the Kyubi cost us more than we thought. Konoha is now more aware of our presence and our operations, and I'm sure they won't be above sharing their intel on us with other villages, even if they aren't their allies."

"You worry about Konoha too much. We dealt a crippling blow to them by instigating the Uchiha Coup D'état" Zetsu replied.

"While that may be true, underestimating Konoha is always a mistake, which I made not once, but twice. There won't be a third time," Obito angrily stated. "Besides, Konoha is not the only thing I'm worried about. I believe Orochimaru knows that there's more to Akatsuki that we let him on."

"Do you think the snake might be a hindrance?" Zetsu asked.

"He's becoming harder and harder to control as of lately. I shouldn't let him start his own village, regardless of his excuses of how much it would benefit Akatsuki. Now he has a decent power base that can use to leave Akatsuki whenever he feels we are of no more use to him."

"Should we dispose of him before that happens then?" Zetsu suggested.

Obito shook his head. "Not yet. Unfortunately, I still need him. Besides, he more than likely made preparations in case we decided to go after him."

"Then what should we do?"

Obito smirked at his two-faced servant. "Easy. We're not the only ones interested in seeing Orochimaru's demise, are we?"

Zetsu smirked back "I see where you are going with this, boss. I'll make the preparations immediately."

"Good," Obito placed his mask back on his face. "But first, make sure our current _guest_ feels as comfortable as possible."

And thus, both men disappeared from the chamber, each using their own method of teleportation.

* * *

 **Author's note:**

 **Finally, Sakura will learn some genjtusu. Are you guys happy now? Geez, it's not that Sakura was a genjutsu specialist in canon, it was just a passing comment by Kakashi regarding her superb charka control...**

 **Also, sorry if the meeting between Naruto and Killer B was so short. When they first met in the manga, the five villages had united against a common threat, and even then it still took Killer B a bit to train Naruto. So at this stage there's not much they can say to each other. But fear not, there will be more Naruto/Killer B interactions in future arcs.**

 **Speaking of future arcs, since I know that the Chunin Exams loses a bit of its excitement without the invasion (I believe you all reached this conclusion by now) I left you that last scene with Obito and Zetsu as a teaser for some elements that will play a major role in future arcs, starting with the arc following the Chunin Exams, which will be the last one before the time skip (since there's obviously not going to be a Search for Tsunade Arc nor a Sasuke Retrieval Arc, I need something epic to end the first part ;)).**

 **Also related to future arcs: as you saw, I usually write the names of the jutsus in english, with only a few exceptions (Rasengan, Chidori, and maybe one or two more). However, I have a hard time deciding what I should I do with Pain's attacks, since the official translations aren't very good and the japanese names sound kind of badass. Even if Pain is not going to appear anytime soon, I want you guys to give me your opinion on this issue when you leave a review. What do you prefer:**

 **-Pain's attacks written in English (Almighty Push, Universal Pull, Planetary Devastation)**

 **-Pain's attack being left untranslated (Shinra Tensei, Basho Ten'in, Chibaku Tensei)**

 **Next chapter, the training continues, Naruto meets another Jinchuriki, and more hints towards the last arc of Part I. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	26. The Training Ends

**Author's note: Okay, a couple things.**

 **First, if you're a guest reviewer, and see that your review didn't appear, there's nothing wrong going on. All anonymous reviews must be approved by me before they appear (you'd be surprised of many reviews I get which are basically "this story sucks, kill yourself"), so it can take a whole day before I see and aprove the review.**

 **Second, we've reached quite a few milestones today! With this chapter, we break the 200K word barrier. And that's not the only thing that goes beyond 200K, since the number of views of this story has also surpassed such number! And not the last one, since this story has now over one thousand favorites! Let's see if we can reach over a thousand reviews, that would be my dream :D**

 **Okay, now, enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 26:**

The Training Ends

 _or_

 _New jutsu, New feelings_

 _Training Ground Three_

Naruto spread his right hand, focused his mind, and channeled his chakra through his arm.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling blue sphere formed above the blonde's open palm, small at first, but started to grow with each second, until its grow suddenly stopped. Naruto tried to focus even more, as he forced the sphere to expand.

"Come on Naruto, you almost have it!" Jiraiya cheered him on.

"It's...too...hard!" Naruto replied, visibly struggling.

"You're doing fine! Remember, don't force the contained chakra too much, let it flow freely!" Jiraiya continued.

"It's easier said than done!" the blond protested.

During that second, Naruto lost focus for a moment, and it was enough to destabilize the chakra sphere, which exploded, knocking the Jinchuuriki on his back and engulfing him in a cloud of dust and dirt.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Jiraiya asked as he waved the dust away with hands.

"Y-Yes..." the blond replied, coughing a little. "Let me try again!"

"Actually," Jiraiya stopped him before he could. "You've been working on it all morning, and you look like you could use some rest. Come on, we can continue later."

Jiraiya then sat under their usual tree and patted a spot alongside him, hinting Naruto to take a seat beside him. The blond reluctantly obliged.

"Don't feel so bad, kid. You're doing it fine. It took the Fourth three years to develop that jutsu, and six months for me to learn it. You learned it in less than one week" Jiraiya praised him.

Naruto didn't seem to appreciate Jiraiya's words. "Yeah well, it's because I used Shadow Clones."

Jiraiya snorted. "What, and you think I didn't?"

"And I still can't do it one-handed," Naruto continued.

"Neither could I, at first, but I eventually got it down. And so will you," the white haired Sannin assured him.

"I guess you're right," Naruto conceded, even if he wasn't so sure himself.

They spent the next minutes resting and silent. And there's where Jiraiya noticed that there was something wrong, or at least weird, with his son, since Naruto doesn't do silence. He didn't remember the last time the kid was silent by his own volition. There was something in his mind, and the Toad Sage knew it had nothing to do with either mastering the Rasengan or the impending Chunin Exam finals.

"Hey kid, something in your mind?" Jiraiya asked all of sudden.

"Huh?" Naruto was snapped from his thoughts, and turned to Jiraiya. "Uh...no, why do you ask?"

"You seem awfully quiet as of late. Mind telling me why?" Jiraiya inquired.

"I've just been...thinking. That's about it," was Naruto's reply.

"Thinking about what?" Jiraiya pressed.

"...stuff," Naruto uncomfortably replied.

"Naruto, you can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, I know, dad, this is nothing you should worry about," Naruto assured.

Jiraiya decided not to pressure Naruto further. "Alright then."

They spent a few more minutes without trading a word. And Jiraiya's decision to not to pressure Naruto paid back much earlier than he had anticipated.

"Uh dad, you and mom used to be in the same team, right?" Naruto asked.

"I believe you know that already," Jiraiya answered mater-o-factly.

"And...when did you realize that you liked her?"

Jiraiya looked pensive, as if recalling the memories of a distant time. "Well...now I don't feel I can tell. Truth be told, it has been so long that I feel that I have always been in love with Tsunade-hime."

Naruto frowned. "Come on, you're not _that_ old."

"Well thanks, but as the years pass, memories start to fade," Jiraiya replied, and then grinned at Naruto. "Why are you asking me this? Is there a girl you like?"

This time it was Naruto who looked pensive. "That's the problem, I just don't know."

"Is it about that Hyuga girl, Hinata?" Jiraiya asked. Naruto just nodded. That complicated things further. "I thought you said you only liked her as a friend?" the Toad Sage asked.

Naruto sighed wearily. "That's the problem. I'm not sure anymore. Hinata and I have been friends since I can remember. And it was awesome. She's nice, generous, kind, a good listener...anything anyone could ask, but now...I'm starting to see her under a different light...like I'm starting to notice things about her I never paid attention before...and sometimes it feels as if I'm talking to a stranger, when in the past I could talk to her about anything."

"Yup, sounds like a textbook teenage crush to me," Jiraiya stated.

"And what should I do? Should I ask her out? Wait a bit? See if she feels the same way towards me, or if she likes somebody else? Oh Kami, what if she DOES like somebody else!?" Naruto started to panic.

Jiraiya put a comforting hand on his godson's shoulder. "Take it easy, you know none of that. For the time being, let's focus on the training, okay? The last thing you need right now is a distraction like that. Once the exams are over, I promise I will help you with this as well."

Naruto tried to calm down. "O-Okay, dad, I'll do as you say," Naruto replied. After a few seconds, the blond realized of something. "Uh, dad, when you made the teams, why did you put me with Hinata?"

"The two of you got along rather fine, and I thought that you'd make a great team. The fact that you were also friends with that Ice Release ninja, Haku, is what made me choose him for the third member. That, and the fact that the three of you had the best qualities for the Assault Squad," Jiraiya explained. "Would you have preferred being placed on another team?"

"Oh, no, no, no! I love my team, it's awesome! It's just...well, I just got curious about what made you make that team," Naruto replied, then another realization dawned upon him. "So if I wasn't friends with Hinata and Haku, you wouldn't have put me in a team with them?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. What I wouldn't have done is putting yourself on a team with people you don't get along with, since that would have been a huge obstacle for teamwork. For example, given the kind of relationship you have with Sasuke Uchiha, I don't think that the two of you would have made a good team."

"Why not?" Naruto could already imagine why, but he wanted to hear Jiraiya's reasons.

"Well, for starters, you guys are kind of...competitive. And that's something to avoid at all costs. There has been far too many failed missions and dead ninja as a result of two teammates who couldn't put their rivalry aside, and more often than not, a negligent sensei unable to instill some order in their team.

"There's the fact that both of you have strong personalities that lean towards leading rather than following, which would add even more troubles for the team dynamic. I myself, have plenty of experience in that regard: back in the day, your mother, Orochimaru and myself clashed a lot over who was the team leader."

"And let me guess: mom always ended up as the leader, right?" Naruto said with a huge grin.

"Some things never change, do they?" Jiraiya chuckled. "Anyway, some people are made to lead, others are made to follow, while others switch between leading and following depending on the circumstances. You are the first kind, while I'm the third. On the other hand, people like your teammates are clearly the second kind. Not to say that they lack initiative or are incapable of independent thought, but they usually perform better when it's somebody else issuing orders. That's why Sasuke's two teammates are people willing to follow more than lead as well."

Naruto spend a few moments processing all what Jiraiya had explained. He had a pensive look plastered on his face. "Wow...and you had to take into account all of that while making teams?"

"Of course. If not, you have not one, but multiple disasters waiting to happen," Jiraiya replied.

"Being Hokage is way more complicated than it looks at first glance..." Naruto commented.

"Of course it is! Why do you think that many days I come back home so late? It requires a lot of work and dedication. Imagine all the complications of having a girlfriend, of being a team's commanding officer, and imagine that the girlfriend or the team is the whole village, and you get a good picture of what being a Kage means," Jiraiya explained. He noticed that Naruto looked a bit overwhelmed as he tried to imagine it. "There's a good reason for why I didn't want to take the job to begin with. Speaking of which, do you still want to become Hokage?"

Naruto's dubious mood instantly dispelled, and grinned widely at Jiraiya. "Of course! I never back down to a challenge, and I'm not going to start now!"

Jiraiya smiled at him. "Good to see that there's nothing that can dampen that indomitable spirit of yours. Anyway, I believe that we've been resting enough time, shall we continue the training?"

"Right!"

…

 _Hyuga Estate_

In the Main House's dojo, Neji and Hinata were in the middle of a spar under Hikari's watchful eye, a usual sight for the past couple of weeks. These fights were far more intense than their usual spars, given what was at stake, at least for Hinata. Still, Hikari was there to assure that nobody would get unnecessarily hurt.

As they traded blows, Neji noticed that while still below his level, Hinata was nowhere near as slow or weak as he remembered. He never liked sparring against her due to how unchallenging she was, but now...the improvement after she graduated the Academy was notable. Not to say that Neji didn't improve since then either.

He couldn't help but feel a little jealous of his admittedly less talented cousin having a shot at becoming Chunin, while he'll have to wait at least six months. But then again, Neji knew that fate was a cruel mistress. Neji couldn't help but agree with Gai, as much as it pained him, when the green-clad man told him that he could have defeated Sasuke if he hadn't engaged in such "unyouthful" taunting.

But Neji couldn't help it. Despite being one of the Hyuga who lost the least that fateful night, especially compared to his cousin, who lost her father, the Hyuga prodigy could never forget the terror he experienced that night. And even if the rational part of his brain screamed at him that Sasuke was not to blame for the death of his clansmen, he still wanted an Uchiha to experience that same fear.

It was a shame that his fear tactic had the opposite effect, and Sasuke nearly killed him. Rage is indeed a double edged sword. A sword that, unbeknownst to him, the Uchiha Clan had mastered its use for generations. He had no hope of beating one of them at their own game.

"Okay, I believe that's enough for today," Hikari stated.

Both Hinata and Neji immediately stopped and bowed to each other as a sign of mutual respect, before walking towards Hikari so she would assess them.

"You two are showing noticeable improvement. Though Neji, I believe that you're pushing yourself a bit too hard," Hikari told him.

"I need to, if I am to become stronger. I disgraced both the clan and my team with my shameful display in the preliminaries," Neji explained. "I need to better myself as soon as possible."

Hikari just shook her head. "But you still need to recover from the injuries you sustained during said match, and if you push yourself that much you'll only end up injured. Promise me you'll take it easy for the time being. There's still plenty of time to train until the next exams."

Neji nodded. "I'll do as you say, Hikari-sama."

The Hyuga matriarch smiled. "Good," she then turned towards her eldest daughter. "Hinata, so far you've progressed at a steady pace. But I know that you can do better. Doing 'just fine' won't be enough to impress the examiners. Your speed isn't as good as it could be."

"I know, mother. I'll train as hard as possible," Hinata replied.

"I believe that's all for the time being. We will resume training in the afternoon. Why don't you go for a walk around the village to clear your head and breathe some fresh air?" Hikari suggested.

"We will," Neji laconically replied. "See you later, Hikari-sama."

"Bye mother," Hinata added as she and Neji left.

During the past week, Hikari decided to teach Hinata and Neji two of the Clan's most powerful techniques: The Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, and the Heavenly Spin. Neji managed to master them pretty quickly, while Hinata was still trying to do them correctly. Then again, Hinata was also trying to improve in other areas, such as Medical Ninjutsu or her Lightning Release, so if she decided to focus all her time and effort on those two techniques, maybe she would have mastered them already.

The Hyuga prodigy couldn't help but feel a little bitter. Had he classified to the finals, he was positive he would be able to score a promotion, regardless of who he had to fight against. On the other hand, Hikari expressed doubt that Hinata, who did classify, would be impressive enough to be considered for a promotion, even with a complete S-Rank mission under her metaphorical belt. Fate could be a cruel mistress, but he already knew that.

"No," Neji told himself. "Fate has nothing to do with this. It was me who ruined my chances of making it to the finals."

"Nii-san?" Hinata asked, snapping Neji from his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Is something wrong? You look worried," Hinata observed.

Neji's face remained as stoic as ever. "It's nothing, Hinata-sama. Say, what do you plan to do now? See if Naruto is available to have lunch with you?"

Hinata blushed a bit. "Yes. We haven't seen each other much since the preliminaries ended. I kind of miss training with him and Haku-kun as a team. But since the three of us passed to the finals, we agreed to train on our own so we can go in blind against each other and nobody has an advantage."

"Wise decision, given that that's the kind of conditions you will face in real missions," Neji commented.

"But that doesn't mean I should completely isolate myself from them until the finals are over, don't you think so?" Hinata asked, giggling a little.

"I guess you're right," Neji replied. "I guess I'll see you in the afternoon then."

"Bye!"

As Neji saw his cousin walking away, he began to ponder what he should do with his spare time. Maybe he should go to his team's usual training ground and see how Tenten was doing. He felt a bit bad for choosing to help train Hinata instead of her, even if Tenten reassured him that she was okay with that. Still, he should go see her, check her progress, and maybe, just maybe, give her some words of encouragement would be something she'd appreciate.

The Hyuga prodigy went his way towards his chosen destination when something caught his attention. A flash of red hair he caught from the corner of his eyes. Turning around, he saw that teammate of Sasuke, Karin, if he remembered correctly. She healed him with that strange power of hers after being beaten into the ground by the enraged Uchiha.

He felt that the fact that she had crossed paths with him wasn't a coincidence –not that Neji believed in coincidences, mind you,– and remembering that the Hyuga didn't thank her properly for her help, decided that it was a good time to mend such mistake.

"Hey," Neji called, raising his voice a little, as he walked towards her.

Karin apparently took the hint that she was being called, and turned around to see the white eyed prodigy. "Oh, it's you. Hello. Neji, right?"

"Indeed," Neji nodded. "Excuse me, but are you currently busy with any endeavor? Maybe training?"

Karin shook her head. "I've been training all morning with Shizune-sensei, and she gave me a couple hours to eat and rest. Why? Do you need something from me?"

"Not exactly. I wanted to thank you for healing me during the preliminaries. The medics told me that whatever you did accelerated my recovery by weeks," Neji stated.

Karin smiled a little. "Well, you're welcome! I usually don't let everybody bite me, but given that it was my teammate who harmed you so much, I felt it was my responsibility to do something to fix it."

"Still, I think that mere verbal gratitude is just not enough," Neji continued.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Karin shook her head while raising her hands. "No need to do anything more! I'm fine, really."

"I insist," Neji said. "Let me do something, small as it may be. Say, how about if we have lunch together? My treat."

Karin's brain took a few seconds to proceed the prodigy's words. She started to blush.

"What? Oh, you mean that...well, it's just that..." the redhead started to babble as she averted her gaze.

Karin's mind became a mess in a matter of seconds. Even if she considered herself attractive, and has been trying to make Sasuke notice her for quite some time, this was the first time a boy asked her for a date. She considered taking Neji's offer, while still thinking about Sasuke. Even if she was sure Sasuke would fall for her charms sooner or later, she had been unsuccessful so far. Besides, Neji also fit her type of ideal boy, so why not?

"O-Okay!" she stammered. "Where do you want to go?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking that? This for you, you know," Neji replied.

"Oh, right!" Karin replied, giggling a bit. "There's this place that serves a pretty killer Okonomiyaki. You're going to love it!"

And thus, Neji and Karin headed towards their first date. Or at least, Karin thought it was a date.

…

In any other circumstances, Hinata would be worried about finding Naruto. And while Hinata knew where Naruto usually trained on his own or with his parents, she couldn't go there. What if she caught him developing some new jutsu for the finals? That wouldn't be fair.

Fortunately for Hinata, there was a place that she knew Naruto would drop by sooner or later, any day of the week, especially when it was lunch time, like now.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto cheerfully called when he saw her.

Hinata smiled. When in doubt, go to Ichiraku's.

"Hello, Naruto-kun," the Hyuga replied as she took a seat beside him. There was already several empty bowls of ramen besides him. "Hello to you as well, Teuchi-san, Ayame-san."

"The usual, I guess?" Ayame asked Hinata. The Hyuga nodded. "One chicken ramen bowl, then!"

"It's so great that you dropped by here," Naruto commented, while eating from his bowl of ramen. "We haven't seen each other much lately."

"Indeed," Hinata agreed. "I've been very busy with training for the finals, as well as my training as a medic-nin, and I kinda missed being with both you and Haku-kun. It's a pity that he wasn't able to join us."

But then again, Hinata wasn't _that_ sad that Haku couldn't be with them. Of course, she would never say that out loud.

"Yeah, that sucks. Guess that Zabuza is putting him through some hellish training regime," Naruto guessed. "Fortunately, everything will be back to normal when the finals are over and the three of us are hopefully Chunin."

"Technically, things won't be the same if even just one of us scores a promotion," Hinata replied. Chunin had far more duties to attend than Genin "But not that different, I think."

"Yeah, it's not that we will be placed different teams or stuff like that," Naruto added.

After a few moments, Ayame returned with Hinata's order. The Hyuga started to slowly eat her chicken ramen.

"So...have you learned any knew killer jutsu?" Naruto asked. However, before Hinata could have the chance to answer, he immediately realized of what he just say. "Sorry! I forgot about our agreement! It's that...well, I wanted to keep talking and was the first thing that crossed my mind!"

Actually, it was the second, but Naruto wasn't going to say it out loud.

Hinata smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, there's nothing wrong with asking that. I'm sure that you have been working on a very powerful jutsu as well."

Naruto's eyes grew wide, as his irises shrunk. "What!? How do you know that!?"

"I didn't know, I just guessed. But it's something logical, right? That you would try to learn at least one new jutsu for the finals. Well, pretty much everybody else as well. But you specially."

Naruto calmed down, and laughed a bit awkwardly. "Hehe, I guess you're right. You know me really well, Hinata."

Hinata blushed a bit. "Well, when you know somebody for so long..."

That sentence remained unfinished. It was followed by a long, awkward silence. Technically, Hinata didn't know Naruto as well as she thought. But the blond thought that maybe it was a good idea to let her know him a little more.

"Um...Hinata? Are you..." Naruto began, stuttering a bit. "...are you nervous about the finals?"

"Hm?" Hinata replied a bit absentmindedly. "Well, yes, yes I am. Not only are the stakes are high for us, but we're going to fight in front of thousands of people. It's kind of hard not to feel intimidated by such thing. You know, sometimes I wish I had your spunk."

"Haha, yeah..." Naruto laughed a bit. Then he grew serious. "Um, truth be told...I'm kind of scared as well."

Hinata looked at him as if he just said an obscenity. "What?"

"You said it yourself. It's kind of hard not to feel nervous when you're before such a trial," Naruto replied a bit defensively.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that you have no right to feel intimidated or overwhelmed," Hinata rectified. "It's just that...well, you're so strong. I can't think why you aren't in a more optimistic mood, given that you have the best odds out of all of us to score a promotion, plus your parents-"

"That's actually the problem!" Naruto replied, raising his voice a bit.

"Your...parents?" Hinata asked, a bit puzzled. "Is there something wrong with them? Did you have an argument?"

"No, it's not none of that," Naruto replied. "You know, I didn't notice it until Lee wanted to challenge me to a fight, but...well, I have quite of a reputation in the village."

"Of course you have," Hinata smiled at him. "Because you're among the strongest Genin of Konoha. And soon, you will be among the strongest Chunin."

Naruto forced himself to smile back at her. "I know but...I know that most of that reputation is thanks to my parents."

Hinata grew indignant. "What? That's not true!"

"Yes it is!" he fired back. "My parents are ninja of renown. Walking legends! Do you think that if it wasn't for them, I would be where I am now?"

"I can't answer that question," the Hyuga heiress replied as she started fidgeting with her index fingers. "I mean, yeah, I'm sure that Jiraiya-sama and Tsunade-sama helped you a lot, but I think what they did was develop your potential. If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't be here."

"I guess that makes sense," Naruto replied, now a bit more calm. "But that doesn't change the fact that thanks to being the 'Son of the Sannin' people expect a lot of me. I'm not worried about what people might think about me, but I can tarnish my parents' reputation if I do poorly. And if I manage to score a promotion, some people my accuse dad of playing favorites with his son."

"Oh," was all Hinata could say for a few seconds as her brain processed Naruto's plight. "I know that I'm your friend, and thus my opinion on you might not be 'unbiased'... but I'm sure you won't disappoint anybody. And if you think so...well, I know how you feel."

This time, it was Naruto who was taken aback.

"You do?" Naruto lamely asked.

"Naruto-kun, I'm Hinata Hyuga, heiress of the Hyuga Clan, one of the strongest clans of Konoha. There's a lot of eyes placed on me as well," Hinata reminded her blond friend. "Many people from my clan believe that I'm not a worthy successor to my late father, and they believe that I will only embarrass the clan in the finals."

"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted indignantly. "That's nonsense!"

"Maybe. But there's nothing that I can do to fix it. Other than, of course, train as hard as I can in order to prove them wrong," Hinata calmly replied. She smiled at Naruto. "At least, that's what you would do, right?"

"Of course!" Naruto proudly replied. "And I'm going to show everybody what I am made of! I will master the Rasengan and leave everybody open-mouthed!"

"Rasengan...?" Hinata asked.

Naruto slapped his forehead. "DAMMIT! I just revealed my trump card!"

"Oh. Well...it's not that I can piece together on what that jutsu is based on the name alone," Hinata reassured Naruto. "Do you want to see the jutsu I've been practicing, to be even?"

"No, not at all. It was a mistake on my part, it would be unfair to you," Naruto replied. He smiled at her. "Show it to me in the finals, okay?"

Hinata smiled at him. "Okay."

"Speaking of which, there has been something I've also been working on..." Naruto said as he began to look for something inside his ninja tool pouch.

"Naruto-kun, didn't we just-"

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on using it during the exams. I won't be able to finish it in time," the blond replied, finally finding what he was looking for.

"Ah, what is it then?" the Hyuga asked, her curiosity sparked up a little.

"This," Naruto proudly said as he showed Hinata his incomplete work. "Once complete, will be my weapon of choice."

Hinata took the weapon, and looked at it closely. She wasn't impressed. "A...normal kunai?" she asked, a bit flabbergasted.

"What? No! Well, yes, it's a kunai, but it's far from normal! Look at the blade closely," Naruto told her.

Hinata did so, and the Hyuga noticed something she didn't see at first. "Oh. There are some seals engraved on the blade."

"Yup! And that's not all. Now take a look with your Byakugan," Naruto added.

Hinata activated her Bloodline Limit, which allowed her to see more secrets of Naruto's work in progress. "The blade is also imbued with chakra. Your chakra, to be precise."

"Exactly!" Naruto replied, as he took his kunai back.

"And...what does this kunai do?" Hinata asked.

"The idea is to combine mom's chakra scalpel with chakra flow in order to create a sword of chakra. By pushing my chakra into this kunai made of chakra-conductive metal as opposed to normal steel..." Naruto did so, and a short blade of pure chakra was projected from the kunai.

"Wow!" Hinata said, now impressed. "It's kinda like Asuma-sensei's trench knives."

"Hehe, well, I also took inspiration from those knives too. But when this one's complete, it will be much better in every way," Naruto said, swinging the weapon.

"And you did it by yourself?" the Hyuga asked.

Naruto nodded. "I got the idea while studying fuinjutsu. I might do more weapons when I'm done with this one. Once it's complete, I will be able to create a sword not of normal chakra, but of wind chakra. It will be a sword whose blade will never break or get dull, will cut through almost anything, and I'm the only one who will be able to use it!"

"It's pretty amazing. It's a pity that you won't finish it by the time the finals begin," Hinata replied.

Naruto deactivated the kunai, and put it back on his pouch. "Yeah. Dad told me that I should forget about that for the time being and follow his training schedule. And as much as I hate to admit it, he's kinda right."

Hinata smiled at Naruto. "Hopefully, you will finish it by the time we're assigned a new mission. I can't wait to see it in action."

"Yeah, me too!"

…

 _Training Ground Nine_

For the first time in weeks, the Medical Squad got the chance to train together. Granted, like the Assault Squad, they weren't going to show their strongest moves just now. Well, at least Sasuke and Karin weren't, Sakura was more than happy to show them what she learned about genjutsu during the past weeks with Kurenai.

At first, they took turns sparring against each other while the three adults overseeing them evaluated their abilities. Then, the three of them fought together against of the adults, Shisui, while the other two, Itachi and Shizune, watched expectantly.

The two of them remained silent as Shizune's squad battled the one-eyed Uchiha, who restricted himself to taijutsu and low-level ninjutsu –but still refused not to use his signature ability, much the Genin's frustration–. Still, they put up a very good fight.

"You know, it's been a while since you and me did anything together," Itachi commented.

"Haha, yes," Shizune laughed awkwardly. "I barely saw you since I started dating Shisui. And then my new job as Jonin-sensei and-"

"You don't need to apologize," Itachi interrupted her. "I was merely stating a fact. You're not the only one with new responsibilities. My job as the village's main information gatherer isn't easy either, and keeps me out of Konoha for long periods of time. We're merely victims of our circumstances."

"Do you think it was a good idea to take such job so soon after the Uchiha Insurrection? I think you should have spent more time with Sasuke-kun," Shizune pointed out.

"Sasuke didn't want his father's killer around him. He needed space, and I gave him that," Itachi stated matter-o-factly. "I was there for him whenever he needed it, but I don't know if our relationship can be as it was before our clan's demise."

"Your relationship isn't going to get any better if you remain absent for most of his life, Itachi," Shizune countered.

"You have a point, but it's too late for that. I can't just quit this job without proper justification. What I do is important for Konoha. Plus Sasuke isn't alone. He has Shisui, and now he has you."

"Neither Shisui nor I can replace you, Itachi," Shizune replied.

"I'm not asking neither of you to replace me. Just make him feel that there's somebody else besides me that loves him," Itachi explained.

Shizune shook her head. "Sasuke-kun already knows how Shisui and I feel towards him. But he's not so sure about you," Shizune told him in an almost chiding tone. "Then again, taking a few weeks to help him train was a step in the right direction. You two need to spend some time together."

"I know we do," Itachi admitted, then decided that it was time to switch the topic. "You did a good job training Sasuke."

"Thanks! Although he's a bit out of my specialty. Sakura and Karin are aspiring medics, but I don't have much to teach somebody who follows a more offensive-oriented path," Shizune said.

"A sensei's job is more than just teaching him combat or ninjutsu. They also have to provide guidance," Itachi watched the way Sasuke fought and coordinated with his two teammates in order to take down a superior opponent. "Sasuke used to believe that personal power was the key to everything and that teammates would only slow one down, but now look at him, fighting together with those two girls as if they were one."

"Ah yes, that's my greatest accomplishment," Shizune replied, allowing a smug smile to form on her lips. "You should have seen how that team was when we started. I thought it would take longer for those three to form a cohesive unit."

"I can't wait to see Sasuke in the Chunin Exams. Hopefully the fiasco of the preliminaries won't happen again," Itachi mentioned.

"He better not!" Shizune's blood still boiled whenever she remember such a shameful display of violence. Still, she calmed down quickly. "But I'm sure that such thing won't happen. I made sure he understands that what he did was unacceptable."

"And if he doesn't, remind him about how such thing would dishonor the clan even further," Itachi suggested.

"I feel if I do that too often, he'll become resented with the rest of Konoha, and Kami knows what he would do like that," Shizune shook her head. "I have to have faith in that he will do the right thing."

"Sasuke will always do the right thing," Itachi added. "What I'm worried about is if he'll be able to tell what _is_ the right thing to do."

…

 _Training Ground Ten_

Most of the Genin who failed to make it to the finals, regardless of the moment they dropped out of the exam, were naturally jealous of those who were about to fight to become Chunin. A promotion would ensure no more of those pesky D-Rank missions, a bigger paycheck, and a better status among the village.

Shikamaru Nara wasn't one of them.

While Shikamaru did plan to become a Chunin, he wasn't in a hurry. While they could be tedious, he found the D-Rank missions easy and sometimes even relaxing, he didn't care about status, and thought that his current paycheck was good enough. Plus being a Chunin meant more dangerous missions, more training and less spare time. That fight against Orochimaru and his lackey gave him a taste of what being a high ranking ninja was like.

No, Shikamaru was very happy with the state of his life right now. While those poor fools trained their asses off for a promotion that might not even come, he relaxed, watching clouds and laying on the soft grass.

Or he would be watching the clouds if a girl-shaped shadow didn't block his view of the sky.

"Why I'm not surprised to see you wasting your time like this," the girl said while rolling her eyes.

"Nice to see you too, uh..." Shikamaru didn't recall her name, nor felt like trying to jog his memory.

"Temari," the girl said, annoyed.

"Right, Temari," Shikamaru repeated. "Is there a reason as for why you're disturbing my cloud watching session instead of training? Your first opponent is one of the strongest Genin of Konoha."

Not that Shikamaru cared about Temari's performance during the finals. Something Temari was aware of, but decided it wasn't something worth an argument. She decided that brutal honesty would be the best course of action.

"I came here because I want to fight you," Temari stated.

Shikamaru found such thing so outrageous, it made him to sit up. "Come again?"

"You heard me," Temari replied, crossing her arms.

"You know, I could understand such thing if I defeated you. Revenge and all that. But we already fought twice, and both times it was clear that you can kick my ass every day of the week, and twice on Sundays," Shikamaru replied.

Temari's expression didn't change. "No, those weren't fights. The first time we were interrupted when your teammate possessed my brother. And the second time you gave up before the fight could even begin. I already told you that I hate to leave a job half done. I want our fight to end properly. Which makes me wonder, why did you surrender so quickly? Are you such a big defeatist?"

"No, I'm a practical person. I analyzed my odds to victory, and they weren't good. Hence, the best option was to cut my losses and stop wasting both of our times. What could I get from a fight that I was never going to win?" Shikamaru asked.

"The satisfaction of knowing that despite you lost, you gave it your all?" Temari replied.

Shikamaru's lips formed a small smile. "You have a gift for comedy. It was nice to meet you, Temari," Shikamaru said as he lied down again, and went back to his cloud spotting.

Temari's eye twitched. How he dare to dismiss her like that! She grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and forcefully lifted him up to her eye level. "If you think you can get rid of me that easily, think again! I'm not leaving until we fight! So you better fight me now, and you better put effort into it!"

"You don't have your war fan," Shikamaru noted.

Temari realized that it was true. She probably left it at the hotel room. "I don't care! I still can fight you unarmed!"

"Yeah, those manly arms of yours look like they could bend a steel bar," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Just because my arms are _strong_ doesn't mean they're _manly_ , you know!" Temari angrily replied. "Now fight!"

"No."

"Then I'll beat the crap out of you until you fight back!"

"Will you do that?"

Temari struggled with her thoughts for a few seconds, before realizing that no, she would never fight somebody unable or unwilling to defend himself. She released the lazy Nara.

"Ugh, you're impossible!" Temari groaned. "I don't know how the hell did you manage to get so far into the exams."

Shikamaru just shrugged. "You know, you look tense. Might I suggest something that can calm you down?"

"Like what? Cloud spotting?" Temari asked sarcastically.

"Don't knock it out until you tried it," Shikamaru replied as he lied once more against the grass.

"No, thank you," Temari said as she was about to leave. However, she didn't move from her spot. And after a few seconds of hesitation, she lied next to Shikamaru. "I hate you."

"I'm sure you do," Shikamaru said, unable to repress a half smile.

"How do you play this?" Temari grunted.

"You look at the clouds, until you see one that looks like an object or an animal. For example," Shikamaru pointed out to a circular cloud with a few bulges. "That cloud looks like a turtle."

Temari was about to say that that was stupid, until she noticed that Shikamaru was right. Still, she let out a scoff. "And you do this often?"

"Whenever I'm not playing shogi," Shikamaru replied. "Don't you like it?"

"It's dumb," Temari said. "But I must admit that looking the clouds drift is kind of relaxing."

Shikamaru smiled. "See? I told you. You should do this more often."

"I can't. Clouds are a rarity in the skies of the Land of Wind," Temari explained. "Still, it's not that I have usually that much spare time to spend it watching the sky."

"Then the more reason to do it now, don't you think so?" Shikamaru asked.

"Guess that I could, until I need to go back to training," Temari admitted, shifting in her spot.

"Still want to fight me?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yes. But I'm starting to think that it wouldn't be a very spectacular or satisfying fight," Temari stated. "So I think I'll pass for now."

"Think the worst, and you'll never be disappointed," Shikamaru replied.

"You're quite a strange fellow, did anyone tell you that?" Temari asked.

Shikamaru simply shrugged. The two of them spend the rest of their time together watching the clouds, and enjoying the calm and the silence of the place they were in.

…

After his meal with Hinata –and remembering how much he enjoyed being around her, new and alien feelings notwithstanding– Naruto headed back to his usual training grounds, where he hoped Jiraiya would be waiting for him in order to wrap up training for the finals.

Suddenly, he felt another presence pulling him. It was a very similar sensation to the time he was near Killer B. But this time it wasn't Killer B.

"Could it be Gaara?" Naruto wondered aloud.

Once again, Naruto allowed himself to be pulled by that strange feeling, which took him to a busy street. It didn't take him long to notice a green haired girl, looking around a bit disoriented, as if looking for something. She remembered that girl as a Taki kunoichi who was very chummy with the Animal Squad.

And she was another Jinchuriki, if Jiraiya was to be believed.

The girl then turned around and looked at Naruto, and her expression changed, as if she suddenly found what she was looking for. Naruto thought that, just like how he sensed her presence, maybe she sensed him as well.

"Hey!" the green haired girl waved at Naruto as she ran at him.

"Hi there!" Naruto saluted back, hoping that such a bubbly girl wouldn't turn out to be another jerk like Killer B. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Your name was Fu, right?"

"That's correct!" the girl happily replied. "You know, I kinda wanted to talk with you for some time, but I didn't have the chance during the exam, and then I was unable to find you. Until now, I mean, hehe!"

"I'm glad to see you as well. It's always nice to meet another Jinchuriki," Naruto earnestly told her.

Fu's expression suddenly became one of shock. "Wait a minute...you're a Jinchuriki too!?"

Naruto sweat dropped. "Y-Yes. Didn't you-?"

Fu then started laughing. "Hahaha, I was just kidding! Of course I knew you're a Jinchuuriki! I sense your beast inside you, just like you probably sensed mine," Fu replied, then she touched her exposed belly. "Or maybe it's my stomach? I didn't eat anything since this morning. I usually eat what my teammates and I cook, but I want to eat somewhere in the village before I have to leave. Do you know any nice restaurant?"

Naruto's mouth formed a huge grin. "Of course I do! If you want to taste Konoha's finest cuisine, the best place is Ichiraku's Ramen! It's situated near the gate of the village."

"Sounds neat! Wanna come with me? Food tastes better when eaten in good company," Fu suggested.

Naruto then grew a bit uneasy. "Well, I'd love to, but...I just came from there just now. Besides, there's this girl that I like and...well, if she or somebody else sees us eating together..."

"...they might get the wrong idea," Fu concluded. "It's okay, I get that. There's somebody else who got my interest as well. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about."

"Sure, it's Shino, right?" Naruto asked.

Fu titled her head, puzzled. "Who?"

Naruto sweat dropped again. "You know, the one with the coat and sunglasses? Kind of mysterious? His body is full of bugs?"

Fu then burst into laughter again. "Hahahaha, I was kidding again! Of course I know who Shino is! What kind of person I'd be if I forgot the name of my first friend!"

This time, it was Naruto was puzzled. "Wait a minute...you didn't have any friends until you met Shino?" he asked in shock.

"Well, there aren't much people my age back in Taki," Fu recounted. "Plus everybody keeps watching over me and trying to 'keep me safe' all the time, like I'm some sort of fragile china doll. Shino and his friends were the first people who didn't treat me like that."

"I know that feeling. My parents can be quite overprotective sometimes. My mom was on the verge of tears when I told her about my first mission out of the village. Guess that being a Jinchuuriki doesn't make it any better," Naruto replied.

The green haired girl gasped, and her eyes grew wide. "Wait a minute...you're a Jinchuuriki too!?" Fu asked in shock.

This time, Naruto's expression turned deadpan, and crossed his arms. "Not buying it this time."

Fu chuckled, and shrugged. "Had to try."

Naruto then decided it was a good time to board a certain topic. "Speaking of which...do you have any control over the power of your Tailed Beast?"

Fu shook her head. "Nope. Lucky Seven does what Lucky Seven pleases. She sometimes helps me, but like I say, that's when she feels like it."

"Lucky Seven?" Naruto asked, a bit confused.

"That's her name. Or at least, what she told me to call her. She said she brings luck, but guess that she isn't so lucky herself, hehe!" Fu chuckled, patting her bare midriff.

"So I guess your beast is the Seven Tails?"

Fu nodded. "Yup! What about yours?"

"Add two more tails," Naruto replied.

Fu winced. "Yuck, the fox! That's one big meanie!"

"Understatement of the century," Naruto deadpanned. "By the way, did you know that there are other two Jinchuriki here right now?"

"Yeah! That weird guy from Kumo, and the creepy redhead from Suna, right?" Fu replied.

"Hey, Gaara isn't creepy!" Naruto protested. "He might be a bit reserved and not very talkative, but he's rather nice if you get to know him. But yeah, the guy from Kumo is pretty weird."

"Oh. Well, guess that I'll have to take your word for it," Fu conceded. Then, her stomach let out an audible growl. "Okay, now I'm sure it's hunger what I'm feeling. And since you're not available, let's see if I can find somebody to eat with. Ichiraku's, right?"

"Yeah! Trust me, you won't regret it!"

And with that, a pair of green wings grew from Fu's hips, and the Taki kunoichi flew away.

"Boy, what a weird girl," Naruto said as he watched her disappearing into the sky.

…

 _Undisclosed Location, somewhere in the forests of the Land of Fire_

Two groups of ninja were standing in front of each other. One group was composed of ninja wearing black robes and animal masks, not unlike the ones used by Konoha's ANBU division. The other ninja were wearing black and gray camouflage clothes, and their faces were also concealed, albeit by black balaclavas.

The two leaders of each group took a step forward, while their escorts were ready to attack in case the other did something funny.

"So, Danzo," the leader of the Oto ninja began, almost with a chuckle. "I presume that you have something important to tell me if you requested a meeting in person."

As usual, the leader of the supposedly disbanded organization remained impassible. Not even somebody like Orochimaru was enough to faze him.

"As the Chunin Exams approach their conclusion, security around the village is tighter than ever. I can't just risk sending a messenger anymore," Danzo explained. "In fact, that's the reason as for why I wanted to contact you."

"It doesn't look as if you're going to bring me good news, don't you think so?" Orochimaru asked, and grinned.

Danzo ignored that remark. "I heard that both the Raikage and the Kazkekage are going to be present for the finals," Danzo announced, and as expected, Orochimaru's grin disappeared. "With both Kage and their respective entourages there, the attack cannot happen."

"You can't ask me to call off the invasion," Orochimaru's tone grew colder. "I have been planning it for more than a year. You can't ask me to throw all that away!"

"I am not asking you to do that," Danzo replied, as calm as ever. "All I ask you is for you to delay the attack a couple weeks. Can you do that?"

"You were the one who told me that attacking during the Chunin Exams would be the most viable option," Orochimaru protested.

Yes, it was Danzo's idea. The Chunin Exam finals were a big event. Not only would the stadium would be overflowing with people wanting to see the matches, but many of Konoha's usual and potential customers, including the Fire Lord himself, would come to watch the Genin fight for their promotions. And as such, a lot of the security would be focused on the stadium, leaving the rest of Konoha more vulnerable than usual, making the job of penetrating the walls all the easier.

But even Orochimaru knew that Danzo had a point. Attacking Konoha with the Raikage and the Kazekage there would not only make it much less likely to succeed, it also would be seen as an act of war against their respective villages too, not just Konoha. Orochimaru knew that Konoha hadn't launched an invasion of the Land of Sound yet is because they hadn't proved to the other nations that Otogakure is a threat. That would seal the deal.

"And I'm pretty sure that you didn't acquire any new allies, did you? Otherwise, I would have known it," Danzo guessed.

Once again, the leader of ROOT was right. Suna was out of question since their relationship with Konoha had improved a lot over the past years. Kiri was still embroiled in their civil war. Ame was out of question since that would draw attention towards the Akatsuki leader –not that Orochimaru cared,– and Kusa and Taki were formal allies of Konoha. That left Iwa and Kumo, but despite their anomosrity for Konoha, neither of them were interested in starting another war.

And his fellow Akatsuki members were occupied doing high profile missions and tracking the Jinchuriki, so with the exception of Obito, they weren't an option.

"I might have failed at securing other villages' help, but I do have a new weapon that will tip the balance in my favor," Orochimaru replied.

"I see. Even then, I insist you postpone the invasion plans. You said you've been planning this for a year. I'm sure you can wait a couple more weeks," Danzo told him.

"It's not that simple. I will have to redesign the offensive strategy from scratch since the security detail won't be the same," Orochimaru protested.

"What about that 'ultimate weapon' of yours?" The one eyed man suggested. "Can't you use it to bypass Konoha's defenses?"

Orochimaru looked pensive. He had planned to use his ace in the hole to assassinate a certain somebody, but as the circumstances had changed, so his plans had to change as well. It's not that he couldn't use them multiple times.

"Alright, I'll use it, even doing so will make me lose the surprise factor," the Snake Sannin conceded.

"Good. I'll send you a messenger when the time to strikes comes," Danzo told him, as he and his bodyguards started to turn around. "Now if there's nothing else that needs to be discussed..."

"Actually, there is," Orochimaru replied, forcing Danzo to turn back at him again. "It's not about the invasion, but more...personal curiosity."

Danzo was annoyed, but he didn't make it evident. "I'm sure I'll be glad to answer any question you have."

"Why are you doing this?" Orochimaru asked. "Helping me, I mean. You say you serve Konoha, but here you are, helping somebody planning to destroy it. What do you gain by doing this?"

Even if it was small, Orochimaru knew that there was a chance that this would make Danzo to reconsider their partnership. But the Snake Sannin _needed_ to know. Thirst of knowledge is the force that always drove Orochimaru, and there is little that made him madder more than questions without answers. And that question left him unable to sleep for multiple nights.

Danzo allowed himself to emote, and a small smirk appeared on his face. "Yes, my actions don't look like they make much sense, do they?"

"But deep inside your twisted mind, they do, right?" Orochimaru asked.

Danzo nodded. "As ninja, many times we gain wounds from battles. Sometimes, those wounds become infected. And in order to stop that infection to spread to the rest of the body, we sometimes need to sacrifice a limb.

"Konoha is currently infected, not by a disease, but by an ideology. An ideology perpetuated by my friend and rival Hiruzen, your former sensei, as well as Jiraiya, the current Hokage and your former teammate."

"Trust me when I say that I have something _unforgettable_ prepared for them," Orochimaru gave a hint of a sadistic smile. "But you're not letting me attack Konoha just to get rid of people who inconvenience you, are you?"

"That's just the tip of the iceberg," Danzo replied. "Those two did nothing but weaken Konoha with their ideologies of forgiving our enemies and helping them in their time of need instead of destroying them when they're vulnerable. To let ourselves be carried away by our emotions, instead of doing what we know is best. I mean, Sarutobi had the chance to put an end to you, yet thanks to his weakness, here you are. We knew that the Uchiha were a threat, but Sarutobi refused to act on them until it was too late. We need to make Konoha's inhabitants realize of its weakness, and that a different approach is needed if we want to survive."

"Some might say that you are as much of a threat as the Uchiha were, given that you're conspiring with me," Orochimaru was somebody who delighted in irony.

"Yes, some might see it that way," Danzo admitted. "But those people forgot about the teachings of Tobirama-sama: a ninja must be willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the village. Yes, Konoha will burn. But from its ashes, a new Konoha shall rise, one that will not make the mistakes of the past. One that will be strong, fearless and merciless," Danzo smiled again. "One in which people like you will have a place in it."

Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle at the ROOT leader's offer. "Tempting...but I'm very happy as a freelance agent, thank you very much. Even then, I hope that my negative doesn't end our partnership."

"It will continue as long as it remains useful," Danzo stated.

"Are you implying that you'll try to have me killed the moment I stop being useful?" Orochimaru asked, grinning.

"Wouldn't you do the same to me?" Danzo asked. "A ninja is nothing but tool towards a greater goal. The moment the tool is no longer useful, it must be discarded."

Orochimaru chuckled again. "Kukuku...I like how you think, old man. By the way, how are the body modifications I made you? Did they stand the test of time?"

Danzo took a few seconds to answer. "I didn't have the chance to test them in battle, but so far they fulfill their purpose. Like I said before, Konoha would benefit from your genius."

"I prefer if my genius benefits just me instead," Orochimaru replied.

"Alright then," Danzo decided to put an end to that topic. "Did I satisfy your curiosity?"

"Indeed you did," Orochimaru replied.

"If that's the case, we better get going. The longer we stay here, the higher the chances of our operation being jeopardized," Danzo declared, and turned around. His minions followed him.

Orochimaru decided that it was time to return to his hideout as well. He had a lot of planning to do, and he needed to gather more forces if he wanted the invasion to succeed. When he was halfway there, he stopped and told his minions to continue without him. After a few seconds of waiting, a masked man appeared besides him, coming out from a spiraling vortex.

"How did it go?" Obito asked.

"I'm pretty sure you know already, don't you?" Orochimaru asked back.

"Indeed, but I wanted to know if both versions coincide," the Uchiha noticed something odd about Orochimaru. "You're not wearing the uniform."

"No. I believed it was best if I wasn't dressed like that for the occasion," Orochimaru replied.

"I'm sure Danzo knows you're already part of the organization," Obito retorted.

"Maybe, but there's no reason to confirm his suspicions, don't you think so?" Orochimaru gave Obito a hint of an unnerving smile. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"To tell you my plan to capture the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails," Obito told him. "Your invasion of Konoha might be the best opportunity to do it."

Orochimaru couldn't help but chuckle. "Ah yes. Third time's the charm, isn't it? What made you think that this time will be different?"

Obito ignored that jab. "I realized that my mistake was to try to take the Jinchuuriki out of the village by force."

"And what do you suggest we do?" the Snake Sannin asked.

This time, it was Obito who smirked. "Easy, we will make him come to us instead."

…

* * *

 **OMAKE: Chapter 25, What Could Have Been**

Dejectedly, Naruto left Killer B alone, a bit sad that the man wouldn't teach him how to tame the Kyubi.

"Guess that he prefers to write lame songs about mature women with large breats..." Naruto thought aloud. He had seen some of the man's lyrics, and wasn't impressed. Then, an idea dawned upon him. "...mature women with big breasts? Of course that's it!"

A few minutes later, Naruto returned to the bar, with Killer B still on it.

"Yo, Killer B, I'm back!" Naruto annouced.

The Kumo jinchuriki groaned, and raised his head in annoyance. "Didn't I tell you that I was-WHOA!"

"Hello there, handsome."

Turns out, Naruto didn't return alone, since Tsunade was with him. The Slug Sannin was wearing an incredibly skimpy black dress that showed a lot of skin, showed off her killer figure, and offered a generous view of her equally generous cleavage. Upon seeing such sight, Killer B was unable to utter a coherent word.

"What are you doing?" Tsunade asked in a sultry voice as she looked at his ryhme booklet. "You're a singer? oh, I love singers, there's nothing sexier than a man who can sing!"

"I...I c-can sing..." Killer B babblered, unable to take his eyes from Tsunade's cleavage.

"And you look soooooo strong," Tsunade cooed as she sat on the table, and crossed her legs. "Strong men make me melt..."

"Y-Yeah, I'm strong too!" the Jinchruiki replied.

"But do you know what I find even sexier than strong men who can sing?" Tsunade asked, as she massaged her breasts in an incredibly unsubtle way. Killer B, who was seconds from fainting, merelyshook his head. The Sannin then came closer, and whispered on his ear: "Men who know how to train a jinchuriki how to control their tailes beast."

"I can do that too!" B exclaimed.

"Really? Because if you could train my son here," Tsunade pulled Naruto to her, and both of them put their best smile. "It would make me really, really, _really_ happy."

Suddenly, Naruto found himself being dragged by the arm by an excited Killer B.

"Come on kid, no time to waste, I want to feel those boobies, so make haste!"

"Hey, that's my mom you're talking about!" Naruto protested.

As Tsunade watched the two Jinchuriki running away, she dispelled the transformation, going back to her usual clothes, and leaned against the counter.

"Girl, you still have it. Not even menopause can keep you down," she congratulated herself. Then she looked at the waiter, and slammed her hand on the counter. "Barman! Why there isn't a cup of sake in my hand!?"

"R-Right away, Tsunade-sama!" the scared waiter replied.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, what do you think about my first omake? I wasn't planning on making any, especially not this late, but reviewer Naruhinalover20 suggested such a good idea, I had to go with it. There might be more omakes in future chapters.**

 **While not any fights, a lot of things happened on this chapter, most of them regarding future relationhsips. And yeah, this was the scene between Shikamaru and Temari that I was talking about that forced me to make them fight in the prelims. A short fight during the second test wasn't enough for them to come close.**

 **And just like I promised, a meeting between Naruto and Fu. Did I tell you guys how much I love writing for Fu? Because I love writing for Fu. It's going to be a pity when this arc ends and Fu goes back home. Also, I finally did a scene between Itachi and Shizune. I can't believe I went so long without writing something with those two.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, the Chunin Exams Finals finally begin! Sasuke vs Haku, Choji vs Karui, and Naruto vs Temari! (I was originally planning on doing just two fights per chapter, but in the end I decided to do three to speed things up) Place your bets people! In the meantime, don't forget a review! Tsunade finds people who leave reviews really, really, really sexy! XD**


	27. Fight to become Chunin, Part I

**Author's Note: Well, the wait is finally over, and now you can see what you've been waiting for, the Genin beating the crap out of each other. This fights are longer and more intense, so it will take more than just two chapters to cover all of them. At first I thought that two fights per chapter would be enough, but I realized that then this arc would advance way too slowly, so every chapter will have three fights instead.**

 **Anyway, enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 27:**

Fight to become a Chunin, Part I

 _or_

 _Fire, Ice, Wind, Lightning and...Food?_

 _Konoha Stadium_

Four Taki ninja walked inside the stadium. One of them was Shibuki, Takigakure's leader. The other two were his two chosen bodyguards. Kegon and Yoro usually filled that spot, but he wasn't dumb enough to have them around in Konoha after the stunt he pulled. And the fourth one was Fu, the only Taki ninja who made it to the finals.

"Well, this is where we separate," Shibuki said, breaking the silence. "I'll be eager to see you in action."

"I'm eager to see myself in action too," Fu chuckled.

"Jokes apart, seeing you here makes me very happy, and proud," Shibuki stated. "Not just for you, but for our whole village. Even among the minor villages, Taki isn't very powerful or influential. We don't have numbers, clan history or ninja with Bloodline Limits. But now you will not only bring pride and glory to yourself, but to our home as well."

"I'll do my best, Shibuki. You know I will never do something to upset you," Fu solemnly replied.

This time it was Shibuki who chuckled. "If only that were true..."

"Hey! I mean serious stuff!" Fu protested, as she childishly stomped her foot on the ground.

"Anyway, jokes aside, I'm sure that you'll do fine. And remember not to use-"

"Yes, yes, I know, only if it's an emergency. Now go already! Don't you need to meet with the other village honchos?" Fu reminded him.

"I guess you're right. Good luck, Fu," Shibuki said as he and his two bodyguards went their way.

...

"Hokage-sama, the preparations are almost ready," Itachi told Jiraiya. "The Finals can begin whenever you give the order."

Jiraiya had been overseeing the preparations for the Chunin Exam Finals, and wanted to make sure that everything went smoothly. He noticed that even if it was still a bit early, some people were already starting to fill the seats of the stadium.

"Good," Jiraiya laconically replied. "What about our 'honored guests'? Have they arrived?"

Itachi nodded. "All three of them."

"If that's the case, tell somebody to guide them to the Kage Box. Then return to me at once," Jiraiya ordered.

"As you wish, Hokage-sama," Itachi said before vanishing.

As one of the strongest, and possibly most loyal ninja of the village, Jiraiya had chosen Itachi to be one his bodyguards during the event. The other one, Zabuza, was nowhere near as loyal, but Jiraiya had a good way to keep him in line.

As the white haired Hokage headed towards the Kage Box, he felt something. Three of his tracking seals had entered the stadium, those who belonged to his three children. He smiled. He would have hated that Naruto would have been eliminated from the exams for being late. Fortunately, it would be extremely unlikely that Tsunade would let such a thing happen.

 _"Come on kid, show everybody what you're made of,"_ Jiraiya thought.

Shortly after Jiraiya arrived at the Kage box and took one of the four seats, the first of his guests arrived. A man he wasn't exactly happy to see again. Still, he decided it was best to stand up and greet him as a Kage deserved.

"Kazekage-dono. It's an honor to have you here," Jiraiya said, as politely as possible.

Rasa took a few seconds to inspect Jiraiya, dressed in the Kage garb, something unusual for him.

"So it is true that they made you the new Hokage," Rasa stated. Jiraiya was expecting some kind of demeaning comment that never came.

"Anyway, take a seat," Jiraiya motioned to the four throne-like chairs. "And enjoy the fights. Two of your kids are taking part in the finals."

"Yes. Let's hope they don't leave Suna in a bad place," the Kazekage said as he took a seat, the one in the left extreme. His bodyguards stood beside him at each side. Jiraiya recognized one of them, a woman with purple cheek markings, but she couldn't remember her name. "But given the way I've been training them. I find that unlikely."

 _"Well, your daughter at least will have a hard time, given that she's going up against my son,"_ Jiraiya thought, deciding it was for the best to keep that comment for himself.

Jiraiya didn't have time to sit down, since the next of his guests appeared. A man Jiraiya liked even less than Rasa, if that was even possible. Jiraiya was about to greet him, but his second guest spoke first.

"So, we meet again, Jiraiya," A the Raikage stated, though some could say it was a snarl.

"This time, under better circumstances, or so I hope," Jiraiya hated to be polite with such a rage-filled asshole, but he couldn't leave Konoha in a bad place, not in front of the leader of such a powerful village.

"Hn," was the Raikage's response.

"I hope you find our humble village hospitable," Jiraiya added.

"I'm planning to leave as soon as the finals end, so I don't think I'll be in position to answer your question," the Raikage bluntly stated.

"A pity, but understandable," Jiraiya conceded, then he motioned at the seats. "Please take a seat."

The Raikage walked to the seats, and seeing the Kazekage in the left most one, he chose the right most. His bodyguards, a black man with blond hair that carried a broad sword, and a white blond man with feminine features, both of them which Jiraiya remember from the time he met them so many years ago, positioned themselves between him, a step behind.

Jiraiya wondered if Rasa and A had some sort of enmity he wasn't aware of. While he knew there was no shortage of bad blood between Suna and Kumo, he was unaware if there was any recent event that sparked hostility between the two villages.

Or maybe assholes tend to repel each other, like two magnets of the same pole.

The last of the special guests arrived at the Kage box.

"Jiraiya-sama. It's a pleasure to be here," Shibuki, leader of Takigakure, said as he entered the place.

"What is that man doing here?" the Kazekage asked. "I thought that this box was only for the Kage, and he isn't one!"

"Shibuki-san is the leader of an allied village, and thus he will be treated with the respect such a position deserves, even if he's not a Kage," Jiraiya wondered if treating Shibuki as an equal would mean an offense to Rasa and A, and maybe even the Kage as a whole, but frankly, he wasn't feeling like pleasing his very unpleasant guests, political consequences be damned. "Now Shibuki-san, please take a seat."

Despite Rasa's hostility, Shibuki chose to seat beside him. Guess that A was just that scary.

"Zabuza, are the participants ready?" Jiraiya asked one of his bodyguards.

The former Kiri swordsman nodded. "All twelve are accounted for."

"Excellent, then we can finally begin," Jiraiya said, as he walked towards the edge of the box. He could see that the stadium was boiling with people, many clamoring for the matches to begin already. They wouldn't have to wait much. "Ladies and gentlemen, both from Konoha, and visitors from other villages, the Chunin Exam Finals are about to begin!" the crowd roared when Jiraiya made his announcement. "Make sure to make your bets before the matches begin, or else they won't be valid. As for the Genin, good luck to all, and hope you put an impressive show for your audience."

…

Back in the stands, Tsunade, accompanied by Shizune, Sakura, Shisui and the twins, was holding all her betting tickets like they were her babies.

"That brat will win if he knows what's good for him," Tsunade stated. "I bet all my savings on him."

"Great, now you jinxed him," Shizune rolled her eyes. But then again, she found Tsunade's faith in Naruto heartwarming.

"Come on Shizune, you should know already that Naruto is always a safe bet," Tsunade reassured her apprentice.

"Even then, is betting all your savings such a good idea?" the younger woman asked. One of the perks of not being wanderers anymore is that Shizune now had control over her own money, and Tsunade wouldn't be able to waste it on bets, like it happened so many times in the past.

"Shizune, if I didn't bet all my money on Naruto, I'd imply that I don't have enough faith on him, and that would make me a bad mother. So by doing so, I'm showing both Naruto and everybody how much I trust his skill. You could say is my duty as a mother to bet all my money on him."

Shizune just stared at her for a few seconds. "Wow… your brain must be sore after all those mental gymnastics you went through to justify your bullshit, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade glared at her apprentice, and mumbled something under her breath.

Kaida then gasped in horror. "Mom, you can't say THAT word!"

…

The twelve Genin walked forward into the arena where the proctor, Yugao Uzuki, was already waiting for them.

"I'd introduce myself, but you know me already from the prelims," Yugao said. "People are getting impatient, so let's not drag this any longer. Sasuke Uchiha and Haku Yuki, get into position. Everybody else, go back to the Competitor Box and wait there."

Sasuke and Haku got into position, while the other ten Genin walked away.

"Good luck, Haku! Show him who's boss!" Naruto stated.

"We will be rooting you," Hinata added.

Haku smiled at them. "Thanks. I'll do my best."

"And you will find that your best won't be enough to beat me," Sasuke added as he smirked at him.

…

"Go Sasuke-kun! I know you can win!" Sakura cheered as she waved at Sasuke, hoping for him to notice her.

"Well, there he goes. Let's hope he can keep his temper in check this time," Shizune commented, letting out a sigh. "Even if he wins, the examiners might not appreciate unnecessary brutality."

"He will. He knows what's at stake," Shisui replied. "Plus this is also a good way to score some good PR for the clan."

Shizune hoped her boyfriend was right.

…

Haku and Sasuke were in front of each other. Haku noticed that Sasuke was now carrying a sword, probably a katana, buckled to his belt. He wondered how Sasuke was able to learn a new fighting art just in the month of training, instead of focusing exclusively on his already existing strengths, such as taijutsu, ninjutsu, and shuriken. This match would determine if adding sword fighting to the mix is a display of talent or arrogance.

Yugao eyed both Genin and decided it was time to begin. She hated not being able to wish good luck to her surrogate son, but she had to be neutral.

"The first match of the Chunin Exam Finals between Haku Yuki and Sasuke Uchiha from Konoha...begin!" she shouted while making a chopping motion.

Haku wasted no time, and a handful of senbon appeared on his hand. He jumped backwards while tossing the iron needles at Sasuke, while he used his other hand to find something inside his robe.

Unfortunately for Haku, Sasuke remembered the fight against Rock Lee, and knew what the Ice Ninja was about to do. His eyes flared red, and pulling out a kunai, he charged at Haku while deflecting the incoming senbon. Pumping chakra into his legs, the youngest Uchiha reached close quarter combat range just when Haku was pulling a storage scroll from his haori.

Sasuke smirked evilly. "I'll be taking this, thank you."

Haku was unable to stop Sasuke from snatching the scroll from his hand. Then, the Uchiha made a hand seal, and moved several meters behind him. At a distance he deemed safe, Sasuke pumped his chakra into the scroll, which began to burn.

"Sorry, but I'm not letting you to-"

Sasuke was interrupted by the sound of water flowing. Turning around, he saw that his rival had not one, but two storage scrolls unfurled in the ground, both of them pumping water as if they were fountains. In no time, a large puddle formed at the Ice Ninja's feet.

"Wait, so the first scroll was just a bait?" Sasuke wondered in disbelief.

This time, it was Haku who smirked. "It would have been horribly foolish on my part to bring just one scroll, don't you think so?" Haku then looked at the growing puddle, and smiled in satisfaction. "Yes. I believe all this water will be more than enough to fuel my jutsu."

Sasuke snarled, and angrily tossed the burning scroll away. "This changes nothing! You can't defeat me, and you know it!"

"Now that's an interesting theory which I'd love to debunk," Haku said as he made several hand seals. "Ice Release: Thousand Ice Needles of Death!"

Some of the water at his feet turned into icy senbon that flew at Sasuke. The Uchiha replied with a jutsu of his own.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled a huge fireball that consumed and melted the ice senbon, but it dissipated before it could reach Haku. The crows roared at such impressive display of power from both ninjas.

…

"Ice Release? I thought that bloodline was extinct!" A shouted.

"And since when does Konoha has a kunoichi with such power?" Rasa asked.

"Well, you know what they say, a man's trash is another man's treasure. If the Land of Water didn't want people with Bloodlines, Konoha is more than happy to give them shelter," Jiraiya replied, smiling wide. Then he turned at Rasa. "Oh, and Haku is a boy."

The Raikage snarled. As somebody who wished to increase his village's strength by incorporating more people with Bloodline Limits, A had tried to rescue some of those people in order to recruit them into Kumo's ranks, but his ninja either failed to locate such people, or they weren't fast enough to save them before they met a grisly death . Guess that Jiraiya was luckier than him.

"Wait a minute, then that guy..." Rasa pointed at Zabuza. "I knew your face was familiar! You're Zabuza, the Demon of Kirigakure!"

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "I'm glad to see that a Kage recognizes me without the aid of a bingo book. Do you want my autograph?"

"Hokage, what's the meaning of this!?" Rasa shouted.

"Let's say that Zabuza has a debt with Konoha, and is currently in the process of paying," Jiraiya explained. "Don't worry, he's not a danger to anyone present here."

"Do you know that Zabuza is wanted for crimes against Suna?" Rasa angrily asked. "He's responsible for the murder of seven of our ninja!"

Jiraiya turned at Zabuza. "Is that true?"

Zabuza merely shrugged. "I'm as surprised as you. I mean, it's possible. I don't keep track of all the people I kill. My memory isn't that good."

Jiraiya turned back at Rasa, and smiled. "I'm sure we can reach an agreement in due time. Now, let's enjoy the fight. These two are among Konoha's strongest Genin."

...

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Haku's jutsu formed a spear made of ice with the water at his feet, which flew at Sasuke like a missile. Sasuke had already prepared the counter.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Once again, Sasuke's fire attack neutralized Haku's ice jutsu, but when the fireball was dispelled, Sasuke saw other three Hakus. All four of them pulled out senbon and threw them at Sasuke. The youngest Uchiha jumped backwards, unsheathed his katana, and used it to deflect the incoming flying needles. Haku and his clones readied another barrage of senbon.

"Like hell if I'm going to let you!" Sasuke shouted, and katana in hand, dashed at the many ice ninjas.

Though rather than attacking from a distance, the clones charged at Sasuke as well. Upon meeting in melee range, Sasuke's katana, which started to glow with a faint blue light, cut through the first one, which burst into water. Sasuke was smart enough not to let the clone soak him, since he remembered the Ice Ninja's fight against Rock Lee. He methodically repeated the process, making sure not a single droplet of water touched him.

Once the clones were dealt with, Sasuke pumped even more chakra into his sword and dashed at Haku. However, before his sword could sink into Haku's flesh, it was parried by another sword.

"What?" Sasuke asked dumbfounded, noticing that Haku was holding a sword. It took him a couple seconds to realize that Haku's weapon was made of pure ice.

With admirable dexterity, Haku almost knocked Sasuke's katana out his hand and delivered several rapid swipes that forced Sasuke on the defensive.

"Since when do you know how to fight with a sword like that?" the incredulous Uchiha asked. He always had pegged the Yuki as a ninjutsu focused, ranged specialist.

"My three parental figures are accomplished swordfighters. Is it so unbelievable that they passed some of their skills onto me?" Haku asked while sporting a small smirk.

Even if she managed to hid it from almost everybody, Yugao couldn't help but smile with pride.

Despite such display, Haku broke the fight by discarding his ice sword –which quickly melted back into water the moment it hit the ground,– and put some distance by jumping backwards a few times.

"Even then, I'm not arrogant enough to think I can last long in melee combat against you," Haku told him. "Now let's neutralize that fancy eye of yours," Haku made a hand seal. "Water Release: Hiding Mist Jutsu!"

In a matter of seconds, a thick fog covered the area. People in the stands started to murmur, with some complaining that they weren't able to see anything.

"Smart, very smart," Sasuke admitted. "But your strategy has a glaring mistake."

"And that would be...?" Haku tentatively asked.

By following his voice, Sasuke had already pinpointed his location, but it wouldn't hurt to talk a bit more. "The fact that the point of these matches is to show off and impress the examiners. Even if you beat me, it won't help you score a promotion if nobody can see how you do it."

"Maybe you're right. But I can always show off in the next match. After all, I'm sure that whoever my next adversary is, it can't be worse than you, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke was taken aback. Now Haku's voice came from a completely different direction. How could he be so fast?

Meanwhile, Haku smiled. The Hidden Mist Jutsu wasn't of much use without a refined silent killing. However, thanks that this other new jutsu he developed with the aid of Zabuza, Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance.

A whistle alerted Sasuke of several senbon flying at him. He unsheathed his katana and deflected the iron needles. Another barrage of senbon came from a completely different direction, although Sasuke was able to parry them as well.

 _"This makes no sense. There's no way Haku could have moved so fast in so little time, unless he knows the Body Flicker. And even then, if he used the Body Flicker, there would be a disturbance in the mist..."_

Sasuke's thought's were interrupted by another barrage of senbon, again from a completely different direction. Then, he had an idea, and made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled a huge fireball. Even if he didn't know where his opponent was, the attack did what Sasuke intended, and the heat dispelled some of the mist. But much to Sasuke's frustration, the mist reappeared in a matter of seconds.

"Zabuza-sama fought against somebody who used fire to dispel his mist, and improved the jutsu accordingly. It was a good idea, though," Haku conceded. "You're putting a valiant effort in resisting me, but sooner or later, you'll run out of energy," Haku taunted. "There's no need to drag this any longer. Ice Release: Thousand Ice Needles of Death!"

Multiple whistles were heard as dozens of ice senbon flew at Sasuke from multiple directions. He deflected many of them thanks to the Sharingan and his dexterity, but many of them embedded into his flesh, in the back, legs and arms.

"Impressive. You're still standing. Your endurance is even greater than I had expected. Still, it won't change anything in the long run. Ice Release: Thousand Ice Needles of Death!"

The pain and death-heralding whistles were heard again, as the ice needles flew at Sasuke. However, as the youngest Uchiha struggled, an idea popped in his mind. Pumping all the chakra he could into his feet, he jumped as high as he could, successfully avoiding the needles. But that wasn't everything. While on mid air, Sasuke made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A volley of fireballs rained from above in a wide range, causing many explosions when they hit the ground. Said explosions dispelled the mist, but when it tried to reform, another explosion prevented it from happening. When Sasuke landed, the mist was no more.

"Very well, Sasuke. You got rid of the mist. But you're not any closer to defeat me than before," Haku replied.

"We'll see about that," Sasuke confidently replied.

As the smoke cleared, Haku finally came into view, but much to the Uchiha's confusion, the Ice Ninja was inside what appeared to be a floating mirror made of ice. Sasuke was taken aback by such thing.

"What the...?" the confused Uchiha babbled.

"Do you like this, Sasuke? This is my clan's ultimate jutsu, The Demonic Mirror Ice Crystal. I'm glad that somebody of your caliber will be the first one to test the power of this jutsu," Haku mentioned.

"Your clan? Your clan is from the Land of Water! Where did you learn such a thing?" Sasuke asked in disbelief.

"Zabuza-sama was kind enough to travel to our former homeland and gather information about my clan in order to train me better. He found this secret hideout of my people, where he discovered a scroll with multiple ice jutsu written on it," Haku explained, as he made a hand seal. "Prepare yourself! You'll find this a step up from the mist."

Sasuke raised his sword upon seeing Haku making a hand seal. Suddenly, multiple ice mirrors appeared at several points in the arena, all facing Sasuke. He stayed alert, wondering what the mirrors would do.

Then all of sudden, Haku's image appeared on every mirror, and before the youngest Uchiha could react, he found himself at the end of a brutal beat down. All what the spectators could see was Sasuke being hit by a blur that appeared and disappeared at random times, but thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke saw that it was Haku who moved from one mirror to another at a surreal speed. Sasuke tried to grab or attack Haku, but even with the Sharingan, the Ice Ninja's speed was just too much.

"How the hell are you able to move so fast?" Sasuke yelled in frustration.

"I could tell you, but that wouldn't be very smart on my part, would it?" Haku asked, as he resumed his onslaught.

Once again, Sasuke tried in vain to catch Haku or strike him with his katana, but he moved too fast. More wounds and bruises appeared on his body as a result of the gradual beat down.

"I need to destroy those mirrors!" Luckily, Sasuke managed to dodge one of Haku's attacks while making several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a huge fireball at two mirrors that were close to each other. But much to his shock, the mirrors were unaffected by the attack.

"Nice idea. Sadly, you'll need flames as hot as the sun itself in order to melt my ice, _"Haku commented. "Let's hope he doesn't find out that I need to use my chakra in order to keep the mirrors from melting, or else, my jutsu would be undone,"_ Haku thought. "Now prepare to fall before the power of the Yuki clan!"

…

"An exciting fight, don't you think so?" Jiraiya asked with a wide grin.

"If you say so," Rasa replied, not hiding his boredom.

Since both combatants were from Konoha, none of Jiraiya's fellow Kage nor Shibuki were particularly invested in the first match, something the Sannin knew all too well.

"Indeed. But it's only a matter of time before Haku defeats the Uchiha. Haku is the most talented ninja of his generation I've ever seen," Zabuza commented.

"Do not underestimate Sasuke, Zabuza-san. Especially since he had already proved multiple times how strong he can be," Itachi countered. "I admit that Haku is indeed talented, but you should remember that Sasuke earned his victory in the prelims thanks to his strength and skill, while luck played a huge role in Haku's."

"Does it look like the beating Haku is giving your brother is a product of luck, Uchiha?" Zabuza sneered.

"Just wait and see. Sasuke still has quite a few aces in the hole," Itachi replied.

…

Meanwhile, back in the arena, Haku continued his vicious onslaught, albeit this time he landed less hits on his opponent, since Sasuke was slowly but surely learning to dodge and counter his extremely fast attacks. Even then, it wouldn't be long until he sustained too many injuries.

 _"Dammit, I didn't think I'd had to use this so soon, but I have no other options,"_ Sasuke thought as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Burning Man!"

Sasuke suddenly burst into flames. The flabbergasted Haku didn't have time to stop, and burned his hand the moment he tried to slash Sasuke with a trio of senbon he was holding. The sudden searing pain made him lose his balance and crash into the ground.

"Do you like this, Haku?" Sasuke asked. "I got the idea from that Kumo girl Hinata fought against. Now not only you can't even touch me, but I've become impervious to your ice attacks."

"We'll see about that!" Haku replied as he resumed his attack, but this time he only limited himself to throw senbon, which Sasuke managed to expertly deflect with his katana. _"Maintaining that fire shield covering his body must consume a lot of chakra. All I need to do is fight smart and wait for him to run out of chakra."_

While Haku continued his fast paced onslaught, Sasuke made more hand seals.

"Fire Release: Annihilation Nova!"

"What?"

Sasuke's fiery aura started to burn with more intensity, and it quickly expanded into a huge fireball, as if Sasuke himself was a living bomb. Despite his speed, Haku was unable to avoid the ever-present fire, and was caught in the blast radius, which burned him as well as pushed him backwards with an impressive force.

When the nova disappeared, Sasuke breathed heavily. That attack had used an inordinate amount of chakra, and could no longer sustain his fire aura. But Haku was left in an even worse state than him. Though, even burned and bruised, Haku managed to stand up.

"I need to go back to the mirror..."

"Like hell I'm going to let you!" Sasuke's voice shouted. "Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

Haku saw his opponent leaping at him, katana in hand. Haku noticed Sasuke no longer had the fire aura surrounding him, but his blade was still wreathed in flames. Haku managed to generate another sword made of ice that successfully blocked Sasuke's blows, fire and all. Even then, the fire nova let Haku very weakened, and could barely parry the Uchiha's vicious assault. That's it, until he couldn't continue anymore, and Sasuke swiped the sword from his hand. Exhausted, Haku felt to his knees.

"Do you surrender?" Sasuke asked, pointing his flaming sword at Haku.

"Y-Yes..." Haku conceded. "I give up!"

Yugao couldn't help to feel a pang of sadness upon hearing his surrogate son losing the first match, but there was nothing she could do.

"Haku has forfeited. Winner of the match, Sasuke Uchiha!" Yugao announced.

He crowd erupted into a mix of cheers and boos. Even if Sasuke wasn't one who seek general approval, he couldn't help but feel comforted to know that at least some people cheered for him.

Yugao called some medic-nin to take Haku to the stadium's infirmary while she instructed Sasuke to go back to the competitors' box and wait for his next match.

"There will be a ten minute recess!" Yugao announced to the crowd. "Then, the second match will begin!"

…

Shizune let out a sigh of relief as she leaned back on her seat. "Thank goodness. He won without going berserk this time. Then again, Haku isn't the kind of person who seeks to rile his opponents."

"Relax, I already told you that Sasuke knows what he's doing," Shisui told her. "Let's just hope he doesn't let the boos affect him much..."

"It doesn't seems so," Sakura noted. "By the way, what was that fire jutsu?"

"Oh that? Something Sasuke created. He wanted a jutsu way more powerful than any of which already had, and wasn't happy with what Itachi or I could teach him," Shisui explained. "But then again, it consumes a lot of chakra, so I don't think it's worth it, even if it gave him the victory."

"I can understand that. If it wasn't for the chakra-enhanced technique, I wouldn't have anything with enough packing power as well," Sakura replied.

...

Kurenai had been watching the match from the stands, alongside Asuma. She let out a sigh after Yugao announced Sasuke's victory.

"And the first defeat of the day goes to the Assault Squad," Kurenai sadly moaned. "Guess it was much to ask for Haku to break Sasuke's undefeated streak."

"Hey, don't be so glum," Asuma told her as she put an arm around her shoulder. "You still have two more Genin in the finals. Plus Haku gave Sasuke quite a hard time."

"Guess you're right," Kurenai admitted. "That doesn't make Haku's defeat any easier to swallow, still."

"Now it's Choji's turn to fight," Asuma said. "He's been training with his clan, so I don't know how strong he's now. Let's hope he can defeat that Kumo kunoichi. She's already responsible for one of my Genin being out of the exam."

…

Asuma wasn't the only one eager to see Choji's match. Shikamaru and Ino were also sitting in the stands, not far from their sensei.

"Choji better not lose this one. If he wastes his chance to avenge me, I'm going to kill him!" Ino screeched.

"Hey, calm down. It's not like that Kumo girl did something that horrible," Shikamaru pointed out. But when he saw Ino's furious glare, he decided to shut up.

...

"Aw man, I can't believe Haku lost!" Naruto whined. "Well, on one side that means I can beat Sasuke myself...but I would have preferred if Haku won. Now he won't be Chunin."

"Actually, Haku-kun can still be Chunin. He put up a good fight. Or at least, that's what I think," Hinata added. "However, Haku-kun may have made things easier for us."

"Huh?"

"That huge fire jutsu Sasuke-san used consumed a lot of chakra. Even if he can rest until his next match comes, he won't be able to regenerate the chakra Haku-kun made him spend," Hinata explained.

At that moment, Sasuke arrived back at the competitors' box. He was badly bruised and had multiple cuts in his clothes. He walked towards the only other member of the medical squad.

"Karin, I need you to heal me," the Uchiha told the redhead.

However, rather than nodding eagerly before healing him, Karin merely put her hands on her hips and replied: "Would it kill you to say 'please' just once?"

Every Konoha Genin watched the redhead as if she suddenly grew another head. Sasuke was the most surprised, and while indignant, he wasn't in the mood nor have the energy to get into an argument with the bespectacled girl.

"Karin, would you be so kind to heal me, please?" Sasuke asked, gritting his teeth.

"That's much better. See? It's not so bad being polite once in a while, don't you think so?" Karin stated as she began treating Sasuke's injuries.

"Did...did..." Naruto started to babble. "Did Karin-neechan...give Sasuke.. attitude?"

"I'm as surprised as you are," Tamaki mentioned.

Hinata might have an idea for Karin's sudden change of attitude towards Sasuke, but decided to remain quiet for the time being.

"Well, I better get going," Choji stated. "Ino told me many times that I have to avenge her loss at the prelims."

"Actually, it will be you the one needing to be avenged as well," Karui replied as she exited the box.

"Don't listen to her! I'm sure you'll do great, Choji!" Naruto told his former classmate.

"We will be cheering for you, Choji-san," Hinata added.

"Thanks! I'll do my best!" Choji replied, before joining her opponent in the arena.

…

Since the next match involved the only Kumo ninja who made it to the finals, the Raikage's interest was much greater now. Still, he couldn't help but feel puzzled upon seeing Karui's opponent.

"Hokage, there must be a mistake," A told Jiraiya. "There's no way that lard ball can be Karui's opponent!"

"I know that at first sight, the members of the Akimichi Clan don't look all that threatening, but trust me, there's a reason as for why they earned a spot among Konoha's strongest," Jiraiya confidently replied.

The Raikage snorted. "Please. That fat boy won't even be a warm up for Karui."

…

Choji and Karui stood in front of each other while Yugao made sure they were ready to fight.

"Ready to lose, fatty?" Karui asked. "I've seen you fight, I know that as long as I don't let you crush me under your weight, I'll be fine."

Choji grit his teeth and curled his hands into fists, and repressed the urge of beating the dark skinned girl into the ground. Fortunately for him, one of the things his father and him worked on during the training was his temper.

 _"Choji, I know that you're sensitive to some kind of insults, but if you're to become a Chunin, you can't let people goad you so easily. You need to learn to channel your rage instead of being consumed by it,"_ his father had told him.

"You've seen nothing," Choji darkly replied.

Yugao could feel the killing intent coming from the Akimichi kid, and thought that it would be best to start as soon as possible.

"The second match of the Chunin Exam Finals between Choji Akimichi from Konoha, and Karui from Kumo..." she raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

The moment that word came out of Yugao's lips, Choji was already preparing his next attack. He placed his hands together, and separated his legs.

"Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!"

Choji's arms suddenly swelled and grew in size. He slowly raised his right arm, and tried to smash Karui under his giant fist. The Kumo kunoichi expertly jumped aside, dodging the smash, as she withdrew her katana and charged at Choji.

"Thank you for being left wide open!" Karui exclaimed as she dashed for the kill.

However, much to the dark skinned redhead's shock, Choji's other arm moved at a surprising speed and smacked her away as if she was a fly.

 _"Dammit, he pretended to be much slower than he was to trick me,"_ Karui cursed inwardly as she stood up.

Choji's arms then returned to normal, and made a hand seal.

"Multi-Size Jutsu!"

Choji's body bloated like a balloon, and his head and limbs disappeared inside his clothes, before he started rolling like a boulder down a mountain, ready to crush Karui.

"Human Bullet Tank!"

 _"The same attack he used to defeat that Taki ninja. I shouldn't try to stop it, at least from the front. An attack like that must consume a lot of chakra, so I'll dodge it until he gets tired,"_ Karui decided, as she jumped aside the moment the human boulder got close to her.

Choji noticed that he had missed his mark, as he immediately turned around and tried to roll over Karui again. The dark skinned kunoichi jumped aside once more, but Choji didn't appear to stop. The process repeated many times. Karui was started to grow tired.

 _"Dammit, how can this fat ass have so much endurance?"_ the Kumo kunoichi thought in frustration.

 _"Just like I guessed, she thought that I would be the one to tire first,"_ Choji thought in satisfaction. _"Now, let's reveal one of my secret weapons!"_

"Fire Release: Human Flame Bullet Tank!"

Choji's body burst into flames, turning into a boulder made of fire. His speed increased, and he left a trail of fire wherever he passed.

"Shit!" Karui shouted as she tried to dodge the gigantic human fireball. "I can't continue dodging like this! I need to stop this!"

…

"Well, Raikage-dono, did you expect Karui to have such a hard time against Choji?" Jiraiya asked with a wide grin.

The Raikage glared at him back, and growled. "The match is far from over. I'm sure Karui will end up victorious!"

…

"Whoa, look at that Hinata! It seems that you're not the only one who combined elemental ninjutsu with a clan jutsu!" Naruto pointed out.

"It always surprised me that nobody thought of that yet," Hinata replied. _"But then again, I only combined Lightning Release with the Gentle Fist because I wasn't good enough for the normal Gentle Fist. Other people might not think their clan jutsu are in need of an improvement,"_ she thought. Naruto would have disagreed.

 _"Maybe I should do that too, given the results. Wonder if I could combine Wind Release with the Rasengan."_ Naruto thought. Then he cast those thoughts aside, and decided that he should study that idea later while he now focused on the finals. "Come on, Choji! Show her who's boss!"

…

Now the tables had been turned. Using the Multi-size Jutsu once again to enlarge his arms, Choji was now relentlessly attacking Karui, forcing her to dodge his deadly blows, making her grow tired. Karui wasn't going to let such thing happen, and she jumped backwards as she pulled multiple shuriken from her many ninja tool pouches.

"Let's see how good are you against the technique that took out your blonde friend," Karui then infused the steel stars with her lightning chakra. "Lightning Release: Shuriken Lightning Transmission!"

Choji's mouth formed an uncharacteristic smirk as he saw the electrical spider web flying at him. "Just as expected. Thanks goodness that dad had something to counter that," His arms quickly returned to normal, and started to run at her while making a hand seal.

"Reverse Multi Size Jutsu!"

Suddenly, much to Karui's disbelief, Choji started to shrink, and became small enough in time the lightning-charged shuriken harmlessly passed over his head. However, he continued shrinking until he disappeared from sight.

"The hell? Where is he?" Karui asked as she started to frantically look around.

"Down here!" a high pitched voice said from behind.

Karui looked down, and saw a diminutive Choji between her feet, looking up at her. The red haired kunoichi smirked evilly.

"Now that was a good way to avoid my shuriken, hehehehe," she then raised her foot over Choji threateningly. "But that jutsu of yours has a _major_ downside. Allow me to show you!"

Choji jumped in time before Karui's foot flattened him, and in a few seconds he found himself a couple meters above her.

 _"At this size I might be vulnerable, but I can jump so high and move so fast she won't be able to touch me. And now, time to show her that size doesn't matter!"_ Choji thought while he made a hand seal mid-air. "Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!" while tiny, Choji's body bloated once again. "Mini Human Bullet Tank!"

Taking advantage of gravity, Choji then slammed his body against Karui's eye.

"OW! MY EYE!" Karui yelled as she held her eye in pain.

But Choji wasn't done. Taking advantage of the bounce caused by the first attack, Choji rammed his body against Karui's other eye.

"OW! MY OTHER EYE!" she yelled again, holding both eyes.

"Haha, yeah! Take that you bitch!" a voice that sounded awfully a lot like Ino's shouted from the stands.

After landing on the ground a couple meters from Karui, Choji made a hand seal, and returned to his normal size, since being small for long would be a huge risk. Anyway, now that he had blinded his opponent, victory was at hand.

"Now time to finish this!" Choji shouted as he enlarged one of his arms, and readied to punch Karui into the other life.

"Like hell it is, you fat ass!" the still blinded Karui replied as she flew through hand seals. "Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"

Karui's body turned into a living lantern, flooding the stadium with a potent, white light that blinded everybody unlucky enough to have their eyes open at that time and were not wearing sunglasses. Which frankly, were most of the people attending there.

The next few minutes were completely uneventful, as neither Choji nor Karui dared to attack each other. It was a race to see who would recover their eyesight first, and thus earning a game-changing advantage over their respective rival.

Forcing her eyes open as they slowly adapted to the natural light, Karui appeared to be that person.

 _"Okay, he's still blind. If I play my cards correctly, I can win this,"_ Karui thought as she made a hand seal.

A few seconds later, Choji also regained his eyesight, and saw that Karui had just made a clone. Noticing it casted a shadow, the Akimichi heir realized that it was a Shadow Clone. Even if a single clone wasn't much of a threat, he didn't lower his guard.

The Kumo kunoichi and her double wasted no time and ran towards Choji while increasing the distance from each other, at the same time they made identical hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Transmission!"

An electrical chain formed between the hands of Karui and her clone, as they both rushed at Choji. The Akimichi clan heir didn't have much time to react, but fortunately, he knew exactly what to do.

"Multi-Size Jutsu!"

Choji's arms grew again in size, and managed to stop the two dark skinned Kunoichi on their track by catching them in his now huge hands.

"Gotcha!" Choji claimed. He then started to squeeze them. "Now let's see which one of you is the clone."

Two things happened, both which shocked Choji. Literally in one case. The first one was that both of them turned out to be clones, as they burst once enough pressure was applied. The second was that they weren't Shadow Clones as Choji had guessed, but Lightning Clones, resulting in a painful electric shock.

"NOW!"

Unfortunately for Choji, he didn't have time to realize that there was a large boulder near him that wasn't there a few seconds ago. Said boulder turned burst into smoke, revealing Karui, and leaped at the Akimichi as she unsheathed her katana before doing several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Still stunned by the previous shock, Choji was unable to move in any way, and Karui's electric katana sank into the flesh of Choji's shoulder. The constant stream of electricity did the rest.

"AAAAAAAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!" Choji yelled as electricity surged through his body.

After a few seconds, Choji couldn't take it anymore, and collapsed on his back as if he were a fallen tree. Karui pulled her sword from Choji's shoulder. Upon seeing that Choji didn't move, Yugao immediately went to check the fallen Akimichi. While he didn't move, his still had a heartbeat, and he was breathing.

"Choji Akimichi can't continue fighting! Winner of the second match, Karui!" the purple haired woman declared.

Upon being declared victor, Karui sighed in exhaustion. She had won, but she had to work for that victory and she didn't walk out of the fight precisely unscratched.

 _"I better step up my game if want to get that promotion,"_ Karui thought.

While Choji wasn't exactly the most popular ninja of his generation among any circle outside his family, the sight of a Konoha ninja being defeated by a foreign fighter didn't sit well with the majorly-native crowd, who erupted into a cacophony of boos and insults aimed at the Kumo Kunoichi.

For her part, Karui flipped all of them the middle finger before returning to the Competitor's Box.

Yugao called some medic-nin to take Choji to the stadium's infirmary. "There will be a recess of ten minutes!" Yugao announced to the crowd. "Then, the third match will begin!"

…

"See? I told you there was no way Karui would lose!" the Raikage claimed.

"Indeed. That kunoichi is very talented. But you must admit that Choji made her work for the victory," Jiraiya countered.

"That doesn't matter, Hokage. In our world, all what matters are the results. Karui won, how much she had to struggle or what did she do to win is completely irrelevant," A replied.

"I have to agree with the Raikage," Rasa interjected.

 _"Of course you do, somebody who sees his own children as nothing but weapons,"_ Jiraiya thought with disdain.

…

"And the second defeat of the day goes to the Tactical Squad," Asuma sadly said.

"Now you know how I feel," Kurenai said as she placed a hand on Asuma's shoulder.

"Well, you still have two more Genin competing. Choji was my team's only representative," Asuma replied. "Wonder if his performance will be enough to merit a promotion. Anyway, Naruto goes next. Let's hope that he will do better than Haku and Choji."

…

Not everybody booed Karui. The Kumo delegation, as well as her teammates and sensei, cheered for her. But sadly, their cheers were silenced by the overwhelming boos.

"Good thing Karui won. Otherwise, Kumo would have been left in a bad place, and the Raikage would be really angry. And once the Raikage gets angry..." for once, Omoi didn't want to imagine one of his many possible overly convoluted scenarios.

"Karui is really strong, and those who doubt it will be proved wrong! All his opponents might as well flee, since he was trained by an amazing ninja like me!" Killer B rapped.

…

Shikamaru sighed sadly, while Ino groaned in frustration.

"Damn Choji...I was planning on treating him to an all-you-can eat buffet if he avenged me..." Ino said as she clenched her first.

Shikamaru let out a whistle. "Then your wallet dodged a deadly shuriken, Ino."

"I know, I keep reminding myself that in order to calm myself down."

…

Upon returning to the Competitor's Box, nobody congratulated Karui on her victory since she was the only kunoichi from Kumogakure. Not that she cared, mind you. She then pulled a hand mirror and checked her face.

"Oh man, look at that. That fat kid did a number on my face," Karui whined upon seeing her swollen, blackened eyes. She then pulled out a storage scroll that was holding a small med kit, and applied some medicine to her eyes.

While Karui healed her eyes –and hoped for the next matches to be as long as possible so she could have as much time to recover as possible before her duel with Sasuke Uchiha– everybody else's attention were on Naruto and Temari, the next ones to fight.

"So, our turn finally comes," Temari stated as she walked towards Naruto. "Ready for our fight?"

"Heh, you can bet on it! I was born ready!" Naruto proudly declared.

"Let's hope you last longer than Pineapple Head. I don't like easy victories," Temari replied.

Naruto scratched his head inc confusion. "Pineapple Head? Who are you talking-oh, you mean Shikamaru!" Naruto said in realization, then he started to laugh. "Pineapple Head, that's a good one, hehehe!"

Temari just rolled her eyes, but smiled.

"Anyway, to answer your question, you won't have an easy victory," Naruto's face grew serious. "Because you're not going to win."

Temari's smile grew a bit. "Well, at least you have more motivation. Regardless of the winner, this will be a fight to remember."

"I hope so! Shall we go?" Naruto asked.

"I'm right behind you," Temari replied.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata called. "Good luck in your match!"

"Thanks, Hinata!" the blond replied with a wide, confident smile. "But you don't need luck when you're as strong as I am, hehe!"

Hinata smiled as she saw her crush walk into the arena alongside his opponent.

"Even then, a little luck can never hurt, right?"

...

"Naruto-niisan's going to fight now!" Hagane cheered upon seeing Naruto walk into the arena.

"NARUTO-NIISAN! WE'RE HERE!" Kaida yelled at the top of her lungs as she waved her arms. Her voice managed to be heard among the constant uproar, and Naruto waved back at his younger siblings.

"He saw us!" Hagane exclaimed.

"That brat better win if he knows what's good for him," Tsunade said as she protectively held her betting tickets.

"Tsunade-sama..." Shizune said in a pleading tone.

"What? Do you know how much money is at stake?" Tsunade asked her apprentice.

"It's not that Naruto-kun forced you to bet on him, didn't he?"

…

"Look at that, Hokage. It's time for our respective children to fight," Rasa pointed out.

"A match I wouldn't miss for anything," Jiraiya replied, eager to see Naruto in action.

"Maybe you will change your mind after seeing your son humiliated by my daughter," Rasa smugly said.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Naruto is an extremely strong ninja for a Genin," Jiraiya remarked.

"And Temari is the strongest kunoichi of her generation. Nobody but Gaara is able to beat her. She's pretty much a Chunin in all but name. And soon, you will see it," Rasa replied, very sure of himself.

…

In the stands reserved for the Suna delegation, Kankuro observed his sister and her rival walking into the arena.

 _"Let's see how you deal with my sister, Naruto,"_ the puppeteer apprentice thought. _"You'll need something more than a few naked pretty boys to take Temari down."_

...

Back in the arena, Naruto and Temari were in front of each other, both of them eagerly waiting for Yugao to officially begin the match.

"The third match of the Chunin Exam Finals between Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha, and Temari from Suna..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

The second Yugao started the match, Naruto already made a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two Naruto clones appeared flanking him while the original pulled out a couple of kunai. The two clones grabbed Naruto by each side, jumped and tossed Naruto at Temari while in mid air shortly before disappearing.

The flying blond was ready to slash Temari, but the Suna kunoichi parried the attack with her folded war fan. Temari smirked at him.

"You thought that as a ranged specialist, if you managed to close the starting gap you could beat me already?" she shook her head in disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, I didn't expect you to underestimate me like that, Naruto."

Temari then counterattacked by quickly swinging her folded fan like it was a steel club, as well as adding a few kicks for good measure, pushing Naruto back.

 _"Dammit, this girl is pretty strong in melee combat too! There goes my original strategy..."_ Naruto cursed inwardly as he parried Temari's attacks as he could.

"Heads up,!" Temari said as she unfolded her war fan. She then continued to physically beat Naruto up with it, except that every swing was accompanied by a powerful gust of wind. After swinging her fan with enough force, Temari was able to produce a tornado that hurled Naruto backwards several meters. She then folded the fan, and stabbed it into the ground. "That's it,?"

Naruto jumped back on his feet, his determination unbroken. "You wish!"

"Good. I was fearing that Shikamaru was the standard of Konoha ninja," Temari sharply replied. "So, what are you going to do now, Naruto?"

"How about this?" Naruto then made the same hand seal as before. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Dozens of Naruto clones popped into existence, albeit they didn't appear around the original or at random locations; they appeared forming a circle around Temari, who didn't look impressed.

"Quantity does not equal quality," Temari pointed out.

"Quantity has a quality of its own," the real Naruto replied. Then he move his arms forwards. "Attack!"

Shouting multiple battle cries, the Naruto clones charged at Temari.

 _"Very smart, Naruto. You now that while my attacks cover a wide area, they aren't wide enough to repel an attack from every side. But if you think you already got me, you have another thing coming,"_ Temari thought as she merely leaped in the air seconds before the charging clones could get her.

However, while she was in mid air, Temari saw that, much to her horror, only half of the Naruto clones had charged, and the other half remained back, and were pulling out kunai and shuriken from their ninja tool pouches. Temari wouldn't be able to dodge the incoming steel storm while in mid air.

"NOW!" the real Naruto cried.

Kunai and shuriken flew to her from every direction. If Temari was a less skilled kunoichi, the fight would have been already over.

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

"Huh?

Rather than aiming at the incoming projectiles, Temari swung her war fan downwards, creating a powerful tornado that quickly pushed her upwards into the air, allowing her to avoid the clones' steel barrage.

"Wait until she gets down, then attack again!" Naruto ordered his clones, who quickly pulled out more weapons from their pouches.

However, while still in the air, Temari then placed herself on top of her unfolded war fan, and used it to glide above the stunned Naruto clones like she was surfing in mid air, and gracefully landed at a safety distance from the orange clad army. Upon touching the ground, Temari folded her fan again, and smugly smirked at the dumbfounded Naruto.

"Cool, huh?" she asked, then quickly unfolded her fan once again. "I believe I let you attack me long enough, now it's my turn. Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Swinging his giant fan again, Temari created an incredibly powerful gale-force wind that pretty much poofed all the Naruto clones which were caught by surprise by the sudden attack. When the wind attack was over, only Naruto remained.

"Well, you're indeed a tough nut to crack," Naruto stated. "I'm starting to see why Shikamaru wasn't that eager to fight you."

"Don't tell me you're already thinking in giving up..." Temari exasperatedly replied.

"Oh, no, never! This only adds to the challenge!" Naruto laughed. "Is that, well, I kind of expect you to be strong, but you _blew away_ my expectations."

"Nice pun. And by 'nice' and I mean 'god awful'," Temari replied as her face grimaced. "Let's continue this."

…

Shikamaru and Ino watched the match unfold with a lot of interest. At least, Ino looked interested, her teammate looked as impassible as always.

"You should be more invested on this match, given that Naruto is fighting against the girl that eliminated you from the exams," Ino pointed out. "You should cheer Naruto so he can avenge you."

"I don't want Naruto to avenge me," the lazy Nara replied, and upon seeing Ino's murderous glare, he added: "I do want Naruto to win, because he's a friend and a fellow Konoha ninja, but the fact that he's fighting against Temari is irrelevant to me."

"Come on Shikamaru, where is your pride?" Ino exasperatedly asked.

"I think I left it at home, alongside all my fucks to give regarding revenge," Shikamaru cheekily replied, making Ino frown.

…

"Well Naruto, what are you going to do now?" Temari asked, smirking confidently.

"Keep fighting. Is there any other option?" Naruto then made a hand seal, creating a handful of clones at both his sides.

"You must think clones are a solution to everything," Temari mentioned as she shook her head.

"You'd be surprised," Naruto grinned before making several hand seals. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto cast his arms forward, releasing a powerful wind vortex at Temari, who smirked even wider.

"Oh, so you're a wind type too? Interesting, I thought that there were only in Suna," Temari commented before swinging her war fan. "Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

The two wind blasts clashed, but Temari's attack was way more powerful than Naruto's, who despite the fact that he was still channeling chakra into it, it was slowly being pushed back. However, this is something the jinchuriki had already predicted.

"NOW!" he told his clones as he tried to push back Temari's wind jutsu.

Upon seeing the clones pulling out kunai, Temari adopted a defensive stance. However, rather than tossing them at her, they tossed them at the ground. The Suna kunoichi noticed that the kunai had paper bombs attached, albeit of a different kind. Rather than being dull yellow, the tags were bright red. She identified the kanji of "fire" on a nearby one, which gave her a bad feeling.

"Activate the flaming seals!" the original Naruto ordered, and Temari lost all the color of her skin.

Several Naruto clones made a hand seal, and tags exploded in a fiery ball of fire, which was exponentially enlarged by the two wind jutsu colliding in the middle. The fire completely engulfed both of them, but since Naruto was still channeling his, the giant wall of fire moved towards Temari.

"SHIT!" she yelled as she tried to find a way to come up. Only one thing came to her mind, but it was dumb to the point of being suicidal. With nothing to lose, Temari swung her fan again.

"Wind Release: Wind Cutter Jutsu!"

The wall of flames roared with more intensity upon being fanned, however the wind managed cut the incoming wall of fire in two. Temari threw herself at the fissure before it closed again, trying to ignore the pain coming from the flames licking her skin. Thankfully, she managed to come out of it, but she was far from unscathed. Her clothes were badly burned, as was a good chunk of her skin, albeit they weren't very grave burns since Temari used her chakra to shield her whole body from the fire's heat, something Suna genin are taught as means of chakra control instead of water walking.

Temari, however, had no time breathe, as three Naruto clones charged at her.

"Do you like the Flaming Seals the boss created? They go really good with his Wind Release jutsu," one of the clone said as he tried to kick Temari.

"They're very easy to make. All he needed was to tweak the existing explosive tags and the help of somebody with a fire affinity," another clone explained as he threw a punch at Temari's face.

Fighting against those clones wouldn't be too hard, but her burns and wounds made her feel intense pain whenever she moved an arm or a leg. Even if she defeated those clones, Temari wouldn't last long.

Swinging her folded fan in a wide arc –that almost made her drop it due the intense pain– Temari was able to destroy all three clones. Then, much to her horror, she saw Naruto and the rest of his clones charging at her.

"This ends now!" Naruto exclaimed as two of his clones tossed him into the air. Then, other two clones jumped, grabbed Naruto while still mid air, and tossed him against Temari, feet forward. "Uzumaki Sky Bomb!"

Temari didn't have enough energy to dodge the attack, and Naruto's dropkick connected. Thanks to the additional momentum gained, he hit her with such force that she was sent hurling backwards, her body slamming against a wall, before falling back to the ground with a thud.

Temari tried to stand up, but was unable to. Yugao went to check the fallen kunoichi, and realized that she was in no fighting condition.

"Temari can't continue fighting! Winner of the third match, Naruto Uzumaki!" the female proctor declared.

"YES!" Naruto loudly cheered as he jumped up and down.

The crowd erupted into a massive uproar. After the previous fight, the Konoha spectators were really happy to see a native ninja beating a foreign one. Naruto started to run around the arena, waving at the public, and even throwing kisses at them. Meanwhile, a pair of medic nin carried Temari away.

...

"I always knew that girl would be a disappointment," Rasa spat in disgust.

"Don't say that," Jiraiya replied. He was about to rub in Naruto's victory, but he didn't want to insult his opponent, especially given how skilled she had proved to be. "She gave Naruto quite a good fight. You should feel proud of her."

"It doesn't matter if the fight is good or not, all what matters is the result, and she lost. I don't think why I should feel proud," Rasa retorted. "Let's hope Gaara doesn't bring as much shame to my village."

Jiraiya looked at the Sunagakure leader in disgust, and shook his head. It was a miracle that those children appeared so well adjusted after being raised by such a douchebag.

...

"YAY! Naruto-niisan won!" Kaida cheered as she hugged her brother.

"Good thing he did. That Temari girl was a really powerful opponent," Shizune commented. "Say, Tsunade-sama, do you think that this match will be enough to earn him a promotion?" Shizune asked, but Tsunade didn't reply. She then noticed that the seat besides her was empty. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Get out of my way!" Tsunade's voice shouted from afar as she pushed several spectators aside. "I need to cash these winning tickets! Oh, I knew that brat would make me rich!"

Shizune noticed that Tsunade was heading towards the betting booth. She sighed and shook her head in defeat.

…

"A victory at last," Kurenai stated as she sighed in relief. "I was fearing that Naruto would fall against that Suna kunoichi."

"I knew that that girl was strong, but I didn't image just how much," Asuma pondered. "She's easily as strong as the average Konoha Chunin. Poor Shikamaru never had a chance to begin with."

"Indeed. Okay, let's hope that this won't be the Assault Squad's only victory. Hinata goes next."

"Against Kakashi's pupil. I'm sure it will be a fight worth watching," Asuma observed.

...

After deciding he had enjoyed the cheers and applause from the public long enough, Yugao told Naruto to return to the Competitor's Box. There, his remaining teammate awaited him.

"Naruto-kun, you did it!" Hinata stated in an unusually loud display of joy.

"Ha! Was there any doubt?" Naruto proudly replied. "And I did it without using my best moves!"

"By the way, let me heal you," Hinata offered, and used the Mystical Palm Jutsu on her crush.

"Hinata, you shouldn't use your chakra on me when you have a fight now..." Naruto told her.

"Nonsense. This won't take any effort," Hinata dismissed Naruto's concerns as she continued healing him.

"Congratulations on your victory, Naruto," Gaara's monotone voice said, startling the blond. He didn't hear him walk towards them.

"Uh, thanks," Naruto uneasily answered. "Uh, about your sister..."

"You don't have to apologize. She's a ninja, she knew what she was getting into. You did what you had to do, and so did she," Gaara stated. "As I expected, your power is truly worthy of admiration."

"Haha, thanks! I can't wait to see you in action as well! That fight against Shino was really short."

"I see," Gaara looked away pensive, then looked back at Naruto. "I hope I can put on a better display of my abilities during my match."

And then Gaara walked towards another side of the box, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone. After Hinata finished healing Naruto. they stared at each other, as if thinking something to say, but no words came from their mouths. The voice of Yugao calling for the next competitor's snapped them back to the real world

"Alright Hinata, your turn! Show everybody what you're made of!" Naruto told her.

The Hyuga heiress nodded. "Y-Yes! I've been training a lot for this moment."

"You're not the only one who has been training," Tamaki interjected, while she did some stretching. "By the way, you don't happen to have an allergy to cats, do you?"

"I don't think so..." Hinata replied.

"Good, because if I won another match because my opponent is allergic to my summons...well, it could raise a few eyebrows, don't you think so?"

"Don't worry. I'm sure it will be a great match, regardless of who wins," Hinata replied as cordially as possible.

"I have no doubts about it," Tamaki replied with a smile, before walking out of the box. "I'm heading to the arena," her smile went from polite to cruel. "I guess that you'll want some time with your boyfriend before we fight, don't you?"

Both Hinata and Naruto turned very red, and averted their gazes as they tried to babble a response.

"Anyway, don't make me wait too long, okay?" she said as she playfully winked at them.

Naruto and Hinata spent a few moments in an uncomfortable silence.

"Uh...Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?" the Hyuga replied.

"...good luck out there."

Hinata's face slowly returned to its usual pale tone, and smiled warmly at him. "Thank you."

And thus, Hinata went into the arena in order to face her fellow Konoha kunoichi and former classmate in order to fight for a promotion.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Congratulations to all of you who guessed that Sasuke, Karui and Naruto would be first three victors. But then again, that was rather easy to predict. So, the next chapter will open with Hinata vs Tamaki, followed by Tenten vs Gaara and Karin vs Fu. Who will go to the second round?**

 **Also, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	28. Fight to become Chunin, Part II

**Author's Note: Okay, it seems that the beginning of the finals got quite a nice overall reception. That's pretty good, thank you guys for reviewing. Anyway, enjoy the second part of the first round.**

* * *

 **Chapter 28:**

Fight to become a Chunin, Part II

 _or_

 _Cats, Tanukis and Beetles, oh my!_

"Look, it's Hinata-nee chan's turn to fight!"

A week before the Finals had started, Hikari Hyuga had reserved several front row seats for herself, her closest relatives, and some other Hyuga members. To her left was Hanabi, her youngest daughter, and to her right were Neji and his father Hizashi. A dozen other Hyuga members of both Main and Branch houses occupied the remaining seats, among those were some whom had disproved of Hinata being kept as the heiress as opposed to Hanabi. Naturally, they weren't going to voice their thoughts in front of her mother, but it was no secret to anybody as to who weren't fond of Hinata.

So far, the mood had been quiet among the Hyuga, even during the Naruto fight, but seeing their heiress walk into the arena alongside her opponent caused them to stir with excitement.

"It was about time," Hikari told her daughter. "Let's hope the results of the training pay off."

"Hinata-sama's opponent didn't strike me as a particularly strong opponent. Hinata-sama shouldn't have any trouble defeating her."

"Maybe you're right, Neji-kun, but underestimating your adversaries is not a wise thing to do. I thought that after your battle against the Uchiha, you'd know that," Hikari reprimanded him.

Neji couldn't help but frown at the mention of his most brutal humiliation so far. His only consolation was that nobody from the clan besides Hinata was there to watch Sasuke pounding the Hyuga prodigy to near death. Not that it made the memory any less painful.

"There's nothing wrong in making a general assessment of your adversary as long as you keep your guard up," Hizashi intervened. "And while I agree with Hikari-sama's statement, I also agree with Neji in that Hinata-sama's match will end in victory."

"I hope you're right, Hizashi. We all have high hopes on Hinata's performance," Hikari replied.

…

Meanwhile, in the arena, Hinata and Tamaki were in front of each other, waiting expectantly for Yugao to announce the start of the match.

"The fourth match of the Chunin Exam Finals between Hinata Hyuga, from Konoha, and Tamaki, from Konoha..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Wasting no time, Tamaki started to form hand seals that Hinata recognized as those used for the Summoning Jutsu.

 _"I can't let her summon her cats!"_ Hinata thought as she activated her Byakugan and launched herself at her adversary.

Tamaki had to interrupt the seal sequence in order to avoid Hinata's palm strike. However, much to her shock, Hinata's Byakugan detected two blurs that rushed towards her. Upon closer look, she realized the blurs were Tamaki's cats, who leaped into the air, ready to pounce her.

With almost no time to react, the Hyuga heiress turned around and managed to kick the male cat, Denga, before he could slash her. She managed to hit the female cat, Hina, with a palm strike, but not without taking a painful scratch from her in return.

"How did you do it?" Hinata asked as she proceeded to heal the scratch. "I interrupted your summoning jutsu!"

"That you did," Tamaki said as she started to put on her bladed gauntlets. "But Denka and Hina were already in the stadium. I knew that you wouldn't let me summon them."

 _"She baited me by pretending to summon her cats, when the cats were already there...I have to stay alert, Tamaki might not be the strongest kunoichi, but she's really crafty,"_ Hinata thought.

Tamaki just finished putting on her gauntlets. "So are you ready to fight? This time for real?" Tamaki asked as she and her cats adopted a fighting pose.

…

As Naruto watched Hinata and Tamaki fight each other, he was approached by the third jinchuriki in the Competitor's Box.

"So, that's the girl you told me about?" Fu casually asked.

"Yeah.." Naruto replied with a small smile.

"She's pretty cute. And looks like a nice girl. No wonder why you like her," Fu stated.

"Yeah… well, if only she liked me back..." Naruto sadly replied, looking down.

Fu looked at him with her eyes wide open, as if Naruto said an obscenity. "Are you kidding me?"

"Huh?" the blond dumbly asked.

"Come on, that girl's crazy for you!" Fu exclaimed. "Didn't you notice the way she acts when she's around you?"

"...how?" Naruto asked, not sure if that was a rhetoric question.

"The same way you act towards her?" Fu asked, hoping that it would ring a bell. "My goodness, you may thank Kami for your good looks and skill as a ninja, because otherwise you wouldn't go a long way with that empty head of yours," Fu stated as she lightly knocked Naruto's head with her knuckles.

"Knock it off!" Naruto protested, swiping Fu's arm away. "Listen, it's not that easy, okay?"

"How so?" the green haired girl asked.

"Hinata and I know each other since we were little. We were each other's first and best friend for half our lives. And I absolutely loved how things used to be. But know I find myself seeing her with different eyes, and realize that things will never be the same no matter what I do. Hell, even if she does likes me back and we become a couple...what if things don't work out and we break up? We won't be able to go back as just being friends like nothing happened."

Fu placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Yes, you're right. Things will be different. But they may be better as well. Nothing ever stays the same, and trying to force them so is foolish. It sounds to me that your friendship with Hinata wants to become something more. You should let things flow their natural course, don't fight against it. Besides, even if things don't work out, I'm sure you'll never stop being friends. If Hinata was the kind of person that would give up on you the moment things don't go smoothly, you wouldn't be her friend either, right?"

Naruto stared at Fu in disbelief for a few seconds. "...don't take this the wrong way, but you're way smarter than you look."

"Of course!" Fu proudly replied. "People tend to assume that just because I'm bubbly and outgoing, I'm easily distracted, and more often than not say the first thing that crosses my mind without thinking first..." Fu then paused, and looked confused. "...wait a minute, where I was going with all of this?"

"...that you're smart?"

"Ah, yes, of course! That I'm super smart and you should totally follow my awesome advice!" Fu energetically declared once again. "So when the match is over, I want you to walk towards Hinata and give her a huge kiss in the lips!"

Naruto remained silent for a few seconds. "I think that maybe I should try to tell her how I feel first. Thanks for your advice. So how about if we focus on the current match?"

Fu smiled. "That's a good idea too."

"Come on Hinata, you can win this!" Naruto shouted.

"Go Tamaki! Kick her ass!" Fu cheered. Naruto then turned at her with an indignant scowl. "What? Hinata may be your crush, but I don't know her at all, while Tamaki is a friend of mine."

…

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata activated her signature jutsu, as her hands started to crackle with blue and white electricity, before she tried to strike Tamaki. The cat kunoichi elegantly jumped back, avoiding the attack.

"Guess I better do my best to avoid your sparky hands," Tamaki commented.

"Your hands aren't exactly fit for caresses either," Hinata replied as she dodged a swipe from Tamaki's bladed gauntlets. Her Byakugan detected one of the cats trying to attack her from behind, but she was quick enough to repel him with a good placed kick. 'Thanks to sparring with Naruto, I'm used to fight against multiple opponents at once,' Hinata proudly thought. Upon seeing the cat, Denka, easily standing up, she added: 'But these cats won't poof after taking one hit.'

This time, both Tamaki and her cats lunged at Hinata from different directions. Hinata merely jumped aside, hoping for the three to crash into each other. But displaying their agility, the two cats managed to quickly turn around and leap at Hinata once again. She quickly struck one of the cats, the male one, with an accurate palm strike, but the other one sank her fangs on that very hand.

"OW!" Hinata yelped as she tried to shake the cat from her arm.

"Gotcha!" Tamaki shouted before lunging at Hinata, her metal claws aimed at her.

Even with the cat still biting her arm, Hinata managed to jump aside, and Tamaki's blades only slashed her coat. Hinata managed to get rid of Hina by strongly smacking the cat's head. Then, she looked at her partially shredded coat.

"I really liked this coat..." Hinata whined as she looked at her now ruined piece of clothing.

"My grandma sells clothes. I'm sure you can find something. Besides, aren't you Hyuga like completely loaded?" Tamaki asked as she dashed against Hinata once again. "Death Steel Ring!"

Once she was close to her target, Tamaki started to rapidly spin with her arms extended. As fast as she could, Hinata took off her jacket and tossed it at Tamaki, who instantly tore it to shreds the moment it touched her. When she was about to counterattack, Hinata was once again blindsided by Denka and Hina.

"Don't forget about us!" Hina meowed.

"Vacuum Palm!" Hinata was able to blast Hina away, but Denka managed to slash one of her arms. "You know, I used to love cats, but after this fight, I don't think that will be the case."

"You should admire cats for their skill and intelligence!" Tamaki mentioned as she dashed towards Hinata once again. ·"Drill Claw!"

Tamaki leaped at Hinata with her gauntlets facing forward, as she started to spin while on mid air. The attack was similar to Kiba's Fang Passing Fang, except that Tamaki moved faster while her spinning speed was lower.

"Vacuum Palm Wall!"

Hinata thrust both palms forward, releasing a powerful vacuum shell, blasting Tamaki away and countering her attack.

"Tamaki-chan!" Denga cried as he and his sister rushed towards the brown haired girl.

"Ugh...that was surely something..." Tamaki dizzily commented as she tried to stand up. "But such a strong attack must have cost her a ton of chakra. I think this is the time to counterattack."

…

Back in the stands, Kiba, Shino and Kakashi were watching the match.

"Boy, Hinata surely is way more than she looks," Kiba commented. "I thought that Tamaki would win easily, but Hinata is proving to be especially strong."

"Just like how you thought that Karin would be an easy win?" Kakashi sharply replied. Kiba frowned, and averted his eyes.

"Hinata may be silent and meek, but that does not make her weak. Don't forget the clan she hails from," Shino punctualized. "Then again, Tamaki had only been using the most basic moves of her arsenal."

"Indeed. Tamaki has been smart in trying to assess her opponent's strength before going all out. I think she's about to get serious," Kakashi observed. "Though I wouldn't put past Hinata to still have an ace in the hole."

…

"And now...!" Tamaki dramatically exclaimed as she crossed her arms in front of her face. "...you will experience the power of feline ninjutsu!" Tamaki spread her arms outwards, and she was enveloped by a fiery blue aura of chakra. "Let's go!"

Tamaki dashed at Hinata at an amazingly fast speed. All what Hinata could do was adopt a defensive stance and hope to block the incoming hit and counterattack.

"Cat Claw Dash!"

Hinata tried to dodge, but even then Tamaki managed to leave a minor scratch. Her Byakugan noticed that upon rushing past her, Tamaki turned around was heading towards her once more.

"Cat Claw Dash!"

This time, Hinata managed to completely avoid Tamaki's onslaught, but unfortunately this time she didn't attack alone, and Denka and Hina managed to add more scratches to Hinata's ever growing collection.

The process repeated quite a few more times, with Tamaki viciously assaulting Hinata, the two cats blindsiding her, and the Hyuga doing nothing but trying to defend herself.

'If I continue like this, she will beat me!' Hinata thought as her mind tried to come up with a solution. 'Just like she does to me, I need to attack her when she's vulnerable.'

Upon dodging one of Tamaki's fast attacks, Hinata quickly formed several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Blue lightning bolts came from Hinata's fingers and flew towards Tamaki. However, making a display of cat-like agility, the brown haired girl merely leaped above the electrical attack, which merely hit the ground instead. Once again, she was left wide open to Denka and Hina's attack.

…

"I don't like it. Hinata-sama is cornered, and is forced to fight on the defensive," Neji observed. "If this continues, she might lose."

"Ha, look at that! The clan heiress, losing to some clan less kunoichi that relies on cats to fight!" a Hyuga elder stated. "Look at how awful the clan's image will be after this!"

"If she's losing this badly against that girl, I can't imagine if she were to fight against somebody truly powerful like the Uchiha or Naruto-san," a younger Hyuga added.

It was clear that Hinata's poor performance made her detractors more eager to share their thoughts about the current heiress.

"Shut up! Hinata-nee chan will win! You'll see!" Hanabi protested.

"The match hasn't ended yet," Hikari reminded everybody. "Do not cast your judgment before the proctor announces a winner."

Despite her protest, Hikari was afraid that Hinata would lose. So far, her efforts of teaching her the clan's two most powerful jutsu weren't as fruitful as she had hoped. "Come on Hinata, I know you can do it!"

…

"Okay, I believe that this has been going on for long enough," Tamaki declared. "Denka, Hina, get ready, we're about to finish this!"

"Alright, Tamaki-chan!" Denka replied as he and his sister moved in opposite directions.

 _"That's it, this is the end,"_ Hinata grimly thought. _"I have no way of countering Tamaki's attacks, and this one seems to be even stronger than the ones before. If only I was able to master the Heavenly Spin..."_

Hinata then briefly remembered when she tried to learn the Heavenly Spin. She had seen Neji mastering it in no time, but even with her mother's help, she was unable to get it right, so she decided to ask Neji for advice.

"Show me how you do it," Neji asked as he activated his Byakugan.

Hinata nodded, and started the jutsu. However, when she was mid spin, she tripped on her feet and fell into the ground face first.

"Ouch!"

"I believe I saw where the problem lies," Neji stated as he helped her back on her feet, his Byakugan now deactivated. "The Heavenly Spin requires speed. You don't spin with enough speed, and thus you're unable to build enough momentum, so when you release your chakra, you lose your balance."

"My mother said something similar," Hinata replied. "She told me the same about the normal Gentle Fist. That's why I had the idea to combine it with Lightning chakra. It makes my strikes faster."

"And why don't you use the same method for the Heavenly Spin, then?" Neji asked.

"I tried, but while generating lightning chakra in my hands is easy, generating it through my whole body is much harder. Not to mention that I'll need to do it while spinning, and it requires a lot of concentration," Hinata explained, then she looked downwards. "Besides, now I see it was nothing but a crutch to make up for my lack of prowess. It would be better if I try to learn the clan's jutsu the old fashioned way instead of relying on these shortcuts."

"I don't believe they're shortcuts. You clearly aren't as suited for the Gentle Fist as the rest of us, so you changed it to fit you better. Maybe that's what you need to do in order to master the Heavenly Spin."

Despite Neji's thoughts, Hinata had been trying to learn the Heavenly Spin like any other clan member would, with little success.

 _"Maybe if I followed Neji's advice and tried to add lightning to it...but it's too late now,"_ Hinata thought in resignation. _"...or is it?"_

Tamaki and her cats charged at her from three different directions.

"No, it is not. I still have one chance to do this...' Hinata thought as she ran through the hand seals she used for the Thunder Palm, except this time she tried to spread the chakra through the whole body. Soon, she felt her body crackling with electricity. 'Now's my chance!'

Hinata noticed that she was starting to spin at a much faster rate than when she tried to do it normally. And when she reached the optimal spinning speed, she released her chakra through all her tenketsu.

"What the...?" a confused Tamaki asked as she was about to skewer Hinata.

"Heavenly Spin!"

What happened next left everybody else completely dumbfounded, the Hyuga more so. Instead of turning into a spinning blue dome of chakra, Hinata released several charka shockwaves in every direction, as well as plenty of lightning bolts. The energy released was so powerful that it hurled Tamaki and her cats backwards, and slammed them against the arena's wall.

The Hyuga heiress stopped spinning, and then started to walk in a zig-zag as if she was drunk, before falling on her knees.

Yugao checked Tamaki. She was unconscious and had multiple bruises and burns, but nothing too threatening. She noticed that Hinata didn't look much better, at the very least she was conscious.

"Tamaki can't continue fighting! Winner of the fourth match, Hinata Hyuga!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next match begins!"

Once again, the crowd erupted into cheers. While the medics took Tamaki away, Yugao noticed that Hinata didn't move from her spot. She went to check if she was okay.

"Hey girl, are you feeling alright? Can you continue?" Yugao asked.

"I feel a bit dizzy..." Hinata explained.

"I think you exhausted most of your chakra," the purple haired woman explained.

"I see...did I lose?" Hinata asked.

Yugao stared at her, confused. "No, you won. Didn't you hear me declaring you the winner of the match?"

"What?" now a bit less dizzy, Hinata noticed the medics taking Tamaki away on a stretcher.

"Are you feeling alright?" Yugao asked. Weakly, Hinata nodded. "In that case, you should return to the Competitor's Box and wait for your next match."

…

"Kurenai...did you teach her that?" Asuma asked his girlfriend. The power of that jutsu left the Sarutobi completely stunned.

"I can tell you I have nothing to do with that. That must be something she learned from her family," Kurenai replied, just as astonished.

"I don't think so, that doesn't look like the traditional Hyuga jutsu at all. It has to be something she came up on her own," Asuma countered. "Albeit it looked like something she improvised in the spurn of the moment than an actual justu."

"I'll have to ask Hinata about it. Then again, I don't mind the means, Hinata won her fight. And I believe her improvisation may land her a promotion."

...

"Mother...what was that?" an incredulous Hanabi asked.

"I'm as perplexed as you are, honey," Hikari replied. "It's as if Hinata tried to combine the Heavenly Spin with lightning chakra."

"Whatever it was, it was amazing!" Hanabi gushed. "When the exams ends, Hinata-nee chan has to teach me that jutsu!"

"It was impressive, indeed, although it looked out of control," Hizashi observed.

"I believe Hinata-sama tried to use lightning chakra in order to reach the necessary speed to perform the Heavenly Spin. However, she didn't take into account how the elemental chakra would affect the jutsu as a whole. Hence such chaotic results," Neji wondered aloud. "You might not be a prodigy like me, Hinata-sama, but you're surely resourceful."

...

"Wow, Hinata, that was amazing!" Naruto cheered upon seeing his teammate back.

"T-Thank you..." the Hyuga weakly replied.

"Truth be told, I didn't like the idea of fighting you but after seeing that...boy, I can't wait until the first round is over so we can fight each other! It will be epic!"

"I'm glad you look forward it, Naruto-kun, but I don't think I will be able to give you much of a fight. I'm almost completely out of chakra," an exhausted Hinata told him.

"Oh, that has an easy solution!" Naruto then grabbed his hand, and Hinata soon noticed her chakra reserves being replenished.

"Naruto-kun, you're giving me your chakra?" Hinata asked in disbelief. "But-"

"No buts!" Naruto interrupted her. "Listen, you healed me before, and besides, I want to fight you at your full power. Don't worry about my chakra, I have plenty to spare. I don't think I ever suffered from chakra exhaustion in my life."

"If you say so..." Hinata conceded as she felt Naruto's chakra being pumped into her system, and she started to heal her many, many, many scratches and wounds Tamaki had left on her.

"Naruto," Gaara's voice said, startling both the blond and the Hyuga again, since neither of them heard him coming. "My match is about to begin. I hope that this time, you can get a better appreciation of my skills."

"Yeah, sure! I won't take my eyes from the fight!" Naruto told his fellow Jinchuriki. "Good luck out there!"

 _"It's not him the one who needs luck,"_ Tenten, who had heard the conversation, thought. "Let's hope Gai-sensei's training was enough to defeat that sand guy."

"Oh, Tenten!" Naruto called her.

"Yes?"

"Haku isn't here, but if he was, he'd wish you good luck!" Naruto said as he gave her a thumbs up, and winked at her in a very unsubtle way. "If you know what I mean..."

Tenten looked at him puzzled, and tilted her head as if saying "no, I don't know what you mean" but she merely thanked him, and followed Gaara into the arena.

"Naruto-kun, that was really sweet," Hinata praised.

Naruto widely smiled. "Thanks!"

Hinata then grew serious. "But please, don't do it again, ever. It was painful to watch."

"...huh?"

…

"Well Kazkekage, your son is about to fight," Jiraiya mentioned. "I heard that he's quite powerful, somebody befitting his status."

"Indeed. He may not bring shame to our village like his sister did," Rasa coldly stated, his eyes fixed on the redhead.

"What is this 'status' you talk about, Hokage?" the Raikage asked with mild interest.

"The son of the Kazekage, of course," Rasa replied. "Given that you're the son of a Kage yourself Raikage, I'm sure you can see my point of view."

…

Gaara and Tenten went in front of each other. Tenten was uneasy, and seem to nervously shift on the spot. Gaara was calm to the point of looking bored, his arms crossed. Upon checking that both combatants were ready, Yugao proceeded to start the match.

"The fifth match of the Chunin Exam Finals between Tenten, from Konoha, and Gaara, from Suna..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

The moment Yugao's last word left her lips, a huge amount of sand started to pour from Gaara's gourd. Tenten yelped and jumped backwards a few times in order to put some distance. Gaara made no attempt at closing the gap.

"Okay, let's see how that strong that sand of yours really is," Tenten stated as she pulled out a medium sized storage scroll, and leaped mid air while she opened it."Manipulated Tools: Steel Storm!"

A rain of kunai and shuriken fell upon Gaara, but the sand formed a barrier that protected him from any harm. Gaara made a couple of hand seals.

"Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

The wall of sand shot several razor sharp projectiles that, despite their speed, Tenten managed to swiftly dodge. However, one of them managed to grace her left leg, leaving a superficial gash, making her wince.

'I better step up my game,' Tenten thought as she pulled out yet another sealing scroll, from which she pulled a simple metal staff. She twirled the staff a few times, before adopting a battle pose.

Gaara took it as a hint to attack. Motioning his arm forward, Gaara commanded the sand to attack.

"Sand Barrage!"

A torrent of sand flowed at great speed at Tenten. Keeping her cool, the Konoha kunoichi stepped aside to avoid it, and dashed at Gaara at a fast pace. When she was in melee range, she was about to smack him with her metal staff when another wall of sand automatically appeared between her and the redhead.

"I already got you," Gaara thought as he prepared a counterattack.

However, when Tenten was centimeters away from hitting the wall of sand –and have her weapon stuck on it–, she stopped, and much to Gaara's puzzlement, she vanished before him.

"Huh?" Gaara dumbly asked.

The reply came in the form of a painful hit to the back of the head that sent him falling into the ground (fortunately, the sand formed a cushion on the spot he was about to fall, making it a bit less painful). When Gaara was standing up, Tenten suddenly appeared before him and kicked him in the ribs, hard. Before the sand had the chance to repel the odango-haired threat, Tenten appeared behind him again and smacked him in the legs.

Seeing no other option to keep Tenten away, Gaara formed a tornado of sand around himself. Tenten was forced to jump out of the tornado's area of effect if she didn't want to get shredded by the sand.

…

In the Kage box, Rasa was speechless.

"That girl..." he babbled. "How can that normal girl be beating Gaara like that?"

"Our Genin are full of surprises, don't you think so?" Jiraiya replied with a complacent smile.

…

Neji was just as speechless as Gaara's father.

"When did Tenten become this fast?" he pondered.

…

In another section of the stands, Tenten's sensei and second teammate were watching the fight with utmost interest.

"YOSH! Tenten's training is finally paying off!" Lee exclaimed.

"Indeed! We did a great job fanning her flames of youth, don't you think so?" Gai asked. "Now Tenten is so fast that the sand can't keep up with her!"

"And the best part it's that she didn't use her ace in the hole yet!"

Yes. It has to believe that such amazing speed was nothing but a positive side effect of the real training she underwent.

…

Tenten assessed the situation. It didn't appear that the sand tornado would slow down any time soon. She'd need to find a way to break that defense. She pulled out another scroll and jumped.

"Manipulated Tools: Rain of Fire!"

A storm of kunai rained upon Gaara, which were all stopped by the sand. However, these kunai all had explosive tags attached to them. The Konoha kunoichi made a hand seal, detonating all of them at once.

Multiple explosions rocked the stadium. When the dust cleared off, part of Gaara's sand had been turned into glass, but he still had plenty to spare. The tornado had disappeared, being replaced by a dome of sand with presumably Gaara inside of it. A few grains of sand detached from the dome, and formed an eye that floated above it.

"Huh? Is that an actual eye? I guess that he uses it to see while inside that dome," Tenten deduced. "Anyway, I better try to break that shell."

Discarding her metal staff, Tenten pulled out that same weapon storage scroll and unsealed a couple long swords. She then rushed at Gaara, and tried to slash at the sand dome.

However, when she was at fighting distance, a giant arm of sand emerged from the dome, and tried to grab her. Tenten was able to stop in time and jump backwards, but the arm followed her. Each of the hand's finger took the shape of a serpentine dragon and tried to bite her, but once again the weapon mistress managed to avoid them. When she fell back enough distance, the dragons returned to the dome and disappeared.

 _"So, that's your strategy, uh? To fight defensively and wait for me to get tired trying to breach your unbreakable defense,"_ Tenten thought as she stabbed both long swords into the ground. _"Okay, let's see what you do when your defense fails!"_

The odango haired kunoichi crossed her arms in front of her face, and started to channel her chakra. Her body started to glow with a faint green light, as small pieces of dirt started to float in mid air. She then spread her arms outwards, and her body burst with chakra in such a sudden and potent way that even non-sensors were able to feel it.

"Gate of Opening: Open!"

…

"What!?" Neji exclaimed out loud. "Gai-sensei taught her how to open the Celestial Gates!? I never thought he'd do such a thing...but then again, I don't think there's nothing else she could have done if she wanted to beat Gaara."

…

Both Gai and Rock Lee were trembling with excitement upon seeing Tenten opening the first Gate.

Technically speaking, opening the Gates is a very easy process, and once you know how to open one, you can open all eight of them. The problem, though, is handling the backlash of the gates. The first time Tenten opened a Gate, despite the immense rush of power, it afflicted her body so much afterwards that she needed a whole day just to recover her mobility.

So, besides her usual training in marksmanship and armed melee combat, Tenten joined Gai and Lee on their morning workouts in order to train her body to be more durable, stronger and faster (qualities she also needed to defeat her opponent). Thanks to the intensive training, Tenten's body was good enough to at least withstand the backlash of the first Gate.

Although, when Gai offered to teach her the Front Lotus, Tenten declined, claiming that she had another idea in mind of how to use her newfound power.

…

"Okay, Gaara, let's see how your defense can withstand this," Tenten said as she unsealed a single kunai from a storage scroll. Upon grabbing it, the kunai started to glow with a blue aura. "HA!"

Tenten tossed the kunai at the sand dome with such force and speed, that it tore both an entry and an exit hole on it, briefly revealing a stunned Gaara inside before the holes slowly closed, before they crashed against the ground, making a small explosion.

 _"She pierced my sand dome? How?"_ The puzzled jinchuriki wondered.

Tenten smiled wickedly as she pulled out eight more kunai, holding four on each hand. After infusing them with chakra, she tossed four of them at the same time, and as it happened before, they pierced the sand dome as if it was wet paper.

 _"This is bad, if she can bypass my defense, I can't stand still!"_ Gaara thought as he undid the sand dome and started to run.

Tenten laughed at the running redhead. "You can run, but you can't hide from me and my flames of youth!" the odango-haired girl claimed, and upon noticing what she said, shuddered in disgust. "Ew! Why did I say that?"

Tenten continued to pelt Gaara with her chakra-enhanced weapons. The Suna jinchuriki could only try to dodge the steel projectiles, or try to deflect them with his sand.

 _"I can't let her force me to fight defensively, I need to attack too!"_ Gaara thought as he made several hand seals. "Monstrous Sand Arm!"

Gaara's sand formed a huge arm ended in a clawed hand that shot at Tenten, and tried to grab her. The kunoichi proved to be too fast for Gaara's sand, and vanished before his very eyes. Feeling a hunch, Gaara repeated the action, except he aimed the arm backwards.

The attack failed once again, but the sound of a female voice yelping followed by brief air current made him realize that his hunch was right.

 _"Dammit, he realized that I would attack him from behind! I better not be so predictable!"_ Tenten thought.

 _"She's too fast. I need to stop or at least slow her down,"_ Gaara thought as he started to send sand underground. _"She likes to jump a lot, but sooner or later she'll fall in my trap."_

Tenten continued pelting Gaara with her enhanced weapons, which Gaara barely avoided by moving as fast as his nonathletic body allowed him to, and using sand to slow and divert the attacks. Both combatants started to notice that Tenten's pace was starting to slow down, and her green aura looked more dim.

 _"Oh no! The power boost of the first gate is fading already?"_ she thought in horror as her energy started to slowly being replaced by exhaustion.

 _"She's slowing down, now's my chance!"_ Gaara thought as he made a hand motion. "Sand Coffin!"

Sand burst from under the spot Tenten just landed on. She tried to jump, but she wasn't fast enough, and several sand tendrils wrapped around her legs, stopping her from moving. More sand started to wrap around her body until it formed a cocoon that left only her head exposed.

"And so it ends," Gaara declared, as he walked towards her. "Now please surrender. I have no wish of inflicting you more harm than the already done."

'Dammit he got me good! What the hell am I supposed to do?' Tenten's brain raced through the possibilities, until she came up with a solution, albeit one that she didn't like one bit. 'I haven't mastered it yet...but I can't give up so soon...'

"Well?" Gaara was waiting.

"I don't think I can surrender just now," Tenten replied, as the green aura surrounding her started to once again glow with more intensity. "Gate of Healing: Open!"

The burst of chakra was so potent that it completely blew the Sand Coffin apart. Taking advantage of Gaara's shock, Tenten managed to close the distance gap in less than a second and kick him in the face before his sand protection had any time to react, sending him flying backwards. Rather than follow on the attack, though, Tenten went to retrieve the two long swords that she discarded earlier, and dashed towards Gaara, leaving a green glowing trail behind.

 _"I haven't mastered this technique yet, but if it worked for Hinata earlier, I don't think why it couldn't work for me,"_ Tenten thought before leaping mid air.

 _"This is bad! Sand armor, now!"_ Gaara thought as sand start to form a skin-tight protection around him.

As she fell, Tenten spread her arms and started to spin. "Raging Bladestorm!"

Tenten turned into a tornado of razor-sharp death that rushed towards Gaara. Using the sand as a spring, he jumped out of Tenten's way, who stopped spinning upon missing. However, much to Gaara's frustration, she attacked again.

"Raging Bladestorm!"

"Not this time," Gaara replied, still keeping his cool while he went through hand seals as fast as he could. "Wind Release: Roar of the Desert!"

Gaara sent a barrage of sand at her, but Tenten was spinning at such speed that she somehow managed to cut the sand stream in two, which was unable to even stop her down. Gaara tried to jump aside, but he was unable to avoid multiple cuts on his body that thankfully, were absorbed by the sand armor, which started to crack.

 _"I see I have to crack that armor if I want to do any damage,"_ Tenten thought as she prepared to attack again.

 _"Here she comes..."_ Gaara thought as he prepared his counterattack.

However, rather than using the same attack for the third time, Tenten vanished before his eyes, and appeared a second later in front of him, centimeters from his face. Before Gaara –or his sand– had any time to react, Tenten kicked him in the jaw, which sent him flying upwards. But it didn't stop there, as Tenten managed to jump into the spot Gaara was kicked to, and smacked him again, sending him flying into different directions, his armor cracking with each hit. With the last hit, that send Gaara back into the ground, the armor was completely broken.

 _"I'm running out of energy, I need to finish this now!"_ Tenten thought before raising both swords above her head. "Reverse Raging Bladestorm!"

This time, Tenten spun vertically, turning herself not in a tornado but more like a human buzz-saw, flying down at Gaara.

Gaara, upon seeing Tenten coming down, knew that there was only one thing he could do.

"Ultimately Hard Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku!"

Between Gaara and Tenten appeared a toy-like replica of the One Tailed Beast, wearing a wide-brimmed rural hat, that was roughly thrice the size of Gaara. Upon impact, Tenten started to cut through it.

"Impossible! Nobody is able to bypass my ultimate defense!" a concerned Gaara shouted aloud.

Unfortunately for Tenten, her spinning speed started to slow down, until she was forced to cancel the attack, and jump backwards to put some distance.

 _"Damn, I ran out of energy before I could finish this...2_ Tenten thought in frustration. _"Every bit of my body hurts...I could win this if I opened another Gate, but then the backlash would be so bad it could end my ninja career forever...guess I'll have to try in six months..."_

Tenten dropped her long swords – which felt like they weight a ton each – and raised her hand.

"Proctor, I wish to forfeit," Tenten said between pants.

"Are you sure?" Yugao asked.

The weapon mistress nodded. "I don't have any more energy left. If I keep pushing my body further...I'm afraid I may not make it. I can always try next time."

"Good choice, girl," Yugao replied with a smile. "Tenten forfeits the match! Winner of the fifth match, Gaara!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next match begins!"

Tenten sighed and dropped on her knees. "Can you call the medics, Yugao-san?"

The proctor nodded, and made a hand signal, prompting two medic-nin to enter the arena. But before they could take her away, Gaara walked to her, as he recalled his sand back into the gourd.

"You proved to be much stronger than I had initially thought. I wasn't expecting a worthy adversary until the later rounds, but you proved me wrong. Even in defeat, you should feel proud of yourself," Gaara told her.

"T-Thank you..." Tenten said between pants. "Maybe one day...you can...give me a rematch?"

"You can be sure of it," was the last thing Gaara said before Tenten was carried away to the infirmary, and Gaara himself returned to the Competitor's Box.

…

"Jiraiya, I'm going to admit it," Rasa began, still refusing to address the Hokage by his title. "That girl gave Gaara quite a fight. But she was destined to lose even before the match started."

"You seem to have quite a lot of hope in your kid, haven't you?" Jiraiya replied. "Tenten proved to be exceptional, yet she isn't even among the strongest Konoha Genin in the competition. Others such as Naruto or Sasuke might be able to defeat him."

"I find it unlikely. There's no Genin who can defeat Gaara," Rasa replied as he dismissed the idea with a hand wave. "No matter who he fights against, he will rise victorious."

"We'll see about that, Kazekage. We'll see."

…

"In the end, Tenten lost. What a pity, I was sure she was about to win," a deflated Lee said.

"She had the bad luck of having to fight against an extremely resilient opponent. If we only had a bit more time to master the Gates..." Gai wondered aloud in resignation.

"Still, that Bladestorm was really impressive," Lee observed. "She knew how to take advantage of the Gates' power boost, and apply it to her area of expertise."

"Yes, even if she lost, she gave it everything!" Gai agreed. "Who knows, maybe she impressed the examiners enough to promote her!"

…

"So, how I was out there, Naruto?" Gaara asked upon returning to the waiting area.

"Simply amazing!" Naruto praised. "Now I can't wait to fight you, and see how well my jutsu will do against yours!"

"Maybe we can use that as an extra motivation to win our following matches," Gaara replied. "Though even if I do not wish to demean or underestimate our potential rivals, I'm sure I can defeat almost everybody here until our paths inevitably cross."

"You're pretty strong, so I wouldn't say it's a crazy idea," Naruto admitted. "But I'm pretty strong too!"

"You don't have to tell me. I see you made a number on my sister," Gaara reminded him, which caused Naruto to laugh very awkwardly.

…

"So, this will be the last match of the first round," Shisui commented.

"Yes. Now it's Karin's turn to fight against that Jinchruiki from Taki," Shizune mentioned. "First Sakura and now her. Why did all my Genin end up fighting against a Jinchuriki? That's not fair."

"Sasuke didn't fight against one," Shisui reminded her. "Anyway, I saw how strong Karin grew during this month. I'm sure she'll do fine."

"Thanks for the assurance, but I doubt her opponent spent this month slacking off."

"At the very least, Karin seemed confident that she could win," Sakura piped in.

…

"Alright, Fu is finally going to fight," Shibuki stated, eager to see her in action. "I wish her fight was a bit sooner..."

"You must feel really proud of her, don't you, Shibuki?" Rasa asked. "After all, a minor ninja village being able to compete against the Great Villages...you must feel like a kid that's allowed to hang out with the grownups, aren't you?"

"With all due respect, Kazkeage-dono, Takigakure might not be a Great Village, but that's no reason to underestimate us," Shibuki firmly replied. If Rasa thought that he could use his status as a Kage to bully him, he had another thing coming.

"I agree with Shibuki. Let's see his Genin fight first before casting a judgment," the Raikage intervened.

Rasa frowned, while Shibuki looked at A in disbelief, surprised that the scary-looking man would come to his defense, something Jiraiya found mildly amusing.

"T-Thank you, Raikage-dono..." Shibuki stuttered.

…

"Alright, it's my time to fight!" Fu excitedly claimed. "Why am I always one of the last to fight? It's as if everybody forgets about me or something."

Naruto chuckled. "You know, people also tend to forget about Shino as well, being so silent and all that. Another thing you have in common?"

"Har har," Fu sarcastically laughed. "Oh, and by the way, thanks a lot for telling me about Icharaku! I didn't know you could eat so good! Albeit my teammates were rather mad at the bill I ended up racking..."

"I know, right? That's the best place to eat in the world!" Naruto proudly agreed.

"And the manager and his daughter were super nice to me!" Fu continued, just as excited. "And were very sad that I wasn't going to stay in Konoha. Then he said something about wanting to move to a bigger house, which frankly I don't know what it had to do with anything...anyway, I better not start rambling, my match is now, wish me luck!"

"Hey!" Fu's rival, Karin, protested, as she walked towards the Jinchruiki duo. "It's _me_ whom Naruto should wish luck!"

"Oh. Why, exactly?" Fu asked, as she scratched her head.

"Because we're from the same clan, the Uzumaki!" Karin told her.

"Really? That's so cool!" Fu replied, cheerful as ever. "If you're family of Naruto, then I need to know you better! Say, how about if we go to eat something after the exam is over? Though you will have to pay, since I already blew up all our money on ramen..."

"You blew all your money on ramen?" Karin asked incredulity.

"It's that I couldn't decided what kind of ramen I wanted to order, so I order one of each to see which one I would like the most...and I ended up liking all of them so much that I ended up ordering one of each ramen again! Too bad neither me nor my teammates have enough money anymore...though maybe I can ask Shibuki for more money since he's here...?" once again, Fu lost herself in her thoughts.

"I think I'm going to the arena..." Karin stated as she left, not wanting to be caught by Fu's inherent weirdness.

"Fu, I think you should go too," Naruto told her.

"Huh? Why?"the green haired girl asked. "Oh, right, the match! Karin-chan, wait for me!"

And Fu rushed into the arena after Karin.

…

Unlike the other Chunin hopefuls, Karin and Fu didn't get into position to fight each other. In Fu's case, she flew around the stadium, scanning the stands, until she found the people she was looking for: Kakashi's Animal Squad. She smiled and flew down at them.

"Hey guys!" Fu chimed in. "I'm so happy to see you here! Hope you cheer for me even if my opponent is a Konoha ninja!"

"Given that Karin is the reason for me being already out, let's say that I wasn't planning on cheering her," Kiba replied.

"Sure, Fu, you will have our support for your match," Shino agreed.

"Although I wouldn't count on Shino cheering you on very loudly," Kiba said before chuckling.

"Haha, yeah, that wouldn't be him. But knowing that he's rooting for me is enough," Fu replied.

"Fu, I don't want to be rude, but shouldn't you go back to the arena?" Kakashi pointed out. "You may get disqualified for fooling around. You can always talk once the exams are over."

"Oh, right! I better get going!" Fu said before flying back into the arena.

 _"Wings..."_ Kakashi thought, his interest mildly stirred. _"Are they the product of a Bloodline Limit...or something else?"_

…

While Fu had a brief talk with Team Kakashi, Karin was also looking for somebody else, two people to be precise. Thanks to her sensor ability, she was able to find said people in no time. The first was her mother, whom she waved at despite sitting in one of the middle rows. But lucky for her, the other one was sitting in one of the first row seats.

"Hey, Neji-kun!" Karin shouted as she waved at him. "Wish me luck!"

In normal circumstances, Neji would have merely nodded at her, but at that distance Karin wouldn't notice such a subtle gesture, so he was forced to wave back at her to acknowledge her. This display didn't go unnoticed to his immediate family.

"That girl seems to be very familiar with you, Neji," Hizashi observed. "Who is she?"

"A teammate of Sasuke Uchiha," Neji replied. "After Sasuke...beat me near death, Karin healed me back. If it wasn't for her intervention, my recovery wouldn't have been so quick."

"I see," Hizashi said.

"And that's it?" Hikari asked, a bit confused. She felt there was something more to the redheaded girl.

"No. A few weeks ago I treated her to lunch as way to thank her for her kind action," Neji explained. "She liked my company, so she requested for us to eat together some more. I must admit, I do enjoy her company as well."

"So you're dating her," Hikari concluded.

"Ohhhhhhhh, Nii-san has a girlfriend!" Hanabi stated in a teasing tone.

"No, Hikari-sama. Why do you say that?" Neji asked.

The Hyuga matriarch barely resisted the urge of both slap her forehead, and slap Neji quite a few times. The worst part was that Neji seemed to be awfully oblivious about it. For a so called "genius", he could be unbelievably dense.

"Neji-kun, when we're back home, you and I are going to have a serious talk," Hikari stated in a firm, almost reprimanding tone.

"I don't understand, Hikari-sama. Did I do something wrong? Do you not approve of me spending time with that girl?" Neji asked in confusion.

"Actually, it's the complete opposite."

Hikari's answer left Neji even more baffled.

…

After a delayed start, Karin and Fu were in front of each other, ready to prove which one of the two was more deserving of being a Chunin. Yugao wasted no time to start the match.

"The sixth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, and final match of the first round, between Karin Uzumaki, from Konoha, and Fu, from Taki..." the ANBU raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Karin wasted no time and opened the fight with her blond relative's signature jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Unlike Naruto, Karin's limit was still four clones. Not even the month of training was enough to push beyond that limit.

"Scatter!" the original redhead ordered her clones, which did as she said, and surrounded Fu in a circle.

"Did you forget that I can fly?" Fu said as her wings sprout from her back and started to fly. "Surrounding a flying target is useless."

"Oh, I was expecting that," Karin replied with a wicked chuckle. "Everybody, now!"

"Adamantine Sealing Chain!"

Karin and her clones cast one hand upwards, and shot a chakra chain from the palm of their hand. During her training, Karin was able to learn how to cast her chakra chains from her hands instead of her back. While the hand only has enough surface for one chain, it was much easier to direct and control as a result. Never mind that it used less chakra, and it was easier for a clone to do it.

"Oh shit!" Fu cursed after narrowly dodging a chain. "Oh shit!" Fu cursed louder when another chain almost touched her. "OH SHIT!" she cursed the loudest when a chain wrapped around her legs.

Karin and the clones who failed to catch her quickly dispelled their chains and rushed towards the clone who succeeded. And between the five of them using Chakra Enhanced Strength, they forced Fu back into the ground.

"OH SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Fu yelled as she was jerked down, before being slammed back into the ground with such force that it made a crater on impact.

"Haha, yes! Good work, girls!" Karin congratulated as she high-fived her clones.

However, much to their shock, Fu emerged from the crater with nothing but a few bruises. She appeared to be a bit dizzy by the way she moved.

"W-Wow...that was...b-brutal..." Fu slurred. She shook her head in an effort to return her mind back to normal. "Sooooo...shall we continue?"

Fu's nonchalant attitude only made Karin even madder. She gritted her teeth, and angrily pointed at her. "Everybody, get her!"

The clones nodded, pulled out a pair of kunai each, and charged at the green haired girl. Fu also pulled a kunai, and charged at the clones as well. When she met them, she started to expertly hack them down as she parried their blows. In less than ten seconds, the clones were no more.

"That was fun, but how about this?" Fu stated as she put back the kunai on her tool pouch and started to make hand seals. "Wind release: Savage Whirlwind!"

Fu created a whirlwind of dust that flied at Karin. The redhead replied with an elemental jutsu of her own.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

Upon finishing the hand seal, Karin slammed both hands down, erecting a wall of earth that managed to stop Fu's wind attack. However, much to her shock, the Taki kunoichi broke through the wall as if it was never there, and charged at Karin.

 _"She could have easily flown over it. She did that to try to intimidate me. This girl isn't as stupid as she looks,"_ Karin thought as she braced for the impact.

 _"Dammit, how could I forget that I could fly over the wall? I broke a nail punching it down!"_ Fu absentmindedly thought as she charged.

…

"That kunoichi of your village is pretty strong, Shibuki-san," Jiraiya told Shibuki.

The young Taki leader smiled. "Thank you, she's indeed a very special girl."

Jiraiya nodded, and then leaned towards Shibuki. "Nobody would ever guess that she got so far thanks to the help of two Jonin, right?" Jiraiya whispered on Shibuki's ear, low enough so neither Rasa not A would pick up what he was saying.

Upon hearing those words, Shibuki's face lost all trace of color. "Uh, H-Hokage-dono...I'm s-sure that..."

Jiraiya shot a fake reassuring smile at the panicky Shibuki. "Relax, Shibuki-san. Enjoy the fight. We will talk about this once the exam is over," Jiraiya told him, then he frowned, adding an unsaid _"Because we_ will _talk about this."_

…

When she was in close quarter distance, Fu threw a punch at Karin, which the redhead managed to catch. She later tried to do the same with her other hand, but the result was the same. Upon seeing that Fu was unable to shake her hold, Karin smirked, and started to spin Fu in circles before tossing her high into the air.

Unfortunately for Karin, Fu spread her wings while mid air, and dived straight at Karin.

"Oh shit!" Karin blurted before jumping aside.

The redhead barely avoided the green-haired meteor that crashed against the ground. Still, the resulting shockwave was enough to make Karin fall on her butt. Like before, Fu emerged from the crater as if she barely register the hit.

"Seriously, what the hell do they feed you!?" Karin asked in frustration. _"It can't be because she's a Jinchuriki. Naruto is also one and he isn't invulnerable!"_

"I ate a lot of ramen this week, but I believe we already had a similar conversation," Fu replied, before letting out a loud belch. "Sorry, I think the spicy beef ramen didn't agree with my stomach."

"Guess I'm going to need some more firepower then!" Karin angrily stated as she pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and tossed it at Fu's feet.

Fu yelped, and jumped backwards, barely avoiding the explosion. Karin tossed three more explosive kunai, and seeing that she would be unable to put enough distance while on land, Fu once again spread her wings and took off.

"Oh no, you don't!" Karin said as she made a hand seal. "Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

This time, Karin shoot several times from her back. Fu managed to dodge some, but two of them wrapped around her legs. With her opponent trapped once more, Karin grabbed the chains and pumping as much chakra as she could into her arms, she began to pull down.

However, Fu wasn't going to allow being slammed into ground a second time, and she began to pull in the opposite direction. The girls engaged in a game of tug of war for a couple minutes, with none of them gaining the upper hand. Until an idea popped on Fu's chaotic mind, and not only stopped pulling, but she flew down at Karin.

Karin at first grinned in victory upon being able to pull Fu down, but her grin was short lived when she realized that the Taki jinchuriki was flying at her at an unbelievable speed, her fist forward. The poor redhead was unable to avoid the brutal impact, which made a thundering noise, and raised a dust of cloud.

When the cloud dispelled, everybody could see Fu sitting on Karin's stomach. The Uzumaki girl didn't move, and her forehead was bleeding. Her glasses laid broken a few meters from her. Yugao could still sense her chakra, which meant she was still alive, but clearly she wasn't going to continue fighting.

"Karin is in no condition to fight! Winner of the sixth match, Fu!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of fifteen minutes before the next round begins!"

Fu, being the third foreign ninja defeating a local one, and the second in a row, didn't sit well with the public, who filled the air with their boos and profanities. However, like Gaara, and unlike Karui, Fu paid them no heed and much to everybody's shock, Fu broke into a happy dance.

Naturally, everybody took this as a sign of mockery, and boos grew louder. But this didn't deter Fu, who continued dancing as if no one was watching her. The boos eventually died down, but Fu made no sign of stopping her dance.

Yugao walked to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Fu, you need to-" The purple haired woman was interrupted by Fu grabbing both her hands and forcing her to dance as well. Yugao, however, forcefully made Fu stop. "Enough of this! If you don't return to the waiting area this instant, you will be disqualified, you got that?"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh..." Fu grumbled as she walked away. "I didn't know Konoha had laws against dancing..."

…

"I guess it was much to ask for both of my Genin to win their matches," Shizune sadly stated, before letting out a long sigh.

"Hey, Karin fought really well. She might still be a Chunin," Tsuande reassured her. "Well, at least one of the medics did make it to the final round, even if it wasn't one of your pupils."

"Yes, I'm happy for Hinata, but I doubt she'll go much farther given that she's going to fight against Naruto-kun," Shizune pointed out.

"Do you think Naruto-nii san will be able to fight Hinata?" Hagane asked.

"Nah, Naruto's super crazy for her. He'll probably hold back," Kaida replied.

"What about Hinata? Will she hold back too?" Hagane asked.

Kaida pondered for a few seconds before answering. "Maybe? I mean, I don't see Hinata going all out against our brother."

"Then it's going to be one boring match," Hagane replied.

…

 _Infirmary, shortly before the second round begins_

Tenten opened her eyes. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was that she was fighting Gaara. As her memories slowly returned, she remembered that she had forfeited due her sheer exhaustion. And now she was lying down on a bed, her body full of bandages. Being unable to recognize her surroundings, she tried to sit up, but her body was hit by a wave of pain when she tried to move.

"UGH!" she moaned.

"Easy there. I don't know what you did, but you looked pretty beaten up when they brought you here," a voice said besides her.

Tenten turned her head left, and saw Team Kurenai's only Genin who didn't win his first round match, Haku. Looking around, she also saw other beaten participants lying on beds, such as Choji, Temari and Tamaki. It was hard to tell if they were asleep or not.

"Haku...? How long have I been here?" she asked.

"About twenty minutes. The stadium has trembled a couple times, I guess that's what woke you up. Pity, it looked like you needed the nap," Haku told her. "So, how was it?"

Tenten let out a long sigh. "I was this close to winning. I risked my body in a way you couldn't imagine...and in the end it was for nothing. That Gaara was nearly impossible to beat."

"I know what you feel. Fighting Sasuke-san wasn't exactly a walk in the park," Haku emphatically said. "Funny thing is, have I been the one to fight against Gaara, I might have won since I'm a Water Release user."

"I'm lightning, but I haven't worked on elemental ninjutsu much," Tenten admitted.

There was a moment of silence that was interrupted by another thundering noise, maybe caused by the kunoichi fighting now.

"Hey, Tenten-chan?" Haku asked.

"Yes,?" she replied, turning her face at him again.

"There was something I wanted to tell you..." Haku began. He swallowed, and tried to keep hold of his nerves. "I planned to wait until the finals were over, but given that both of us are out already, I don't see any reason to wait anymore."

Tenten titled her head quizzically. "And that would be...?"

"Well..." Haku began, and swallowed again. "I know that we don't know each other much, but you're smart, confident, strong, not to mention pretty girl, and...I really like you. So...would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"What? You like me...?" Tenten dumbly replied as the Ice Ninja's words started to sink. "You like me?... Oh my..." this was something completely new for her. Despite being fourteen years old, she had decided to focus on her ninja career first, and never showed any interest in any boy (and much to her chagrin, made her realize that until now no boy ever showed interest in her).

"I'm sorry if I'm being too forward or blunt, but I don't feel like keeping it to myself anymore.." Haku said in an apologetic tone.

"No, it's okay. Oh boy, now I understand why Naruto told me that..."

"What did Naruto tell you?" Haku asked, mildly concerned.

"It doesn't matter now," Tenten replied. "As for you...well, you kinda caught me by surprise with that confession," Tenten laughed awkwardly. "And I don't think I should give you an answer now without thinking about it first. This...was kind of unexpected. Just give me a couple days to make up my mind, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, I can wait."

"This doesn't mean I'm going to say no. Or yes. I mean, I don't want to give you false hopes. It's just...well, very unexpected. I don't want to give you false hopes."

"I know. You just said that," Haku smiled at her. "Don't get so flustered. Take all the time you need."

"Y-Yeah. I better try to get some sleep."

"That would be good."

"But I don't think I'll be able to sleep anytime soon after you dropped that bomb on me."

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: And with that, the first round concludes. The second round will be the next chapter, and the finals the one after that. So get ready for Sasuke vs Karui, Naruto vs Hinata and Gaarav vs Fu.**

 **And speaking of the latter, did I mention how much I love writing Fu? Because I do. A lot.**

 **But there won't be just fights, and as hinted in the last scene, more relationships will take off in the following chapters ;)  
**

 **Now, something a little different. I've seen several authors issuing story ideas, challenges, so I decided to follow suit. So here it is:**

 **Shattered Team Seven Challenge**

The story begins at the beginning of the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, when Sakura confronts Sasuke, and asks him to let her go with him. However, unlike canon, Sasuke allows her to come with him. Since Sakura was the one who alerted everybody of Sasuke's defection, by the time anybody notices their disappearance, it's too late and they're already gone. Fortunately, they arrive just after Orochimaru possessed a new body, so there are still three years left to bring Sasuke back.

Sakura, however, managed to send a message to Konoha telling everybody that she's still loyal, and will try to convince Sasuke to go back to Konoha, as well to spy on Orochimaru.

These developments made Kakashi to be consumed by guilt, and in order to atone decides to train Naruto in order to make him as strong as possible. This idea clashes with Jiraiya, who wanted to take Naruto on a world trip in order to train him. Eventually they reach a compromise: Kakashi will train Naruto for a year, then take the Chunin Exams, which he will take Shikamaru's spot on Team 10. After that, once he's promoted, Naruto will leave with Jiraiya. Kakashi will teach Naruto about elemental manipulation, while Jiraiya will teach him how to use Sage Mode.

Then, the time skip happens. You can write the new Chunin Exams, as well as other arcs you might want, or skip directly towards the beginning of Shippuden.

At this point, whatever happens to Sakura is up to you. She can continue as a spy loyal to Konoha, decide to turn traitor for real and pledge her loyalty to Sasuke alone, or even have her true intentions being found by Orochimaru, who either kills her or has her experimented on. If you choose the two former options, she may get medical training from Orochimaru and/or Kabuto. You can choose if it's Sakura who had a positive influence on Sasuke, or if it was Sasuke and Orochimaru who were a harmful influence on Sakura.

Now, some additional points:

1) Pairings: The pairing I recommend is Naruto/Hinata, for obvious reasons. Though if you prefer, you can pair Naruto with any girl of his age group minus Sakura (with this kind of plot, it would make zero sense). No harem and no yaoi, please.

2) Since Sakura will no longer be Tsunade's apprentice, you can have another character fill her spot. You can have more then one character training under Tsunade as well.

3) Naruto and Kakashi will be in need of two more teammates to form a full squad. Which characters you choose is up to you. The only condition is that these spots must be filled by CANON characters. You can have two permanent additions, or pick temporary members from other teams. If you want to use the first options, here are some suggestions: Sai, Yamato, Shizune, Anko, Yugao, Genma.

4) If you must include bashing, keep it to a minimum.

5) If you take the challenge, remember to send me a PM so I can read, review and recommend your story.

I might issue more challenges in the future if I have any good idea.

 **Well, that's all.I will post the challenge on my profile as well if you want an easy place to check it. Let's hope some people find the challenge worth doing. Also, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	29. Fight to become Chunin, Part III

**Author's Note: I'd like to dedicate this chapter to Fox McCloude, a good friend of mine on this site and a regular reviewer of this story, whose birthday is today. I hope this chapter made your day even sweeter :)**

* * *

 **Chapter 29:**

Fight to become a Chunin, Part III

 _or_

 _Swordsmen, Lovers and Jinchuriki_

After the first round, people were already eager to see the second. All winners have proved to be exceptionally powerful, so the public was eagerly expecting to see even more epic fights. While the public spent the intermission buying snacks, going to the bathroom, or betting money on which Genin would win which match, the Genin themselves were trying to relax and mentally prepare for the next round.

Despite the fact that most of them were tired and had even more challenging opponents this time around, their mood was much better than before. Winning their matches made them think that it would make them worthy of promotion, forgetting their respective sensei's words about Genin who won their matches (sometimes more than just one) but failed to get promoted, while Genin who lost impressed the examiners enough to recommend a promotion.

…

"So, it seems that we're about to fight now," Karui's voice snapped Sasuke from his thoughts. "I'm glad to see that I'll have the chance to fight a fellow swordsman," she said as she eyed the sheathed katana on his back. "Kumogakure has the best swordsmen in the Elemental Nations, and as an aspiring one, it is important to me to be able to show my skill with the sword in front of Raikage-sama."

"I thought that the best swordsmen came from Kirigakure," Sasuke pointed out.

"Those punks? Please," Karui scoffed. "They might have fancy swords with nifty abilities, but take their swords away, and what do you have?" She slowly unsheathed her own katana. Sasuke could see that, besides being a very well crafted weapon, there was nothing that set it apart from any other sword. "A sword is just as good as the person who wields it."

"While I agree with that, I wouldn't dismiss the Seven Swordsmen so easily," Sasuke replied. "I had the chance of seeing one in action more than once, and his skill isn't an exaggeration."

"If you say so," Karui shrugged. "But if the Seven Swordsmen were so hot, a generation of them wouldn't have gone down so easily against a single Genin."

That caught Sasuke's attention. "Come again? You can't be serious."

"I am. In fact, I'm surprised that you didn't know about such feat, given that it was a _Konoha_ Genin," Karui pointed out. "Seriously, I was expecting to see a statue of the guy or something when I came here."

Sasuke was left utterly baffled. How is that he never heard of that ninja if he did such an impressive feat?

…

As he saw Karui walking alongside his opponent into the arena, the Raikage couldn't help but sport a smirk of superiority.

"Ah, yes, now this is a worthy adversary for Karui," A stated. Despite their dive in reputation, he was aware of how well known the power of the Uchiha was. "When Karui publicly defeats the Uchiha in front of such a large audience, Kumo's might and superiority will be more than proved."

"That girl is talented, everybody can see that," Jiraiya began. "But so is Sasuke. And not just because of his clan, that kid has a lot of talent and drive to prove himself."

"Speaking of which, it surprises me that you still keep the remnant of that rebellious clan still around, Hokage," the Raikage noted as he glanced at Itachi. "If anybody on Kumo, be a single ninja, a clan, or a whole faction, rebelled against the village's legitimate government, I would have crushed them without mercy."

"With all due respect, Raikage-dono, not all the Uchiha are disloyal to Konoha," Itachi interjected, even if he knew he shouldn't speak up. "So I don't think why should those who remained faithful to the village should share the same fate as those who betrayed it."

Darui and C flinched. The Raikage glared at Itachi, as he released no small amount of killing intent. "You better watch your mouth, brat! You might be in a place reserved for the Kage, but it does NOT make you one! Don't even think for a second that it allows you to speak me as if I was your equal!"

"Excuse my bodyguard, Raikage," Jiraiya intervened. "You brought up a very sensitive topic, and even if his outburst was completely out of place, I can't help but side with him. I'm not going to punish a loyal ninja because of the sins of their kin."

"Hm," the Raikage grunted. "Though given the kind of criminal rabble Konoha houses nowadays, the Uchiha aren't so out of place." The Raikage stated as he eyed Zabuza.

…

Sasuke and Karui stood in front of each other. Yugao made sure both combatants were ready to fight.

"The seventh match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Sasuke Uchiha, from Konoha, and Karui, from Kumo..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life. Both Genin unsheathed their respective katanas, and lunged at each other, firmly holding their weapons. Sharp noises of metal clashing filled the air of the stadium. They spent quite some time trading blows, pushing back and forth in a sword duel, without resorting to ninjutsu, genjutsu, or using any other kind of weapons.

After a few minutes of sword fighting in which none of them managed to gain the upper hand, they paused their duel to regain some breath.

"You're pretty good handling a sword. Your previous boasts weren't unjustified," Sasuke praised the foreign kunoichi.

Karui smiled. "Why, thank you. I've been training with a katana even before I became a Genin. Sword fighting runs through my veins."

Sasuke shot her a condescending smirk. "Funny thing, given that I started learning how to use a sword not a month ago, and we're evenly matched."

Her anger flaring inside of her, Karui gritted her teeth and charged Sasuke once more. This time, her blows were way more vicious and aggressive, however, they weren't any more sloppier as the youngest Uchiha had imagined. Karui's onslaught pushed Sasuke back as he struggled to parry his opponent's swings.

"That fancy eye of yours will be of little help against me!" Karui shouted as she pressed the attack.

 _"Damn, that didn't work as intended. She knows how to keep her anger in check and keep herself focused,"_ Sasuke thought as he broke the fight and jumped backwards. _"Let's try something different."_

"How about that, Uchiha? Still think of yourself as my equal?" an angry Karui asked as she pressed her attack.

"I must admit that that wasn't half bad," Sasuke replied as he flew through hand seals. "Now let' see if you can keep up with me after this. Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

The blade of Sasuke's katana was suddenly wreathed in flames. He twirled his flaming sword a few times, and smirked.

"Do you think that impresses me? I can do that do!" Karui protested as she went through different hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Karui's katana started to crackle with electricity, sparks flying from its blade.

No more words added, both swordfighters charged at each other, their elemental-enhanced blades at hand. However, this fight was much shorter than the previous one: the moment the blades clashed, Karui's sword cut Sasuke's as if it was made of butter. Sasuke watched in shock his blade being sliced in two, Karui's swing had still enough momentum to make a superficial cut on Sasuke's shoulder.

"ARGH!" the Uchiha yelled as he dropped his now useless weapon and clutched his damaged shoulder while he jumped backwards. The added electricity made most of it numb, yet it still hurt a lot.

"Awwww, did that hurt? Hahaha!" Karui cackled in triumph. "Guess that the struggle to see which one of us is the best swordfighter is no more."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Sasuke then pulled out a small storage scroll, and unsealed a second katana. "I can't believe you forced me to use my spare katana. Now Shisui is never going to live this down."

…

"Ha! And Sasuke said that brining a spare katana was unnecessary!" the oldest Uchiha stated, enjoying the natural satisfaction of being proven right. "I'm going to make sure he never hears the end of it!"

…

This time, Sasuke decided not to engage in melee combat, and pulled four shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed them at Karui with the skill the Uchiha were known for. Karui, however, looked undeterred.

"You don't learn, don't you?" Karui said as she pulled shuriken of her own. "Lightning Release: Shuriken Lightning Transmission!"

The Kumo kunoichi's lightning-charged shuriken easily sliced Sasuke's just like it happened when their respective katanas clashed, and continued flying towards him. Sasuke made the hand seals of his clan's signature jutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Pouring a lot of chakra into the attack, Sasuke breathed a fireball large and powerful enough to stop the shuriken's momentum, heating them so much they started to melt. When the fire dispelled, he didn't saw Karui in front of him. His Sharingan managed to pick and out of place shadow, and looking up, he saw the Kumo kunoichi leaping down at him, holding her lightning-infused blade above her head.

Karui smirked as Sasuke raised his own sword to parry the incoming blow. Even if it was probably an unconscious reaction, the red haired girl couldn't help but find funny the futility of such a gesture.

"I hope you brought more spare swords!" Karui taunted as her blade clashed against Sasuke's. However, much to her surprise, this time she was unable to cut through her opponent's blade. "What?"

"This is what happens when you underestimate the Uchiha!"

Now it was Sasuke who smirked, and taking advantage of Karui's momentary lack of focus, he pushed her blade sideways and kicked her backwards. It was then when Karui noticed that the Uchiha's blade was also sparkling with electricity. An infuriating revelation dawned upon her.

"Wait a minute, the Thunder Blade...you copied it from me!" an angered Karui shouted.

"Guilty as charged," Sasuke nonchalantly replied. "I figured out that an electric charged sword would be unable to cut through another one. And my theory was proven right."

"So that's how your clan made a name for yourselves, right? By stealing other people's power and using it against them!" Karui angrily accused.

"We're ninja. We do everything necessary to win," Sasuke replied as he charged at her.

Karui snarled in anger upon seeing that she had lost her main advantage over Sasuke in such underhanded way, but she was not going to lose. She was a strong, resourceful kunoichi, and had every intention to prove it.

"Okay then, let's see how your Sharingan does against this!" Karui pulled out a couple of smoke bombs from her tool pouch and tossed them at an intermediate space between the two, creating a barrier of smoke.

Sasuke stopped on his tracks, and decided that it was better to wait for Karui's next move.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Transmission!"

Karui and a clone of her dashed at Sasuke, as they held a chain made of electricity on each hand.

"I did see your fight against Choji. Do you think I don't know both of them are clones that will zap me if I touch them?" Sasuke said as he jumped backwards in the air while making several hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A shower of fireballs rained upon the two Karuis, who due their speed and current state of keeping a complex jutsu active, were unable to dodge the barrage, and both of them disappeared in an electric flash. Sasuke smirked in satisfaction.

 _"Time to end this,"_ Sasuke thought as he ran through hand seals. "Fire Release: Burning Man!"

Once again, the youngest Uchiha was covered from head to toe in a cloak of flames, and dashed at where he guessed Karui would be, leaving a trail of fire in his wake, and just like he foresaw, the Kumo kunocihi was still behind the smoke wall, ready to throw some shuriken, which Sasuke had no problems dodging. The Konoha ninja sank his flaming fist into Karui's stomach before she had any time to do anything else...and exploded in an electric flash, zapping Sasuke.

"AARRGH!" the youngest Uchiha shouted as he clutched his body, while his coat of flames disappeared.

One of the shuriken Karui had tossed, now in the ground, exploded in a cloud of white smoke, revealing the real Karui, who started making hand seals.

"Didn't see that, Uchiha? Even if you will see this, you won't be able to stop it," Karui finished doing her hand seals and unsheathed her sword once again, which crackled with electricity. "I'm done playing games. I wasn't planning on using this now, but I will have to do it."

Karui's sword started to glow each second brighter. Sasuke tried to move, but the electric zap had numbed his body to a degree in which dodging was not an option. Not knowing what Karui had in store for him, Sasuke decided that it would be a good time to do the hand seals of his second strongest fire jutsu.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Dragon Blast!"

Karui swung her sword forward, releasing a thick lightning bolt shaped like a dragon from it, which flew at Sasuke, letting out a metallic sounding roar. Fortunately, Sasuke had already finished his hand seals as well.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Stream!"

Sasuke exhaled a flame breath that also took the shape of a dragon. Both elemental dragons clashed, pushing back at forth, but none of them were able to gain the upper hand. Both Sasuke and Karui poured more chakra into their respective attacks, and by doing so, the struggle started to solve in Sasuke's favor.

Karui started to panic. _"No! I can't lose here! I can't let both my village and Raikage-sama down! I need to win!"_

This prompted the golden-eyed girl to channel even more chakra into the attack, pushing it backwards once again. Upon seeing her strategy working, she put even more chakra into the attack, believing she had already won.

However, the power of both attacks became so big, it ended up destabilizing and creating a huge explosion. And combined with the fact that Karui was closer to the explosion than Sasuke, she had almost no chakra left to spare and her body was completely exhausted, this meant that her run on the Chunin exams had come to an end.

The explosion's shockwave pushed Karui backwards, violently slamming her against the arena's wall, knocking her unconscious instantly. The blast also created an even bigger crater than those which were caused by previous fights.

This didn't meant that Sasuke came out unscathed, but he was definitely in better shape than his opponent.

Yugao sensed that Karui still had some chakra in her, and quickly motioned for the medic nin to take her away. Seeing that the danger had already passed, Sasuke emerged from his hiding spot.

"Karui can't continue fighting! Winner of the seventh match, and first finalist, Sasuke Uchiha!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next match begins!"

The image of a Konoha ninja defeating a foreign one which had already defeat another local made the crowd to erupt in a wave of applause and cheers for the member of the usually not that liked Uchiha clan.

Still, Sasuke paid them no mind, and headed back to the waiting area before Yugao had to tell him to.

…

"Aw man, Karui lost," a dejected Omoi stated. "She's going to be so mad when she wakes up."

"Well, I think she put up a good fight. Plus her opponent was pretty strong," T observed. "Now I get why do everybody mean by the power of the Uchiha. If this guy's just a Genin, I don't want to see the stronger ones can do. It's bad to say this, but I'm kind of glad that most of the clan was wiped off during that insurrection."

"Do you think Karui will score a promotion, sensei?" Omoi asked.

"Hmmmm..." Killer B crossed his arms, and started to think. "Even if Karui's result was defeat, her fight was quite a feat. She did her very best, and I believe she passed this test, since even if she lost, she proved to be stronger than most. Let's hope the examiners share my view, and Karui becomes the first Chunin of this crew."

"I hope you're right, sensei," T added.

…

"Yes! Another victory for the Uchiha clan! Go Sasuke!" Shisui excitedly yelled, his fist high in the air. Then she looked at his girlfriend and smiled awkwardly. "And another victory for the Medical Squad too. I didn't forget about that."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that Sasuke won, but, well..." Shizune grew uneasy. "It's kind of a bummer seeing the only non-medic of the Medical Squad doing well. And after this victory, Sasuke's promotion is pretty much assured. If only Karin had won her match too..."

"Look at the bright side. Your team was the only one besides Team Kurenai who got more than one Genin to the finals. Plus the only Genin of the other respective three teams also lost their fights as well," Shisui pointed out. "The Chunin hopefuls for this year's exam are pretty powerful, and not just the ones from Konoha. You'll see how Sakura and Karin do much better the next time."

"Yeah. Maybe the next exam there won't be any Jinchuriki," Shizune mentioned, once again seeing how Jinchuriki had become the bane of her team.

…

While the Raikage didn't make it evident, Karui's defeat left him fuming. It appeared that not even somebody as loud and prone to anger as A wanted to throw a tantrum in front of other two Kages (it wasn't sure how did he feel towards Shibuki). However, the amount of killing intent he was radiating evidenced his mood. Itachi's small but still noticeable smirk didn't help either.

"Don't get mad, Raikage. Karui put an incredible fight against Sasuke. Plus it's not that she didn't give her village a prior victory," Jiraiya began. "If I was an examiner, I would recommend her for a promotion."

The Raikage turned his head at Jiraiya and shot him a chilling glare. "You haven't see me mad yet, Hokage. And pray you would not be present if such day arrives."

…

As Sasuke allowed himself to relax, he noticed how much chakra he had expended for the fight, and how sore his muscles were. Unless his opponents ended up in the same predicament, there was no way he could give it all in the final. He entered the Competitor's Box, hoping for the next two matches to be as long as possible so he could have some time to rest his tired body.

"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto's loud voice called. He looked at the blond. "Nice work you did out there!"

"Thank you," Sasuke replied in a polite tone.

"It would be a shame if you lost before we could get to fight," Naruto added, laughing a bit.

"For that to happen, you still have one match to win," Sasuke reminded him. "And while your girlfriend doesn't look like much at first sight, her match showed that there's more to her than meets the eye."

"Haha, yeah, Hinata is pretty strong and...hey, wait a minute, girlfriend?" Naruto asked, blushing a bit.

"You two aren't exactly subtle. And frankly, it's getting kind of annoying now," Sasuke stated.

"Then...do you think it's true that she might like me back...?" Naruto asked, lowering his voice so Hinata couldn't pick up the conversation.

Sasuke just stared at his blond rival. "Sometimes, I wonder how the hell you got so far with that empty head of yours."

"Hey!" Naruto protested. It was the second time somebody told him that. "Take that back! I'm as smart as I'm strong!"

"But then again, what you lack in brains, you make up in raw power and determination, so I think you should be good," Sasuke added. "I won't bid you good luck, since good ninja don't rely on such a thing."

"Uhhhh...thanks?"

The blond then headed towards Hinata, who was at the edge of the waiting area, absentmindedly looking at the arena.

 _"Is she just as nervous to fight me as I am to fight her?"_ Naruto wondered. The two of them were the only ones who would have to fight a teammate. "Hey, Hinata, you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Hinata replied. "Thanks again for sharing some of your chakra with me, I don't think I'd have any strength to fight if it wasn't for that."

"Hey, then the match would be no fun, right?" Naruto asked, and laughed a bit. "So, should we get going?"

Hinata nodded, and started walking alongside Naruto.

…

"Look, neechan's about to fight again!" Hanabi excitedly pointed out as Hinata and Naruto walked into the arena. "Hope she will use the Heavenly Thunderstorm again!"

"Heavenly...Thunderstorm?" Hikari replied, confused.

"Yeah, that move she used to knock out her earlier opponent. Because that definitely wasn't a Heavenly Spin, that's why I gave it another, more fitting name," Hanabi explained. "I want to see it again."

"Even then, that move seemed to be the result of hasty improvisation," Hikari replied. "And I don't think it will work against such a skilled opponent like Naruto-kun. And that's not even counting that he's a wind type."

"It can't be..." Neji said in awe, his Byakugan activated.

"What's wrong, son?" his father asked him.

"Hinata-sama's chakra reserves...they're completely full..." the Hyuga prodigy pointed out.

Hikari raised an eyebrow. "That can't be right. The Heavenly Thunderstorm drained a good chunk of her chakra," she activated her own Byakugan, and noticed that her nephew was right. "Impossible!"

"Maybe she ate a ration pill?" Hizashi suggested.

"So are we calling it Heavenly Thunderstorm? Good!" Hanabi said, pleased. "Let's hope neechan also likes the name..."

…

"So, Naruto and Hinata are about to fight. Now I know how Shizune felt when Naruto fought Sakura," Kurenai said. "I can't root for one over the other!"

"Try to think that whoever wins, one of your Genin will go to the finals," Asuma told her.

"I would have preferred it if both of them made it to the finals..." Kurenai dejectedly replied.

"Hey, at least one of your Genin will go there. My only Genin lost the first round," Asuma reminded her. "And in the end, there can only be one winner. By the way, given that they're your students...who do you think it's going to win?"

"That's easy. Naruto, no contest," Kurenai flatly replied.

Asuma raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Wow, that was fast. You didn't even take a minute to think about it. Is the difference between their skill and power that big?"

"Not just between them. I'd say Naruto is way stronger than most of his former classmates. The only ones who would give him a challenge are Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and maybe Tenten."

It was commonly assumed that all Genin, Chunin, etc, had more or less the same skill and power, but that was a lie product of oversimplification. There could be a huge difference between two ninja sporting the same rank.

Both Kurenai and Asuma were Jonin, but while Kurenai was recently promoted after staying a few years as a Special Jonin –mostly thanks to her talent with Genjutsu–, Asuma managed to reach the rank before he was eighteen, just like Gai and Kakashi. And it was unlikely that other Special Jonin she knew, such as Anko or Ebisu, would even be promoted anytime soon.

The five mentioned by Kurenai could be considered "Elite Genin". They were so above the average Genin, that their rank was pretty much in name only, which was a testament of their skill and strength. When they were promoted, they would only remain as Chunin for a couple years at most before they were promoted again to Jonin or at least Special Jonin. Most of their teammates would take much longer to achieve such rank, that's it, if they managed to move past Chunin.

"Well, Sasuke is a finalist. If Naruto makes it to the finals too, at the very least we'll get an exciting fight to see."

…

"Come on Naruto, you have to make me a rich woman!" Tsunade stated in excitement, holding a multitude of betting tickets against her chest. "But after Temari, Hinata shouldn't be much of a challenge."

"You're forgetting about Naruto-kun's feelings for Hinata, Tsunade-sama," Shizune reminded her. "And thus it might hamper his performance. Not to mention that Hinata isn't as weak as she looks."

Tsunade frowned. "That brat better listen to his brain instead of his hormones. If he knows what's good for him."

"Go, Naruto-niisan!" Hagane yelled.

"But don't hit Hinata too hard or else she won't want to marry you!" Kaida added

…

 _"God damn it, why can't they keep those brats silent?"_ Naruto cursed inwardly. He then looked at Hinata, who was blushing, and staring to the ground. _"Great, they made Hinata upset!"_

"Combatants ready?" Yugao asked, looking at both the blond and the bluenette, who looked rather uneasy but nothing seemed apparently wrong. "In that case the eighth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Naruto Uzumaki, from Konoha, and Hinata Hyuga, from Konoha..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Hinata raised her head, no longer blushing, her face no longer appeared bashful, but now reflecting a look of determination.

 _"I know I can't win this fight. Naruto-kun is way too strong for me,'"_ Hinata thought. _"But that doesn't mean that I shouldn't give my very best. For Naruto-kun. For my family. For my promotion. I'll make sure this is a fight no one will ever forget!"_

"Byakugan!"

Hinata's Bloodline activated, and adopted a fighting stance. Naruto grinned and made the hand seal of his most used jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A multitude of clones appeared alongside him. Hinata wasn't fazed, she was already used to it thanks to the countless hours she sparred against Naruto. Though she had to remind herself that this time Naruto would go all out against her.

"Attack!"

Upon the order was issued, the clones charged forward. Some of them pulled a few kunai and shuriken and tossed them at the Hyuga. Hinata also pulled out a couple kunai, and used them to deflect the incoming projectiles. However, while she did so, most Narutos were already in close combat range. This didn't deter Hinata in the slightest, though.

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two Palms! Two palms! Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty Two palms!" Each strike was a precise blow that managed to dispel each clone, until only the original remained in the back. Seeing it was her turn to attack, Hinata made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

An array of blue lightning bolts flew from her fingers at the confident blond, which also made several hand seals of his own.

"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"

A tornado formed around Naruto, which easily stopped and dispelled Hinata's electrical attack. However, while he was doing so, Hinata used the moment to close the gap between them, and readied a palm strike.

 _"Come on Hinata I've sparred against you countless times, I know how to block the Gentle Fist..."_ Naruto thought as he was about to push Hinata's wrist aside.

However, much to his surprise, Hinata's hand closed into a fist, and instead of aiming at one of his easiest to close tenketsu in the chest, the Hyuga moved her fist towards his face. This sudden change made Naruto fail to deflect the attack, and given that Hinata was using Tsunade's Chakra-Enhanced Strength to the best of her ability, it resulted in a painful hit that send the Jinchuriki flying backwards until his body slammed against the arena's wall.

 _"Oh man, I knew that Sakura wouldn't be the last time mom's technique would come back to bite me in the ass..."_ Naruto thought as he got back on his feet and rubbed his hurt face, trying his best to ignore the pain. "Nice one, Hinata. Didn't see that coming."

"Thanks," Hinata replied, not dropping her fighting stance. "I know I can't defeat you if I am predictable."

Hinata then formed several hand seals, which Naruto knew too well.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata's hands started to crackle with electricity. Her signature jutsu now active, the Hyuga heiress charged at Naruto.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A barrier of orange clad clones appeared between Hinata and the original Naruto. Without Naruto having to tell them anything, the clone army charged at Hinata. The first clone managed to sink his fist into Hinata's gut, who strangely enough made no effort to defend herself...

...and vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving a large rock in her place.

"What the...?"

The blond had no time to think before Hinata suddenly appeared in close quarter combat range and managed to deliver a couple lightning-charged palm strikes to Naruto's gut and the right shoulder. Clutching his injured areas, Naruto jumped back. Hinata tried to continue her onslaught, but the clones once again got in the way.

"Lightning Release: Eight Trigrams Thirty Two Thunder strikes!"

While Hinata destroyed the clones, Naruto used the Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal the zones Hinata had damaged with her sneak attack. He managed to heal his shoulder completely when Hinata destroyed the last of his clones.

"Dammit, since when did Hinata become this aggressive?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "I might have to use the Rasengan if she keeps such a pace!"

After she was done with the clones, Hinata wasted no time and went for the original Naruto, still healing himself. However, upon seeing his teammate turned temporary enemy, Naruto stopped and made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto projected an horizontal cyclone from his hands, which caught Hinata just a couple meters before she could reach him in close combat, and violently knocked her backwards, making her fall on her back.

"You almost got me there, Hinata," Naruto praised as he tossed a couple kunai with a Flaming Seals on them, much to Hinata's horror. The Hyuga tried to get up as fast as possible while Naruto made the same hand seals as before. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

This time, Naruto only used one hand to cast his most used wind jutsu, resulting in a weaker version. When the cyclone passed over the Flaming Seals, Naruto made a hand seal with his other hand in order to activate them. The seals exploded in two balls of fire, which merged with the cyclone into a tornado of flames.

"Vacuum Palm Wall!"

Hinata thrust both hands forward, releasing a huge vacuum shell that clashed against the vortex of fire. The collision of both attacks resulted in a huge explosion. Even if its shockwave wasn't strong enough to knock down either combatant, it raised quite a few clouds of smoke and dust.

 _"This is my chance! I can see through the smoke while Naruto-kun can't!"_ Hinata thought as she charged forward.

However, Naruto wasn't stupid, and knew that Hinata would use the smoke and dust to her advantage, and prepared a countermeasure.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto expelled a powerful stream of wind through his mouth, quickly dispelling the large cloud of smoke and dust obscuring most of the arena, and revealing Hinata dashing at him. However, the moment he just finished that jutsu, Hinata grabbed something from her tool pouch and tossed it to the ground, revealing to be a smoke bomb when it detonated and created a second cloud of smoke, one that Naruto wouldn't have enough time to dispel. Of course, that didn't mean that Naruto was defenseless, not in the slightest.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Once again, a barrier of clones appeared in front of Naruto.

'Thank goodness this jutsu is instant, or else I would be screwed,' Naruto thought in relief. 'And even with the Byakugan Hinata has no way of telling which was is the real me. She'll have to fight against the clones while I dispel the smoke...wait, why I don't hear my clones fighting?'

The answer came a couple seconds later in the form of an unexpected explosion that completely poofed all the clones instantly, while sent Naruto rolling backwards against the arena's wall.

"So she threw an explosive tag at my clones instead of directly attacking herself. Oh boy...she's taking this 'not being predictable' thing very seriously..." Naruto groaned as he stood up.

"Come on Naruto-kun! I know that you're much stronger than this!" Hinata called as she dashed at him.

 _"She's right. I'm not giving it all. Is it because I like her? Because she's my friend and teammate?"_ he thought. _"Yet Hinata is fighting with every ounce of her power. Yes, I can't hold back. I have to fight against her as if she was any other enemy!"_

With new resolve, Naruto made several hand seals just in time before Hinata could hit him with a palm strike.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Shockwave!"

A tornado formed around Naruto, creating a windy shield that pushed Hinata back whenever she tried to touch him. Naruto poured more chakra into the jutsu, increasing the power of the tornado, which now it didn't just kept Hinata way, but it also sent her flying back several meters. Naruto then tossed a shuriken at her before making several hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

The single shuriken turned into fifty, and much to Hinata's shock, she found a swarm of steel stars flying at her.

"Multiple Vacuum Palms!"

Hinata thrust one palm forward at a time a quick pace, releasing a barrage of vacuum shells that managed to block the incoming shuriken. Though even with the Byakugan, Hinata was so focused on stopping the shuriken barrage that she didn't notice Naruto sneaking upon her until he was at close quarter range. And much to Hinata's confusion, Naruto engaged her in taijutsu combat.

Taken aback by such an unexpected action, Hinata was forced to fall back before Naruto's barrage of not very refined but very strong punches and kicks. Still, once the shock wore off, Hinata once again gained the upper hand, it was Naruto the one being pushed back. Naruto put some distance by jumping back before being overwhelmed, something Hinata took advantage of, and made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata's hands cracked with electricity once more as she lunged at Naruto, ready to deliver a palm strike. Naruto wouldn't have time to make the seals of one of his many wind jutsu. However, he did have a jutsu that took no time to cast.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Another army of orange wearing blonds appeared in a circle surrounding Hinata. The Hyuga, however, ignored them and decided to focus on the original. The palm strike connected...and Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

 _"Clone Replacement. Of course,"_ Hinata thought.

"Byakugan or not, you won't be able to defend from an attack that comes from all directions!" all the Naruto clones stated as they charged her.

Hinata's mouth formed an uncharacteristic smirk. "That's where you're wrong, Naruto-kun."

Even if it was a risky move, there was no other option. Hinata spread the lightning chakra from her hands to the rest of her body, as she started to spin. Naruto was too late to stop upon realizing what she was going to do.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata turned into a spinning thunderstorm, releasing lightning bolts in every direction, that instantly poofed all the Naruto clones, while blasting the original back several meters. Still, the blond could help but notice that this version of Hinata's new attack was much less destructive than the one before, maybe because the second time Hinata knew how to control it a bit better, and not to use so much chakra on it.

When Hinata was done spinning, she wasn't dizzy, and her body was still flickering with electricity.

"Damn, that attack again..." Naruto stated as he got up. "I can't believe I forgot about that!"

"I think I'm starting to get the hang of it," Hinata said, mildly satisfied. "Come on Naruto-kun, I'm sure you have a way to counter this!"

"I do," Naruto admitted. "But I was hoping I could defeat you without having to resort to it. Guess I have no choice," Naruto extended his arm, and on his hand a sphere of chakra began to form. "Okay Hinata, you're going to be the first to witness the jutsu I've been working on this past month. Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, Naruto-kun."

Through her Byakugan, Hinata saw that that despite its relatively small size, the sphere had an incredibly dense chakra. If all that chakra were to be released at once, the effect would be devastating.

 _"That jutsu is way too powerful for any Genin to resist. If my version of the Heavenly Spin can do the trick..."_ the Hyuga thought.

Naruto dashed at Hinata, holding the chakra sphere on one hand. Hinata wasted no time and started to spin again.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Fortunately, Naruto was close enough to her to use his trump card before Hinata's defense could knock him back.

"Rasengan!"

Both attacks collided, trying to overpower each other. However, a after a few seconds of struggle, the Rasengan started to expand, while Hinata's spinning speed started to slow down. The result was a massive explosion, blasting both combatants flying in opposite directions, landing with a loud thud.

When the smoke dispersed, everybody saw Naruto and Hinata down on the ground, immobile. People started to murmur, wondering what could have happened, and the possibility of a double knockout. However, after a couple seconds, Naruto started to get up.

Yugao went to check Hinata. She was still miraculously conscious, albeit in great pain. Her whole body trembled. She tried to move, but her body was too exhausted. Meanwhile, Naruto was already back on his feet. The winner was clear.

"Hinata is no condition to fight! Winner of the eighth match, Naruto!" the purple haired woman declared. "There will be a recess of ten minutes before the next round begins!"

"YES!" Naruto cheered. Not even the thought of his crush and best friend being already out of the competition –by his own hand, no less– was enough to keep the blond down. He then walked towards Hinata, still lying on the ground. "Hinata?"

"N-Naruto-kun..." the Hyuga replied in a whisper. "H-How...how was I...?"

"You were amazing!" the jinchuriki beamed. "I had no idea you were so powerful! There were some times I thought I was going to lose."

"You would never lose...against somebody...l-like me..." Hinata replied.

"Don't sell yourself so short, Hinata. Like you said before, you wouldn't have gotten so far if you didn't deserve it," Naruto told her.

Hinata smiled. "I guess...you're right. It will be a pity that...I won't be able to see you...in the finals..."

"Pity indeed. But I know that you will be rooting for me, and that's enough," Naruto replied.

The stadium's medic-nin arrived, and placed Hinata on a stretcher before they took her away. With nothing else for Naruto to do, the blond returned to the waiting area.

…

"HAHA, YES!" Tsunade loudly cheered. "Now if you excuse me, I have to make my fortune even bigger!" Tsunade said before leaving to change all his tickets for cash, which she would use to buy more betting tickets.

Shizune shook her head at Tsunade, but then smiled upon seeing Naruto talking with the downed Hinata. "I think that this had to be Naruto's hardest fight so far."

"What are you saying? You told me the kind of opponents Naruto had to face before. Hinata wasn't among the strongest," Shisui pointed out.

Shizune shook her head again. "That's irrelevant. Hinata is Naruto's first and best friend for quite a long time. And his recent feelings for her go beyond mere friendship. Being forced to fight against such a person, even in a friendly and controlled environment like this one, is never easy. Let's hope Naruto, nor any of us, have to fight against a loved one again in the future."

Shizune's words reminded Shisui of the night the Uchiha Clan rebelled. Itachi probably had to fight and kill many clansmen he was close to, including his own father. The ninja world was a cruel place indeed.

…

Hikari sighed in resignation. "I had hopes that Hinata would be able to defeat Naruto-kun, but in the end it wasn't mean to be."

"Naruto is a very strong opponent. Hinata-sama never had a chance," Neji somberly stated. "But the fact that she pressed Naruto so much in order to make him resort to such a powerful jutsu to defeat her speaks volumes."

"Does this mean that Hinata-neechan won't be Chunin anymore, mother?" Hanabi asked.

Hikari shook her head. "She still has a chance if the examiners were impressed enough with her fights, Hanabi-chan."

"Well, _I_ was impressed. Very impressed. Only an idiot wouldn't think that Hinata-neechan isn't good enough to be a Chunin," Hanabi stated.

…

When Naruto returned to the Competitor's Box, he was greeted by the sight of the three remaining Genin, Sasuke, Gaara and Fu. And soon one of the latter two would be out.

"Congratulations on your second victory, Naruto," Gaara told him.

"Yeah, it was a fight to remember!" Fu added.

"See? I told you that you could defeat her," Sasuke told him. "Even if she gave you a harder time than I expected. But then again, I could see you were holding back."

"I wasn't holding back!" Naruto protested. "Hinata is strong as hell! I mean, I had to use the Rasengan to defeat her, while I was hoping I could show it when I was fighting either you or the other finalist."

"Speaking of which, I hate to admit it, but it was one hell of a jutsu, Naruto," Sasuke praised. "Now I have to come up with something strong enough to surpass it."

"Ha! You'd wish! That jutsu was created by the Fourth Hokage himself! Good luck coming up with something better," Naruto boasted.

Sasuke crossed his arms, and snorted dismissively. "Even the lowest of the Uchiha are geniuses compared to the average ninja, and I stand among the best of them. And with the help of Itachi-niisan and Shisui it won't even be a challenge."

Naruto had the feeling that Sasuke's words weren't just empty boasts, but was looking forward to see what his rival would come up with. In fact, an idea was already brewing in Sasuke's mind.

…

Meanwhile, in the Kage Box, two of the leaders present were eagerly expecting the next match, both with high hopes for their only representative.

"Well, Shibuki, your girl is indeed an impressive kunoichi, but she had the misfortune to be matched against Gaara," Rasa stated, his lips forming a smile of superiority. "There's no way she can defeat him."

Shibuki wasn't going to let this bullying asshole to intimidate him or demean his village. "And I admit that Gaara's defense is truly something to behold, but like that Konoha kunoichi proved, there's no such thing as an impenetrable defense. "

"Maybe, but do you think that your girl can pierce it? You have her in too high esteem, it would seem," Rasa replied.

"Fu is way more powerful than she lets on. You aren't the first one who underestimates her abilities," Shibuki rebuked.

"You mean because she's a Jinchuriki?" Rasa casually mentioned. Both Jiraiya and A raised an eyebrow (albeit in Jiraiya's case, he was pretending to be surprised), while Shibuki paled for the second time that day. "Oh, don't give me that look, the girl isn't exactly subtle. That careless attitude will get her killed one day."

"Say, how about if we enjoy the fight instead?" Jiraiya intervened before the discussion could get more heated. "Besides, it will be a good way of finding out which one is right."

…

Gaara and Fu walked into the arena. Since this fight involved two foreign ninjas, the public didn't show as much interest as in previous match. Still, there was a noticeable number of people eager to see them fight, simply because the red haired boy and the green haired girl proved to be very strong ninja, and their fight would be everything but boring.

"Don't think I forgot what you did," Fu stated in an oddly threatening tone. "And I didn't forgive you!"

A confused Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. This was the first time he even traded a line with the bizarre girl, so he couldn't help but wonder what he did to merit such reaction.

"I'm afraid I don't know what are you talking about," Gaara replied in his usual calmness.

"Ha! Don't think that by pretending to have amnesia that I'm going to go easy on you!" Fu replied, as she stomped her foot on the ground.

"I'm being sincere. I never saw you in my life, so I don't know what kind of felony I did to enrage you so much," Gaara insisted.

"In that case, I'll refresh your memory: you eliminated Shino from the exams!" Fu dramatically stated as she pointed an accusatory finger at Gaara. "And as his friend –and hopefully something more one day– it is my duty to avenge him!"

"Oh," was all what Gaara said.

…

"See? That's what I was talking about!" Ino told Shikamaru. The lazy Nara merely rolled his eyes in annoyance.

…

"Did she...?" Kiba began, a bit flabbergasted. "Did she loudly shout that she wants to be more than just friends with you, Shino?"

"So it seems," Shino replied in his usual stoicism. "I believe that this deserves a thorough conversation with her in order to establish the kind of relationship we want."

"No offense Shino, but I never thought you were the type of guy that could get a girl fall for him so fast," Kakashi commented. "Then again, as kids your age usually say, chicks dig mysterious guys."

"None taken," Shino replied. _"She's a great girl, but I don't know her that much. Plus the fact that she's from another village would make it even more complicated. Do I really want a relationship with her?"_ the Aburame heir thought.

…

Seeing that they no longer traded anymore words, Yugao thought it was about time to begin.

"You two ready? In that case the ninth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Gaara, from Suna, and Fu, from Taki..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

Sand started to pour from Gaara's word the second Yugao's last word left her lips. For her part, Fu stepped backwards and made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Fu released a powerful stream of water from her mouth. Gaara's sand automatically erected a barrier around him. However, the barrier soaked the water, becoming mud in the process. Just like Fu had planned.

Summoning her wings, the green haired flew at Gaara, plowing through the softened sand barrier, her fist reared back ready to punch the Suna ninja's face. However, much to her surprise, the sand erected a second barrier centimeters from Gaara's face, which managed to absorb the force of the green haired girl's punch. When the sand moved to wrap around her, Fu quickly flew upwards, escaping a potential defeat.

"My turn," Gaara said as he made a hand seal. "Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

Deadly sand projectiles flied at Fu at an amazingly fast speed. The flying kunoichi had a hard time matching their speed, and while she managed to dodge most of them, one of her wings was hit, nullifying her flying ability, and making her to crash into the ground below, creating yet another crater in the arena.

"Ouch..." Fu muttered as she climbed out of the crater. "My wings...my beautiful wings!"

"Sorry," Gaara stoically, but sincerely said. "Will they heal?"

"Yes. But it will take a lot of time!" the green haired girl protested.

"I see. Nevertheless, don't expect me to go easy on you because of that," and with a hand wave, Gaara launched a tide of sand at the Taki kunoichi.

Fu instinctively deployed her wings, only to feel a wave of pain instead. Cursing, she was forced to run away in order to avoid being buried under the sand tsunami.

 _"Dammit! Was I so dependent on my wings that I'm this helpless without them?"_ the green haired girl cursed inwardly. _"No! I still have plenty of tricks to spare! I'll show that creepy kid and everybody else!"_

Fu made a single hand seal. "Hiding in the Scale Powder Jutsu!"

Fu opened her mouth, and exhaled a large quantity of glittery powder, which reflected so much light that it blinded pretty much everybody. Fu took the chance and dashed at Gaara –reminding herself of not using her wings– ready to punch his face. Unfortunately, her fist only connected with a wall of sand.

"What? The sand can act on its own?" Fu asked, flabbergasted.

"Indeed," Gaara replied, as he rubbed his eyes. A thread of sand then coiled around Fu's legs. "However, this is all my doing."

"Hey, what are you- WHOAH!"

Gaara's sand whip started to repeatedly slam Fu into the ground, switching between swinging her to the left and to the right. Eventually, he let her go when he thought that she had enough. But Fu's resilience proved to be too much when the girl got up as if the severe beating only gave her a minor headache.

"Oh, wow, everything spins..." Fu slurred as she grabbed her head with one hand. "I think I might have a concussion...so, are you going to ask me what do they feed me?"

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow. "Why should I ask such a thing?"

The green haired girl shrugged. "I dunno. Everybody does. Usually after they beat me into the ground just like you did. I don't know what it has to do with anything, but it has been a thing since I got here."

"I'm not from Konoha," the redheaded ninja stated in a neutral tone.

"That might explain it. Anyway..." Fu made a hand seal. "Transformation Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, Fu transformed into Gaara, much to everybody else's confusion. Fu pulled out two kunai and dashed at the jinchuriki of the One Tail.

"You didn't see that coming, do you?" Fu asked in Gaara's voice, but with her usual cheerful and chipper tone.

However, when Fu tried to stab Gaara, she found herself hitting once again a wall of sand. Gaara wasted no time, and trapped her in a cocoon of sand which left only the head exposed. Her transformation was also undone.

"I don't know what you were trying to do with that," Gaara began.

"Well, I kinda noticed that your sand goes on its own, so I thought that maybe I could fool it by disguising myself as you," Fu explained, not too concerned about her current predicament.

"Not a bad idea. Would have worked if the chakra that moves the sand wasn't connected to my very being," Gaara replied. "Then again, such a mistake will cost you this match."

Fu smiled widely. "No, it won't."

And she disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving a log behind. Gaara felt a current of air at his back, and turned around to see Fu with her fist reared back, said fist surrounded by a small tornado.

"Hurricane Punch!"

Once again, Gaara's ultimate defense triggered, making a wall of sand that absorbed the impact of the punch. However, it failed to absorb the burst of wind the attack unleashed, which sent Gaara flying back several meters. The sand, however, made a cushion that softened the fall.

"Now is my chance!" Fu said as she dashed towards Gaara, as wind began to whirl around her arms. When she closed the gap, she thrust both arms forward. "Double Hurricane Punch!"

Fu released two powerful horizontal tornadoes that managed to bypass Gaara's sand shield and hit the Suna ninja...who promptly burst into sand.

"Like I already told you, you already lost," Gaara's voice said behind her.

Fu tried to turn back, but she couldn't looking down. She saw her legs being trapped by sand, leaving her stuck. Threads of sand started to dangerously whirl around her.

"Please surrender," Gaara continued as she walked towards her, his arm extended. "I do not wish to cause you more harm than necessary."

"And I told you that if you expect me to give up, you have another thing coming!" Fu defiantly replied, as she struggled with the sand trapping her feet, unable to break free. She rummaged through her ninja pouch hoping to find something that could help with her current predicament, when her fingers touched something she had forgotten was there. Pulling it out, she saw it was a vial with a blue liquid on it. Shibuki had given her that vial, and told her to only use it on a life or death situation.

The green haired girl wondered if she should drink the vial or not. On one hand, this wasn't a life or death situation. She could easily surrender, and go back home completely unscratched.

But on the other hand, what would people think of her village if its only representative walked away when things got difficult? No, giving up wasn't an option. Shibuki had trusted the village's future to her, and she couldn't betray that trust. Her decision already made, Fu opened the vial and drank its contents. At that moment, a second sand cocoon formed around her body, leaving only her head exposed.

"I believe you don't have another Body Replacement prepared in advance," Gaara guessed. "So this-"

The effects of the vial were immediate. Fu felt a surge of power rushing through her body, and her chakra flared forming a glowing blue aura around her. It was so potent, it was able to push the sand away, breaking the cocoon.

"OH YES! THIS IS AMAZING! Fu yelled at the top of her lungs. "Get ready for the worst beating of your life, redhead!"

And the green haired girl vanished in front of him.

…

"NO!" Shibuki yelled as he got up from his chair and rushed towards the edge of the box. "No, no, no, no, no!"

"What's wrong, Shibuki-san?" Jiraiya asked, confused. "Fu seems to be doing pretty good so far. Why the outburst?"

"You...you don't get it," Shibuki replied, shaken. "What Fu did...I told her only to do it under extreme circumstances, but guess that I had to specify that these matches didn't count. Tell me Jiraiya, do you know about the treasure of my village?"

…

Fu didn't recover the ability to fly, but she was moving so fast it barely made a difference. Coupled with her hard hits, the green haired girl had become a genuine threat.

 _"Why do I always have to fight against people who outspeed my sand?"_ Gaara internally complained. _"Then again, not all victories can be as easy as against the bug ninja."_

Fu snapped Gaara from his thoughts thanks to a well aimed punch. Even if his sand armor absorbed most of the impact, he could still feel the pain of the punch. Before Fu had time to continue her onslaught, the redhead called the sand back and used it to form a protective dome. Fu began to wildly pound on the dome, which started to crack. Gaara made a hand seals, and huge sand spikes grew in every direction, forcing the Seven Tails Jinchuriki to jump back.

"Do you think you can hide from me!?" Fu yelled as he made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Fu expelled from her mouth an incredibly powerful stream of water, almost like a torrent, towards the sand dome, which was unable to hold the attack, and crumbled down as it absorbed the water and turned into mud. Gaara used his remaining sand to propel himself upwards.

Fu smirked. "Gotcha."

In a split second, Fu leaped into the air, and found herself in front of Gaara. However, before she could punch him again, she noticed a tentacle of sand wrapping around her leg.

"Oh shit, not this again!"

The sand tentacle only slammed her against the floor once. However, Gaara was already preparing his next attack, and five streams of sand were already upon her. Making use of her newfound speed and agility, Fu skillfully dodged the constant sand attacks, but she was unable to find an opening to attack.

Eventually, Fu made a mistake and didn't doge a sand stream, which made her lose her balance and fell down on her butt.

"NOW!" Gaara thought as he quickly brought his palms together. "Sand Tsunami!"

Gaara used all his sand, and then some, to bury Fu alive. He used every ounce of his strength to keep her underneath. If he was able enough to contain her until she lost consciousness, the match would be over. Unfortunately, it didn't last as long as he had expected.

All that sand wasn't enough to contain Fu, which burst from the sand tomb with and overwhelming force. All those present noticed that her blue aura had turned red.

 **"I'M SICK OF YOUR SAND!"** Fu bellowed as she dived at him.

Gaara managed to jump backwards before the green haired meteor hit the ground, adding yet another crater to the ground –the arena floor was mostly craters right now– but that didn't deter her in the slightest.

…

"Hokage-sama, you have to stop this!" Shibuki pleaded.

Jiraiya nodded "Indeed. I know how dangerous can-"

"You won't do such a thing, Hokage," Rasa interjected.

Jiraiya looked at his fellow Kage as if he grew a second head. "Are you mad, Kazekage? Fu is losing control of her Tailed Beast! She's a danger to everybody, herself included!"

"I'm aware of the dangers, Hokage. But I'm sure Gaara can handle this," Rasa reassured. He looked at the arena, oddly satisfied. "You'll see it now."

…

Upon seeing her new chakra cloak, it didn't took long for Shino to put two and two and deduce the source of the girl's strange powers.

 _"So, she's a Jinchuriki like Naruto and Gaara,"_ the Aburame thought. _"This is...an interesting turn of events."_

…

 **"DIE!"** Fu yelled as she dashed towards Gaara once again. Her chakra cloak had taken the form of a beetle, with a tail forming on its back.

 _"I can't believe I have to resort to this a second time..."_ Gaara thought as he made a hand seal. "Ultimately Hard Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku!"

Another hat-wearing replica of Shukaku appeared between Gaara and Fu, except this time it was twice as big as the one he summoned against Tenten. Undeterred, Fu crashed against the sand shield, and in her enraged state, rather than simply circumventing it, she tried to tear it down with the force of her fists. Each hit boomed loudly through the whole stadium, and soon the Shukaku replica started to crumble, until a particularly strong punch tore it in half.

 **"YES! DESTROYED! NOW YOU GO NE-!"**

"Ultimately Hard Absolute Attack: Spear of Shukaku!"

Fu didn't have time to ask where did Gaara got that halberd, apparently made of sand, before he embedded it into her shoulder, and pinned her into the ground.

 **"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"** She screamed as she futilely tried to remove the spear from her shoulder. However, it didn't bulge.

Little by little, as the pain increased, Fu noticed how her strength withered away. Even the Tailed Beast chakra could only help her so far, and her red aura flickered away. Eventually, the immense pain combined with her diminishing strength made the green haired girl to lose consciousness. Once Gaara made sure that she was out, he undid the spear, which turned back into sand.

Yugao went to check the fallen kunoichi. She was badly wounded, but alive. She gestured the medic nin in order to take her away.

"Fu can't keep fighting! Winner of the ninth match, and third finalist, Gaara!" Yugao announced. "There will be a recession of fifteen minutes before the final match begin! Unlike the previous rounds, the finalists will receive medical attention before the match begins!"

…

"See? I told you Gaara could handle her," Rasa told Shibuki while sporting an incredibly smug smile. "And, as you can see, she isn't exactly careful with her jinchuriki status. After that display, you can forget about keeping it a secret."

Shibuki sighed in defeat. "I should have never given her the Hero Water, but I wanted her to be safe."

Kakashi had told Jiraiya about the Hero Water when he and his team escorted Shibuki to Taki a few weeks ago. It was a special liquid produced by the Great Tree of Taki once every hundred years. Drinking it greatly increased the power of your chakra for a short time, but the backlash would potentially harm the body in a permanent way, similar to the Celestial Gates.

And as it was shown moments ago, if a Jinchuriki drank it, not only increased the power of their chakra, but of their Tailed Beast as well, which would make the Jinchuriki to lose control of their power.

"Hokage-sama, is it okay if I go to the infirmary to check on Fu?" Shibuki asked, ignoring the Kazekage.

"Sure you can, but you're going to miss the final match," Jiraiya told him.

Shibuki chuckled sadly. "Given that no Taki ninja takes part, I don't have much interest in seeing it. I have no doubt it will be spectacular. Raikage-dono, Kazekage-dono, if you excuse me..."

And Shibuki left the Kage Box. Not that A or Rasa minded. In fact, the latter seemed to be satisfied that there were only Kage and their bodyguards present.

Truth be told, A didn't have any interest in the match either, and was tempted of using Shibuki's excuse as well, but it would be seen as a gesture inappropriate for a Kage, and thus decided to stay.

"Well Kazekage, the final match will begin shortly. Aren't you excited? Because I certainly am," Jiraiya told his fellow Kage.

"Oh, yes, about that," Rasa replied as if he suddenly remembered something. "Do you think I'm an idiot? I know what you're planning. The two Konoha Genin will double team Gaara to kick him out of the fight as early as possible, so they can hog the spotlight. I won't tolerate such thing happening."

The Toad Sage raised an eyebrow. "What? You can't be sure of that! Besides, Naruto has a bond with Gaara since both of them are Jinchuriki. Maybe it's them who team up against Sasuke. Or nobody teams up and it's a three way brawl."

"I stand by my demands, Hokage. I want a different outcome," Rasa insisted.

"And what do you want me to do? There are only three Genin left, and I can't kick one of them out of the competition like that."

"Easy. Have the two Konoha Genin fight each other. The winner can fight Gaara," Rasa suggested.

"Are you insane? I'm not going to do such a thing that would put my Genin in a such disadvantageous position!" Jiraiya fired back, indignant.

"Okay, I know that I'm asking much without giving something else in return," Rasa then looked around, as if trying to come up with something, until his eyes rested on Zabuza. "How about if I drop all charges against Zabuza? I believe it's a generous offer."

Jiraiya pondered the Kazekage's words. Not having to dealt with Zabuza's past crimes against Suna later was indeed a plus. On one hand, only one Konoha Genin would make it to the finals, and said Genin would be more tired than Gaara, giving the redhead an easy victory, and a lot of publicity to Suna.

On the other hand...Naruto and Sasuke were two of the most, if not the most, powerful Genin right now. Even if it wasn't the finals, a match between them would also impress Konoha's current and potential customers.

Besides, it's possible that such gamble would backfire on Rasa. Some people would see it as a cowardly gesture, that Suna is too afraid to face difficult odds. If that's what he wanted, then so be it.

"Alright, I accept your terms. On the condition that the winner will also be healed once again before he faces Gaara," Jiraiya added.

"I find it reasonable. We have a deal, then?" Rasa said with a smirk of superiority. "Good."

Jiraiya didn't know how much longer he could resist before he succumbed to the burning desire of strangling Rasa to death.

…

Meanwhile, in the arena, after being properly healed, the three finalists were in front of Yugao.

"Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto Uzumaki. Gaara. Congratulations for making to the finals, but the hardest part comes now. Sometimes, a fight will involve more than just two parties, and thus you will need to know how to-"

Yugao was interrupted when Itachi Body Flickered besides her, startling everybody there.

"Brother...?" Sasuke asked in confusion.

Itachi whispered something inaudible at Yugao's ear, who turned at him in surprise and mouthed something Sasuke identified as "you have to be kidding me", but Itachi was serious. His message once delivered, Itachi returned to the Kage Box.

"Uh...I have orders from Hokage-sama. There has been a change of plans," Yugao said out loud. People started to murmur. "There will be one more match. Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki will fight each other, and the winner will fight Gaara in the finals!"

"What!?" Naruto asked in shock.

"That can't be true!" Sasuke protested.

And they weren't the only ones. The public erupted in a cacophony of loud complaints and boos, as well as insults towards Suna and the Kazekage.

"So...Gaara, please return to the Competitor Box. Sasuke, Naruto, prepare to fight."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So yeah, sorry if you were expecting a three way brawl, but...I really, really, really wanted to make a Naruto vs Sasuke fight. I'm sure you guys will love it.**

 **I got some complaints in the previous chapter about how much I nerfed Gaara to show off Tenten, that he stayed on the defensive all the time and only won when she run out of power. And I had to admit that those complains had a point. I tried to make Gaara more proactive in his fight against Fu, and I hope it was better and truer to the character as a result.**

 **Ah, Naruto vs Hinata. Another fight I've been wanting to do even before this story began, since I never saw one (and yes, I know that "Yet Again" has a NvH fight in the Chunin Exams). Like with Sakura, I had to make Naruto to hold back a little so the fight wouldn't end so soon. Even then, it was a delight to write, and hope it was also a delight to read.**

 **Also, question: a couple reviewers told me they'd like if Hinata got her "Protection of the Eight Trgrams" attack she learned during that filler arc (you know, the one where she briefly appeared naked, you pervs). I think she doesn't need it, but I decided to ask all of you just in case. So do you want Hinata to learn that jutsu, or do you think that with her current repertoire, she doesn't need it? (For the record, regarding of what you answer, Hinata WILL learn many more new attacks in the future).**

 **And I believe I don't do this often enough, but thanks to gio8 for his work betareading this story :)**

 **The finals will be in the next chapter? Who will face Gaara, Naruto or Sasuke? Or maybe it's a tie and both of them get to fight him. Or it's a tie and _neither_ of them get to fight him and Gaara wins by deafult. Oh the possibilities...**

 **One way or another, the Chunin Exams will come to an end next chapter! In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	30. Fight to become Chunin, Part IV

**Author's Note: As expected, pretty much everybody wants Hinata to learn the anime-only attack "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palms". So be it. However, I'm not going to show any kind of training sequence where she learns that move. It will be part of her repertoire once this fanfic reaches Part II (she learns it during the time skip).**

 **Finally, enjoy the two final matches of the Chunin Exam Finals:**

* * *

 **Chapter 30:**

Fight to become a Chunin, Part IV

 _or_

 _And the winner is..._

 _Stadium's Infirmary_

After being taken away from the arena floor to the infirmary, Hinata had remained awake, even if just barely. The stadium's medic-nin did as good as expected in healing all her injuries. Her body was still sore and exhausted, but she now felt much better.

"Alright, that would be all," the medic-nin, an old man with grey hair and a mustache, stated as he finished healing her.

"Thank you, medic-san," Hinata would have bowed if she was able to.

"Now rest and try not to move much," the man then chuckled. "You know, given that you were at the receiving end of the Fourth's jutsu, I expected your injuries to be much worse. That rotation technique you used to withstand it is truly impressive."

"The Rasengan was created by the Fourth?" Hinata asked in shock. She couldn't help but smile in pride knowing that she pushed Naruto so much to make him resort to his trump card, as well as feel admiration for her crush to master a jutsu so advanced. "Naruto-kun is truly something else."

"Indeed," the medic-nin agreed. "I'm sure he will win the tournament and earn a promotion, but those who managed to do well against him might be worth considering as well."

"Ahem," somebody said behind them.

The medic turned around to see the Hyuga clan matriarch, Hikari, standing in front of them.

"Thank you for healing my daughter, medic-san. If you are finished, may I talk with my daughter alone?" Hikari requested.

"Of course, Hyuga-san," the medic replied, before leaving. "If you need anything else, call me or any of the other medics."

"We will, thank you again," Hikari politely replied. Once she was technically alone with her daughter –there were other Genin in nearby beds–, she sat on her daughter's bed, besides her. "How do you feel, Hinata?"

"Better," Hinata replied. She became a bit dour, and averted her gaze. "Sorry I lost. I know the clan had high hopes for me, and I disappointed them."

Hikari emphatically smiled, and placed a hand on Hinata's leg. "Don't be so harsh on yourself. Naruto-kun was a tough opponent to beat. I doubt that anybody would blame you for losing against him. In fact, you put up a very good fight."

"Thanks, mother," Hinata replied.

"In fact, I don't remember seeing you fighting as fiercely as you did just now," Hikari pointed out, drawing Hinata's attention. "Seeing your fight today reminded me of somebody."

"Really? Who?" Hinata asked, her curiosity peaked.

"Myself," was Hikari's response, shocking Hinata a bit. "It has been so long that I have forgotten but...seeing you fight down there made me remember how much I used to be like you."

Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hikari had always been her role model, her ideal of a perfect woman. Kind and caring, but strong and skilled. A perfect balance between gentleness and firmness Hinata always tried to emulate, but was unable to. If that was true...there might be hope for her as well.

"Our clan had always valued power, and strove to be recognized among Konoha's strongest. Like you, I was told that I was too kind and gentle for my own good. And I was also told that I wasn't worthy," Hikari recounted, bitterness lacing her words.

"Worthy of what?" Hinata asked.

"Of being your father's wife," Hikari replied. "Of course, the wife of the future Clan head had to be somebody strong and imposing, not a delicate wallflower like me. But I couldn't stop my heart from longing to be with him, just like yours probably does the same for Naruto-kun."

Hinata became incredibly red. She tried to babble a response, but her mother interrupted her.

"Yes, I know. I'm your mother, of course I know," Hikari shot her daughter a teasing smile. "But even if I wasn't, I don't think it'd take too long for me to figure out. I have noticed that you fight with an inner fire whenever Naruto-kun is present. You want to impress him. To show him what you're capable of. To make him notice you. Am I right?"

"Do you...do you think I impressed him?" Hinata knew better than trying to deny her mother's statements.

"Oh, I'm completely sure. Didn't he tell you himself?" Hikari asked her.

"Well...he might have said that just to be polite," Hinata insecurely replied.

"I doubt that. Naruto-kun is the kind of person who wears his heart on his sleeve. He wouldn't praise somebody if he didn't mean it," Hikari reassured her daughter.

"Still...I have the feeling that I could have done better. If I had mastered the Heavenly Spin, maybe I could have put up a better fight," Hinata said.

"Maybe. But the Heavenly Thunderstorm was a sight to behold. Even if imperfect, it net you a win during the first round. Not everybody can create a new jutsu of such caliber in the middle of a fight," Hikari told her.

"Heavenly...Thunderstorm?" Hinata asked.

"That's the name Hanabi gave it. Though you can name it in a different way if you don't like it," Hikari told her, then she chuckled. "And rest assured that Hanabi won't leave you alone until you teach it to her."

Hinata smiled. "Heavenly Thunderstorm sounds perfect. And tell Hanabi-chan that I'll teach her how to do it whenever I can. But first, I'd like to learn the Heavenly Spin myself. Neji-niisan told me I lack speed, so maybe I should focus on building that."

"Neji-kun stated that his sensei, Maito Gai, is an specialist in physical training. Maybe he can help you with that," Hikari suggested.

"I'll go talk with Gai-sensei and ask him if he's willing to train me, then."

"One last thing," Hikari said, as if remembering something important. "At the end of your fight with Tamaki-san, your chakra reserves were almost drained. Yet when you fought against Naruto-kun, your chakra pools were full. Did you eat a soldier pill?"

Hinata shook her head. "Naruto-kun shared some of his chakra with me. His chakra reserves are so big, he only needed a tiny fraction to restore mine completely."

Hikari pondered Hinata's words. "So Naruto-kun's chakra is compatible with yours?"

Hinata shook her head again. "No. We tried to test it when he brought the possibility of sharing his chakra with others, given that he has so much...but he somehow is able to alter his chakra to make it compatible with other people's."

Hikari's eyes were wide open. "Are you telling me that Naruto-kun is a universal chakra donor? That's very rare! With his huge chakra pool, that makes him even more of an invaluable ally."

Hinata smiled. "Naruto-kun is truly something, isn't it?"

"Indeed he is. And speaking of him, how about if we watch him fight?" Hikari suggested. "His match has to be right now."

"I'd love to...but I doubt that the medics will let me out," Hinata replied.

Hikari rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Hinata, did you forget about the Byakugan? Being lovesick certainly messes with one's mind."

Hinata blushed furiously. "Oh, right, Sorry."

...

 _Stadium's Arena_

It took some time for everybody to accept the Kage's decision of having one more match in order to have a more "traditional" fight for the final. And everybody was completely sure that the Kazekage had something to do with it.

Still, as soon as the realization that a duel between Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't be any less spectacular than a three-way fight, the complaints began to die down as the public got ready for what they knew it would be a very memorable match.

"I can already see it: a new house, bigger, with staff, a private onsen, a bigger garden..." Tsunade gushed as she hugged her betting tickets."Oh! And a private massage therapist! Kami knows how stressed I come home some days..."

"Do you think it's safe to bet so much for Naruto, Tsunade-sama? Sasuke has never been defeated by any other Genin yet," Shisui asked her.

Tsunade shook her head in a condescending manner. "'Yet' being the key word, my dear Shisui. Naruto has improved a lot since he left the Academy."

"I can agree with that," Sakura interjected. "I'm pretty sure that Naruto was holding back in the prelims, and from what I could see he got even better. I want Sasuke-kun to win, and I know he can, but Naruto is going to be a tough opponent to beat."

"Keep dreaming, pinky! Sasuke might beat Naruto-niisan in prettiness, but when it comes to kicking ass, there's nobody better than him!" Kaida defiantly replied.

…

Naruto and Sasuke stood in front of each other, studying their rival while expectantly waiting for the match to begin.

"You know Sasuke..." Naruto began. "Even if it kind of sucks that we got cheated of the finals...I'm glad that I get to fight to you one on one. You have no idea how much I've been waiting for this moment. The moment I finally defeat you."

"Your wait will end in disappointment, then," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "Then again, I would lie if I say that I'm not excited to fight you. You're one of the few people here that can give me a challenge worthy of my skills."

"I believe Haku and that Kumo girl already did that," Naruto retorted. "You should stop underestimating your rivals."

"It's not underestimating if it's true. Didn't I defeat both of them?" Sasuke asked. "Just like I will defeat you."

"I see you guys are ready. In that case the tenth match of the Chunin Exam Finals, between Sasuke Uchiha, from Konoha, and Naruto Uzumaki, from Konoha..." the purple haired woman raised her hand in the air. "Begin!"

In less than a second, Sasuke activated his Sharingan, unsheathed his katana, and dashed at Naruto ready to strike. Despite his speed, Sasuke wasn't fast enough to stop Naruto from using his signature jutsu.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

By the time Sasuke reached close quarter combat, Naruto was surrounded by an army of clones. With a quick swipe of his blade, Sasuke managed to dispel some of them. However, the remaining clones wasted no time in pulling several kunai and shuriken and tossed them at Sasuke, forcing him to fall back.

While Sasuke was deflecting and dodging the incoming projectiles, the Naruto clones charged while the original remained behind, something Sasuke already expected.

 _"He'll want to trick me into attacking the original, but then he'll switch with a clone and I'll be left wide open. Fat chance about that happening, Naruto,"_ Sasuke thought as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a massive fireball, which caught most clones off guard, instantly dispelling them, as it flew towards Naruto while leaving a trail of scorched earth behind. The original Naruto merely tossed a kunai with a deep blue tag on it, which upon being activated released a massive amount of water, canceling the fireball, and leaving the arena covered in steam.

Sasuke saw several flashes of orange crossing the steam cloud. A Naruto clone then appeared from behind, delivering a punch to his side, disappearing in the steam before the Uchiha had any time to react. Another clone kicked him in the shin, before vanishing again.

 _"Dammit, this is like Haku's mist all over again!"_ Sasuke inwardly cursed. Fortunately for him, the steam dispelled by itself in a couple of minutes, revealing Naruto as well as a dozen clones.

"I didn't thought that I'd have to resort to this so soon," Sasuke stated as he started making hand seals. "But guess that if I want to defeat you, I can't afford to hold back, even if that means I'll be at a disadvantage in the finals. Fire Release: Burning Man!"

Sasuke's whole body was wreathed in flames. The youngest Uchiha smirked under his cloak of fire. "Now not only you can't touch me without hurting yourself, but your wind jutsu will be useless."

Naruto wasn't impressed. "And you think that setting yourself on fire is going to-"

The blond was interrupted when a red blur dashed at him, instantly dispelling all the clones it touched. When it reached Naruto, he was able to use Body Replacement with one of the remaining clones, which was instantly poofed.

 _"Shit! I forgot the fire also made him insanely fast! Guess that I'll have bring reinforcements!"_ Naruto thought as he pulled out a smoke bomb and tossed to the ground, creating a cloud of smoke.

The burning Uchiha was forced to stop on his tracks, but that wouldn't be enough to deter him. "You won't be able to hide from me!" Sasuke stated as he started making hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Another side effect of the Burning Man is that the user's fire jutsu were way more powerful, as evidenced by the even bigger fireball Sasuke managed to breathe. However, Naruto had already a way to counter that.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The air displaced by the summoning managed to blow away the smoke, revealing a three meter tall blue skinned toad with a yellow belly, holding a kanabo in one hand, and a large rectangular metal plate in the other. Upon seeing the fireball coming, the amphibian immediately yelped and covered behind his makeshift shield, which successfully blocked the fire attack.

"Dammit Naruto, don't summon me to act as a meat shield so suddenly!" the toad complained.

"Sorry Ryoko, but there was little I could do," Naruto, standing on the toad's head, apologized. "Say do you think you can help me win this match? I'm in the Chunin Exam finals."

The toad looked around, and noticed the large crowd gathered around. "Wait, you're fighting in front of such a large crowd...?" the toad then smiled widely. "Why didn't you summon me earlier? I love to show off my awesome moves!"

"Good to see we're on the same page," Naruto sighed in relief. He then pointed at Sasuke. "That's our rival."

Ryoko grew confused. "Why is that kid on fire? Is he okay?"

"Hn. Do you think a fat frog is going to help you win?" Sasuke dismissively asked.

Ryoko didn't take the insult well. "First of all, I'm not a frog, but a toad! Second, I'm not just any toad, but the great Ryoko, Warrior-Sage and hero of the Toad Clan! And third, I'm not fat, I'm bulky!"

Sasuke didn't say anything in return, and made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A volley of fireballs flied at Ryoko, which one again hid behind his oversized metal plate. However, while he was doing so, the youngest Uchiha, taking advantage of his current speed, flanked the large toad and prepared to attack him from the side. Too bad for him, Naruto was already waiting for him.

"Going somewhere?" Naruto asked as he summoned several clones who jumped at Sasuke.

Sasuke made quick work of them, but by the time he was finished, Ryoko had turned around and his kanabo was descending upon him. The youngest Uchiha leaped in the air a couple seconds before the large metal club smashed into the ground.

"Ryoko, now!" Naruto called.

Ryoko nodded, as his dewlap swelled. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

The large toad exhaled a powerful stream of water, which Sasuke was unable to dodge mid air. The attack was strong enough to put out his cloak of fire, and had enough force to push him backwards several meters, before he finally falling to the ground with a loud thud.

"We got him! Time for the final blow!" Naruto commanded.

Ryoko nodded, and leaped high into the air, falling right where Sasuke was, still trying to stand up.

"SHIT!" the Uchiha yelled upon seeing Ryoko's frame looming over him, and made a hand seal.

Naruto could see Sasuke Body Flickering just before Ryoko landed on the ground with a loud crash, and looking around, noticed Sasuke several meters behind him. He was making several hand seals.

"Ryoko, behind you!" Naruto pointed out. "Let's attack together this time!"

"I'd hate to share my spotlight, but I can see that this rival is unlike any other," the large toad admitted.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

"Sage Art: Morning Breath!"

Ryoko opened his mouth, releasing a nasty looking green gas, which combined with Naruto's wind attack, formed a green, more than likely toxic tornado. However, Sasuke finished his jutsu just in time.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

The Uchiha slammed his palm on the ground, creating a cloud of smoke. And from the smoke, a black hawk the same size as Ryoko emerged, flying above the deadly attack, carrying Sasuke on its back.

"What the hell!?" Naruto indignantly asked.

…

"Sasuke has a summon?" Sakura asked in disbelief, looking at Shizune.

The older medic-nin shrugged. "Don't ask me. I'm as surprised as you," she replied, before turning at Shisui.

The oldest Uchiha nodded. "Yeah, that was Itachi and me. Sasuke asked if we could get him a Summoning Contract in order to increase his arsenal. We were going to offer him to sign the Crow Contract, but Itachi remembered that the clan used to have a Hawk Contract hidden in one of our secret hideouts, reserved for the most exceptional members. Itachi thought that said contract would fit Sasuke better than the Crow one."

"Is this the first time he uses it?" Shizune asked.

Shisui shook his head. "Obviously no. Sasuke was able to summon some of the smaller hawks when we trained, but this is the first time he summons one so large."

"Shizune-sensei, can I have a summoning contract too?" Sakura asked with pleading eyes.

"It's not that easy, girl," it was Tsunade who replied. "Summoning a creature, even a small one, takes huge amounts of chakra, and your reserves aren't exactly that big. I have no problem allowing you to sign my Slug Contract, but you won't get much mileage out of it."

Sakura visibly deflated, and slumped on her seat. "Oh," she sadly replied. "And is there a way to increase one's chakra reserves?"

"Increasing your stamina is a good way," Shizune replied. "Maybe I could ask Gai to give you some more intensive physical training if you wish."

"Training under Gai-sensei...?" Sakura asked, as an horrible image appeared in her mind. "He won't make me wear a jumpsuit, will he?"

…

"You must be Sasuke Uchiha, aren't you?" the hawk asked in a feminine voice. "The new summoner. The chicks told us about you."

"Indeed I am," Sasuke confirmed.

"My name is Kazehane, pleased to meet you. What can I do for you, Sasuke-san?" the hawk replied.

"I'm fighting in the Chunin Exam Finals. See that blond kid on top of a toad? I need to defeat them in order to pass," Sasuke explained.

Kazehane eyed at the Uchiha's opponents, and tilted her head in curiosity. "A toad summoner. He must be quite a skilled ninja if the toads allowed him to be their summoner."

"Can you help me defeat them nor not?" Sasuke asked, a bit impatient.

"You can count on it," Kazehane replied before diving at Naruto and Ryoko, legs forward.

"Suddenly I feel like eating fried chicken!" Ryoko replied as he hid behind his shield and readied his kanabo. Naruto was also ready to attack as well.

"Then I see hunger in your future!" Kazehane replied as she latched onto the toad's large shield, and pried it from its webbed hand. "Sasuke-san, now!"

Sasuke jumped from the Hawk's back and made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Naruto wasted no time and pulled another kunai with a water seal on it and tossed it at the incoming fireball. The ensuing explosion of water canceled Sasuke's attack, creating a cloud of steam. But Sasuke was already waiting for that reaction.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

"Shit!" Naruto and Ryoko said in unison.

Sasuke emerged from the steam cloud with his sword drawn and crackling with electricity. Naruto tried to made the hand seals of one of his wind jutsu, but it was too late. Sasuke stabbed his electric sword into Ryoko's gut, and the toad instantly disappeared, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.

"Crap!" Naruto cursed as he landed. He didn't have any time to do anything before Sasuke pressed the attack and delivered a painful flying kick to his temples, sending the blond flying back, before he was caught mid air by Kazehane's talons.

"You fought well, kid," the hawk praised as she flew upwards. "But I believe it's about time for you to yield."

"You'd wish! By the way, how much weight can you carry?" Naruto asked as an idea formed in his mind.

"I...what's the point of that question?" the giant bird asked in confusion.

"Oh, you'll see now. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, Kazehane found herself being weighted down by dozens of Naruto clones who appeared from nowhere and latched onto her, forcing her down. Some of the clones tried to immobilize the wings.

"Too...much...weight!" the hawk cried, but the weight was too much, and she violently crashed against the ground, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, alongside most of the clones.

Naruto and his surviving clones got up and dusted the dirt from their clothes, before their attention was drawn by Sasuke's slow clap.

"Bravo, Naruto. A really smart way of getting rid of my summon. You're all what I expected to see in a worthy rival," Sasuke's face then turned into a frown. "But the fight ends now."

"Come on, you don't have to surrender!" Naruto jokingly protested.

Sasuke did not acknowledge the blonds' taunt, and made several hand seals in quick succession.

"Fire Release: Burning Edge! Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Sasuke grabbed his sword with his right hand and a kunai with the left, the former being bathed in flames, and the latter crackling with electricity.

 _"He can use two elements at the same time? I took so long to master just one!"_ Naruto thought as he gulped.

"Despite never doing it before, weaving lightning is something so easy to me, it comes naturally," Sasuke boasted as he took a fighting stance. "All Uchiha have fire affinity, and I didn't seem to be an exception, so I never bothered with the litmus papers. However, I'm starting to believe that Sakura wasn't the only one who had a double affinity."

In less than a second, Sasuke was already in close quarter combat range, his flaming sword already being swept at Naruto. The blond managed to narrowly dodge it, but then came another sweep from the electric kunai, once again forcing Naruto to jump back. While doing so, he pulled out several shuriken and tossed them at Sasuke.

The Uchiha merely smirked and swung his sword once again, this time releasing a crescent shaped fire blast that quickly traveled through the air, stopping all of Naruto's shuriken. A panicky Naruto tossed a kunai with a paper bomb attached to it, and the resulting explosion nullified the attack.

"Not bad, but how about this!" Sasuke then crossed his flaming sword with his electric kunai, and from the crossing point fired a beam of flames coated in lightning bolts.

On his part, Naruto made several hand seals. "Wind Release: Wind Wall!"

Pouring as much chakra as he could, Naruto generated a tornado around himself that blocked the bi-elemental attack, but the energy clash was so great that it resulted in an explosion. When the smoke cleared, Naruto stood there, with some minor burns and bruises across his body.

"Despite the challenge you provide, your resistance to lose is becoming a bit irksome, Naruto," Sasuke stated as he walked calmly towards him.

"What can I say? Even if I can't win, I will make sure that the enemy has to work for it," Naruto cheekily replied.

"You haven't used the Rasengan yet," Sasuke noted.

"I didn't see any need to use it," Naruto just shrugged. "But if it's any consolation, that may change soon."

"I'll make sure that you use it. Now watch this," Sasuke raised his flaming sword, which also started to crackle with electricity. "See this? Two elements at the same time! This is my most powerful move! And I even make it on the spot. If your girlfriend can do that, then somebody like me could do it as well."

"Fire and lightning at the same time...isn't that a bit overkill?" Naruto asked, as he began to feel uneasy, while beads of sweat dropped from his head. "Areyou trying to emulate Plasma Release?"

Plasma Release was the combination of Fire and Lightning Release, and one of the most destructive Bloodline Limits ever seen. The clan who possessed it was so feared and powerful, it spurned the Senju and the Uchiha into forming a truce in order to annihilate them. After a gruesome campaign that lasted eight months, they put a swift end to the clan and erased that Bloodline forever. Unfortunately, this was before the time of Hashirama Senju, so nobody learned anything and both clans went back to killing each other.

"Yes it is. And maybe the Sharingan can't copy Bloodline Limits, but my talent is enough to create an equally deadly facsimile," Sasuke replied, his voice full of pride and satisfaction. "So what do you say, Naruto? Do you want to see which one of our jutsu is the strongest?"

Naruto just smiled, and held his hand upwards, generating a sphere of chakra. "I guess that I don't have much choice, do I?"

Without further ado, both Genin lunged at each other, ready to unleash their respective most powerful attacks.

"Double Elemental Release: Plasma Sword!"

"Rasengan!"

Both attacks clashed, the Rasengan growing three times in size, and Sasuke's sword releasing lightning bolts and fire waves everywhere. Both Genin poured as much chakra as they could in an effort to overwhelm the other, but neither of them bulged.

That is, until for a second, Sasuke's concentration wavered, and as a result the lightning from Sasuke's sword flickered out, much to the Uchiha's horror, leaving just the fire.

"WHAT? NO!" he cried in horror.

With only the power of one element, Sasuke's attack was unable to withstand the Rasengan which started to push with such force that it blew Sasuke's sword out of his hands. With no way to protect himself, the sphere of chakra pretty much exploded in his face, violently hurling him backwards, crashing on his back with a loud thud.

A moment passed. Naruto collapsed on his knees, and breathed heavily. On the other hand, Sasuke remained lying down, his only movement being erratic trembling. Yugao walked close to the Uchiha in order to check him. He was in pain and was barely able to move, but he was still okay. But clearly in no condition to continue fighting.

"Sasuke Uchiha can't continue fighting! The winner of the tenth match is Naruto Uzumaki!" Yugao announced, and the crowd erupted into a wave of loud cheers. "There will be a recession of twenty minutes in which Naruto will be healed before facing Gaara in the finals!"

…

"YES!" Tsunade roared as she held her winning tickets in air as they were a trophy. Kaida and Hagane cheered alongside her as well. "YES! That's my son, people! My son beat the Uchiha genius!"

Shisui sighed in defeat. "So this ends Sasuke's run in the exams. At the very least, he managed to score quite a few victories. Let's hope it's enough to earn him a promotion."

Sakura's mouth was wide open. "Wow...I knew that Naruto was strong, but that...even with all the training I did with Kurenai-sensei, I'm not even close to his or Sasuke-kun's level."

"Still willing to train under Gai?" Shizune asked her. While the black haired woman could teach Sakura about medicine and ninjutsu, if she wanted raw power it was either Gai or Kakashi.

Not without resignation, Sakura nodded.

…

There was a certain somebody who watched the match with an unusual amount of attention, especially the last part, when Naruto used the Rasengan to gain victory.

 _"Hey Number Eight, did you see what the brat did last? I believe that it was no normal blast,"_ Killer B asked.

 **"Yes, I had that impression the first time he used it, but now I'm completely sure,"** the Eight Tails replied. **"That kid's jutsu is based on the Tailed Beast Ball"**

 _"How did he do it while being in human form? That's almost like trying to tame a storm,"_ Killer B mused. _"The brat has talent, that's pretty sure, which is so surprising given that he's also so immature!"_

 **"B...you're not the most indicated to blame others of being immature..."** the Tailed Beast replied.

…

 _Meanwhile, in the Stadium's Infirmary_

As she recovered her consciousness, Karui began to groan, and stirred. Despite the medical attention, her body was still sore, and it hurt to move any limb, so she decided to remain still for the time being. Opening her eyes, she slowly scanned her surroundings as they adapted to the artificial light.

The last thing she remembered was that she was fighting Sasuke Uchiha, and then everything went black.

"W-Where am I?" She managed to ask.

"In the infirmary," a male voice besides her said.

Not without effort, Karui turned around to see Choji, sitting on his bed.

"Ah," she lamely replied. "So this means...that I lost?"

Choji nodded. "You should have seen yourself when they brought you here. Sasuke did a number on you. What you did to me was nothing in comparison."

Karui deflated. She was hoping for at least a double KO.

"I see," she replied, and let out a sigh.

"Don't feel bad. Sasuke Uchiha is one of the best Genin of Konoha. Hell, I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't have lasted half the time you did," Choji reassured her.

"You shouldn't sell yourself so short either. You made me work for my victory back then. I thought that I had my work cut..." Karui said.

"...because the way I look?" Choji asked, looking at her with sad eyes.

Karui took a few moments to reply. "Yes," she finally admitted. "By the way...um, listen, I'm...I'm sorry for calling you fat before."

Choji smiled. "Thank you," he replied, followed by another moment of silence. "You know...you're the first one."

Karui looked at him with incredulous eyes. "The first one who ever defeats you?"

"Haha, I'd wish," Choji chuckled. "No, I mean the first one who apologizes after calling me fat."

They both smiled at each other. The moment, however, was interrupted when a pair of medic nin carried no other than Sasuke Uchiha on a stretcher, looking as if he'd been trampled by a herd of enraged rhinos.

Karui looked at the mangled Uchiha wide eyed, her mouth forming a grimace of incredulity and shock. After some moment, she was capable of producing a coherent sentence.

"Wow, I don't know who the hell left the Uchiha like that, but I don't even want to cross paths with such person," Karui stated, as she winced.

"Yeah. I'm more and more glad each moment that I lost to you," Choji replied. Karui couldn't help but chuckle in response.

…

Naruto and Gaara, the last remaining Genin standing, walked into the arena. The crowd began to cheer as they appeared. The previous match had left everybody stunned by the sheer skill and power displayed by mere Genin, and thus were expecting something similar to happen now, since both combatants had made extensive use of their abilities. Yet there were still some who thought that they hadn't revealed everything yet.

"You know, Naruto," Gaara spoke up. "Even if it's under such...unfair circumstances, I'm glad I got to fight you one on one."

Naruto grinned at him. "Haha, yeah, me too! And don't worry, the medic-nin left me good as new!"

"Good. I wouldn't be satisfied with anything less."

Neither of them knew the extent of the other's abilities, but now they had a pretty good idea. Gaara was a very defensive fighter, often tanking the enemy's attacks, waiting for them to wear down and grow tired, before finishing them off. That doesn't mean that he lacked in the offensive department, as his sand made for a terrifying weapon.

But as Naruto, among others, had guessed, that was also a huge weakness: remove the sand, and Gaara was helpless. Then again, taking the sand out of the picture was something nobody has been able to accomplish yet.

On the other hand, Naruto was the complete opposite. His philosophy when it came to fighting was hitting the opponent before he had the chance to hit you first, and then hit them again before they had the chance to stand up. And unlike Gaara, Naruto had a very wide arsenal. Clones, weapons, ninjutsu, summons...you name it.

To summarize, you have somebody who did plenty of things ranging from good to great, fighting an opponent who was the absolute master of one thing. Everybody agreed it was an interesting combination.

Yugao took a look at both Genin, both eager to fight even if only one of them showed it. She raised a hand. "The Final Match of the Chunin Exams between Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha, and Gaara, from Suna...begin!"

Naruto wasted no time and opened the match with his signature move.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A dozen of Naruto clones appeared besides him. While this happened, sand started to pour from Gaara's gourd.

"Attack!" the blond commanded.

The small clone army pulled out several kunai and shuriken and dashed at Gaara, uttering loud battle cries and cheers. On his part, Gaara merely made a hand motion, and the sand formed several tentacles. With another hand motion, the tentacles fell upon the clones. Some of them managed to dodge them, while others were instantly poofed. The clones that managed to get close tossed their weapons. As expected, a wall of sand intercepted the barrage of pointy metallic death.

While they were attacking, the remaining clones were destroyed by the sand tentacles. Once the blond army was no more, they directed their attention towards the original, who made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

The horizontal cyclone managed to not only stop Gaara's attack, but dispel the sand as well in no time, even if the sand was technically still there.

"Just like I thought, besides water turning it into mud, your sand can't stand a powerful wind current," a proud Naruto stated, grinning widely.

"It would be mostly unwise to underestimate my abilities just because you found a couple weakness in them, Naruto," Gaara stated while waving his hand, making the sand form a cloud above the arena. "Sand Bullet Barrage!"

The sand cloud began to shoot sand projectiles at such speed that they left holes in the ground upon impacting. Naruto yelped, and was forced to run and jump aside in order to avoid the deadly sand projectiles. Along the way, he sometimes created one or two clones to use as human shields. However, his speed faltered for a moment, which was enough for a sand bullet to hit him right in the gut. Air was forced out of Naruto's lungs, and the blond fell on his butt.

"Now's the moment," Gaara said as he made another hand wave.

The sand of cloud stopped raining sand missiles, and formed an arm made of sand. Naruto quickly reached his ninja tool pouch, and pulled out a kunai with a water seal and tossed it at the incoming arm. However, a thin tendril of sand suddenly grew from one of the fingers, and quickly lashed the kunai away.

"Crap!"

The arm managed to grab Naruto before he had time to do anything else. The sand arm lunged him into the air before slamming him against the ground. It repeated the process multiple times.

"OW! AW! OWW! MY BACK! MY ARM!" Naruto cried as he was being repeatedly smashed. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto exploded into a multitude of clones, and used the Clone Replacement to escape the giant smashing arm of doom.

"Oh boy..." Naruto panted, as he winced in pain. "That's not something I want to do anytime soon."

…

"I don't like this. Gaara is dominating the whole fight," a worried Shizune commented.

"Sure, but I know that Naruto will turn the fight around. He always does," Tsunade replied, sure of her statement, but the amount of force which she was gripping her betting tickets betrayed some worry.

"Naruto-niisan's movements are slower," Hagane noticed.

"Really?" Kaida asked her brother, before turning back at the arena. "Naruto-niisan, you have to move faster!"

"It's not that easy," Shizune interjected. "While the medics have treated Naruto-kun of all his wounds, and still has plenty of chakra to spare, there's something no medical jutsu can't relieve in an instant: physical exhaustion."

"And Sasuke forced Naruto to give it all. After such a fight..." Shisui intervened. "Well, Naruto's muscles have to be a bit sore."

…

 _Stadium's Infirmary_

Speaking of Sasuke, just that moment he finally recovered consciousness. Like what happened to the other Genin there, his body still hurt, he felt disoriented, and it took a few moments to notice where he was. But unlike the other Genin there, there was a certain somebody sitting on his bed.

"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned. As his eyes used to the light, and his vision became less blurry, he could identify the figure. "Itachi?"

"You remember me. Good, that means that Naruto didn't hit you that hard," Itachi replied.

"Did I...did I lose?" Sasuke asked, his words laced with regret and a bit of fear.

"Given where you are, I think that the answer to that question is obvious," Itachi bluntly replied. "How are you feeling?"

"My body hurts a bit," Sasuke replied. He also wanted to say that physical pain was nothing compared to his hurt pride, but the youngest Uchiha decided to shut up. He merely grunted and averted his gaze.

Of course, his brother wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. "Now Sasuke, what I want to ask you is why do you think you lost."

Sasuke grunted once again. "Why do you ask? I'm sure you were watching."

"Indeed," Itachi nodded. "I even had my Sharingan activated so I wouldn't miss any single detail. However, the reason behind my question is to see if you know where you failed."

Sasuke shifted on his seat, and crossed his arms. "Naruto's attack overpowered mine. It's just as simple as that."

"We both know that's a lie. You were doing fine at first," Itachi replied, hoping for Sasuke to continue.

"Until I found myself unable to sustain my jutsu, and everything went to hell," Sasuke replied, his voice dripping with irritation.

"Correct. And do you know why such thing happened?" Itachi pressed.

"Handling two elements at the same time was harder than I expected. I thought that I could have do it, but I guess I overestimated myself," Sasuke admitted, his voice still oozing anger.

"Yes, yes you did," Itachi agreed. "Now tell me Sasuke, do you think such thing would have happened if you used a jutsu we practiced this month, as opposed to something you came up on the spot?"

"Hinata made up a new jutsu on the spot and it gave her the victory of a match she was on the verge of losing," Sasuke countered.

"Yes, and look what happened when she tried to use that bastard version of the Heavenly Spin to stop a Rasengan. Just like you did," Itachi chided.

"There was no jutsu in my repertoire with enough power to counter a Rasengan. Turns out I'm so good with Lightning Release it might be a secondary affinity, and if I combined both fire and lightning..."

"You didn't need to counter the Rasengan per se," Itachi countered. "You could merely dodged it, then wait for Naruto to make a mistake, and go for the win. But I guess that seeing Naruto using a jutsu so powerful prompted you to show everybody that you were able to come up with something even better, right?"

"Naruto had always been beneath me. He had no right to steal my spot as the best ninja of our generation," Sasuke grumbled.

They were briefly distracted by Choji's laughing at something Karui said, with the redhead laughing as well.

"You had a good idea," Itachi told his younger brother. "The problem, though, was the lack of practice. Channeling two elements at once is something not even Shisui nor myself even attempted to do, and seeing you doing such a thing was nothing sort of impressive. Once the exams are over, we will work on that new jutsu of yours. Hopefully with the display you put out there, you'll have your promotion assured."

"By the way, what are you doing here?" Sasuke asked, after he realized that something wasn't quite right. "Shouldn't you be protecting the Hokage?"

Itachi stood up, and smiled at Sasuke. "What makes you think I'm not?"

And "Itachi" disappeared in a poof of smoke.

…

"Boy, when I saw you fighting I thought that I could take you on easily," Naruto said, as he painfully got up and healed his wounds with the Mystical Palm Jutsu. "But now I know why Tenten and Fu struggled so much against you."

"I've been looking forward this fight, and thus I'm going to use every ounce of my skill," Gaara calmly replied. "Besides, after what you did to Temari, I have to avenge her."

"WHAT!?" a shocked Naruto screamed. "But you said you have no hard feelings! What happened to 'she knew what she was getting into' and all that!?"

"Don't get me wrong. _I_ don't have any hard feelings. _Temari_ on the other hand, can be quite vindictive," Gaara explained. "And if she learns that I didn't take the chance to avenge her...I will never hear the end of it.

…

"See?" Ino asked to an annoyed Shikamaru. "He gets it!"

"Ugh, troublesome women," he whined. "I bet you will never see a man so obsessed with revenge."

In the infirmary, Sasuke sneezed.

…

"Alright," Naruto said as he bit his thumb, and started making hand seals. "Prepare to meet the biggest, baddest toad that has ever been summoned! Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto slammed his palm on the ground, releasing a cloud of smoke. Everybody watched intently as the smoke dispelled, wondering what kind of toad he would bring to battle. Ryoko proved to be a strong toad, and this time Naruto would call one even stronger.

"Hey, what's up, man?"

Or at least that was the idea. When the smoke dispelled, it revealed a very small red toad with a small jacket. This was Gamakichi, one of the first toads Naruto had summoned, but due to his small size, he wasn't planning to summon him to battle yet.

The crowd erupted in a loud laughter, adding to Naruto's embarrassment.

"AAAAAAAHHHHH! What are you doing here!?" a distressed Naruto yelled, grabbing his head with both hands in horror.

"Uh...you summoned me?" the amphibian replied, scratching his head.

"I didn't mean to summon you! I'm in the middle of a big fight!" Naruto replied, just as distressed.

"Hey, no biggie, I can be of help," Gamakichi confidently replied as he jumped on Naruto's head. He then eyed Gaara, who was gathering all his sand. "So, that's our enemy, right? Yeah, he looks like a big deal."

 _"Dammit, I thought I already had the hang of this,"_ Naruto inwardly complained. Unbeknown to him, the physical exhaustion from Sasuke's match was starting to take its toll, and that has affecting his ability to gather and mold chakra. "Well, guess that Gamakichi will have to do."

Unlike other possible adversaries, Gaara didn't made any snide or dismissive comment of Naruto's failed summon, and merely prepared to attack again. He made a single hand seal.

"Wind Release: Sand Dragon Bullet!"

The sand gathered and formed a serpentine dragon. The sand dragon let out a roar, and charged at Naruto.

"I've got this!" Gamakichi cheerfully said before jumping in mid air. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

Gamakichi's dewlap swollen, and exhaled a surprisingly large fireball. The fire bullet hit the dragon, which crystallized it almost instantly. Naruto then pulled out a kunai and tossed it at the dragon, shattering it completely.

"See? I'm useful!" Gamakichi cheered.

"Wind Release: Multiple Sand Dragon Bullets!"

This time, Gaara formed five several sand dragons, slightly smaller than the first one, which charged at Naruto and his toad friend from five different sides. Gamakichi yelped, and jumped back towards Naruto before the sand dragons could get him.

"Gamakichi, I'm going to try something, When I say 'now', I want you to use that fire jutsu of yours, okay?" Naruto asked. The toad merely nodded. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto created once again an army of clones, and they charged towards the dragons. The sand dragons, however, plowed through the clones like they were made of paper. However, they weren't the blond's target, as the original, with Gamakichi on his head, was heading towards Gaara. The redhead noticed Naruto's advance, so he commanded the sand dragons to focus on him. However, Naruto would simply create more clones to act as human shields. When he reached a close enough distance, he put his plan into potion.

The Konoha jinchuriki pulled out a single shuriken from his tool pouch and tossed it at Gaara. The moment it left his hand, he made many hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

An then, the lone shuriken turned into fifty. A wall of sand quickly rose, ready to block the deathly rain of steel.

"GAMAKICHI, NOW!" Naruto yelled.

"Alright!" Gamakichi jumped from Naruto's head, while taking air. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

The fire projectile managed to pass the shuriken, and exploded against the wall of sand, turning it into glass. The shuriken then hit the glass, shattering it, and leaving Gaara completely vulnerable. Naruto knew this was his chance, and formed a Rasengan in his hand. Gaara opened his eyes in shock, and started to move back, but it was too late.

"Naruto, wait!" Gamakichi called.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling chakra sphere hit the Suna jinchuriki right in the guts, and it began to expand before exploding...

...and Gaara suddenly burst into a cloud of sand.

"Naruto, that one's a clone!" Gamakichi called. "The real one is over-ACK!"

The small toad didn't notice sand slipping close to him before it was too late, and was forcefully unsummoned.

"So, a clone replacement," Naruto said in realization. "You pulled it very quick."

"Indeed. Had I been a second slower, I would have lost," Gaara admitted. "That jutsu of yours is truly something. Maybe it can even manage to bypass my defense.."

Naruto just chuckled. "The previous matches already showed that your defense is all but unbreakable. You know, Sasuke thought that his jutsu could be able to match mine, and look at what happened. Do you want to try?"

"This should answer your question," Gaara replied as he made a hand seal.

Suddenly, a wall of sand formed between Gaara and Naruto. The latter grinned, and merely extended his hand, forming the sphere of destruction once again. Naruto charged at the wall, who grew multiple spikes the moment the blond was closer, not that they did much to deter the charging Konoha ninja.

"Rasengan!"

The effect was instant, and the ensuing chakra explosion completely tore the wall apart. Naruto could see that Gaara had made multiple walls behind the first one, but the explosion had still enough energy to blow them up as well.

"How about that?" Naruto cockily asked.

"Impressive, mostly impressive," Gaara praised. "Now I certainly know that I have to make sure you don't get near me at all costs."

"Well, you will try," Naruto said as he adopted a fighting stance.

Gaara made a hand seal. "Wind Release: Maws of Shukaku!"

Gaara's sand gathered and formed the head of monstrous tanuki –which Naruto guessed was the One Tail–, which opened its huge and terrifying maws while it moved towards Naruto, as if he tried to engulf the blond. Naruto once again tossed a kunai with a water seal on it, but another sand whip appeared out of the sand construct and flicked it away.

As fast as he could, Naruto started making hand seals, but the sand construct closed its jaws upon him. However, a second later the sand monster was blown away by a tornado coming from the inside.

The sand took no time to gather and form into several tentacles which launched themselves at Naruto. The blond, however, had a plan.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A handful of clones appeared around the original. Several charged at Gaara, while others moved in the opposite direction. The sand tentacles took no time to stop the clones from getting to close, but while this was happening, the other clones went to pick the kunai with the water seals, while the original made some hand seals.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

The Naruto clones tossed the kunai at the wind jutsu while activating the water seals, creating a huge horizontal water vortex aimed at Gaara. The sand raised several walls, but all what they did was to absorb the water, and becoming mud. It was the time to strike.

Naruto formed a Rasengan on his hand and dashed at Gaara, easily plowing through the softened walls of sand, getting closer to a panicky Gaara. However, the Suna ninja had still one last card to play.

"Ultimately Hard Absolute Defense: Shield of Shukaku!"

Once again, Gaara summoned a toy sand replica of Shukaku between Naruto and himself. The sand construct gave him the victory against his previous two opponents, and this time he made it even bigger, spending almost all his remaining chakra yet. Still, Naruto was undeterred.

"Rasengan!"

The spiraling chakra sphere clashed against the sand construct, expanding and releasing all the contained chakra at once. The ground started to shake as the sand construct tried to absorb the energy of the Rasengan. Cracks started to appear and spread around it, and chunks of sand started to blow apart. Naruto grinned, while Gaara's panic increased, as he poured even more chakra into his jutsu...

...which resulted in the damage made to the sand creature partially repaired, and the whole construct hardened even more. With no way to break it, the energy released by the Rasengan was pushed outwards, and Naruto's own jutsu exploded on his face, hurling him backwards.

 _"Now's my chance!"_ Gaara thought as he dispelled the Shukaku's Shield and gathered all his remaining sand. "Desert Funeral!"

Before Naruto had time to get up, Gaara buried his opponent under all his remaining sand –which was still quite a lot–, trapping Naruto. He was expecting the blond to burst through his attack like he did multiple times before, but nothing happened. One minute passed, nothing happened. Two minutes. Three minutes. After that, Gaara tentatively removed the sand, to reveal an immobile and unconscious Naruto.

Yugao went to check the blond. Thankfully, he was still alive and breathing, but in no condition to fight anymore. Sighing, she proceeded to do her job.

"Naruto can't continue fighting! Winner of the match, and champion of the Chunin Exams...Gaara of Suna!" Yugao declared.

The public burst into a mix of cheers and boos. Cheers because it was a spectacular match which got the people's interest, and didn't care much that a foreign ninja won. Others, however, weren't so kind to forgive the way Gaara got into the finals. Still, the redhead didn't seem to care much.

…

"I already told you, Jiraiya," Rasa told him with a smug smile. "There's no Genin who can beat Gaara."

"Wonder if Gaara would have won if Naruto didn't have to fight Sasuke beforehand," Jiraiya countered. "Because even with that handicap, it was a very narrow victory."

"Yeah, whatever, I'm glad this thing is over," the Raikage grumbled as he got up from his seat. Rasa followed suit.

Jiraiya just shook his head, and Body Flickered into the arena, before addressing the crowd.

"Well, with that concludes the Chunin Exams!" Jiraiya began. "Congratulations not just to the champion, but to all of you who managed to make it all the way to the finals. We all hope that you impressed the examiners enough to warrant a promotion, as well as making your fellow villagers proud! Come tomorrow to the Hokage's tower if you're interested in seeing which ones of our magnificent Genin managed to score a promotion!"

…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tsunade screamed as she fell on her knees. "My new house! My staff! My onsen! My massage therapist! Everything is lost!"

"There, there," Kaida patted her distressed mother on the back. "Come on, don't cry. Naruto-niisan did great."

"You know, it's not that I want say 'I told you so'..." Shizune began, not giving the Slug Sannin any sympathy. "…But I did tell you so."

…

 _Stadium's Infirmary_

Shibuki was sitting besides Fu's bed. The green haired girl was still asleep, and the Taki leader didn't want to disturb her. The Konoha medics made an excellent job patching up all her wounds, almost appearing as if the Taku kunoichi never got her shoulder pierced by a spear made of super compressed sand.

He couldn't help but feel guilty about giving Fu a vial with some Hero Water. He should have realized that, being a Jinchuriki, it would have increased the power of the Tailed Beast inside her. In hindsight, it was a good thing that Gaara ended up winning, or else the match would have ended up in a tragedy.

And, unfortunately, Rasa's words turned out to be prophetic. After such display, there's no way everybody watching wouldn't guess that Fu was a Jinchuriki. Soon the word would spread, and she would be in an ever greater danger.

"See? This is what I didn't want you to come here..." Shibuki moaned aloud.

"You can't protect her forever," a voice behind him said, startling the young leader. "She needs to learn how to defend herself, and such thing won't happen if you keep her caged."

Shibuki turned around to see the white haired Sannin, Jiraiya. He knew what was coming next.

"Your medics did a wonderful job healing her," Shibuku praised.

"After Tsunade-hime took charge of our healthcare, our medics have became true miracle workers," the Hokage replied. "Come with me. Don't worry about her, she will be fine."

Not without resignation, Shibuki obliged. Before shooting her one last glance, he joined Jiraiya, and both village leaders started to walk through an empty hallway.

"I guess that you want to talk about how I had two Jonin pose as Fu's Genin teammates, am I right?" Shibuki fearfully asked.

"You went right to the point. I think I'm starting to like you," Jiraiya smiled at him. "But don't think for a second that repercussions won't be any less severe."

"I'm...I'm listening," Shibuki told him.

"Okay then. First of all, Fu shall be promoted to Chunin," Jiraiya began.

Shibuki nodded. Fu had made quite a display of power in both her matches. If she went to another exam, with even more training an experience, she would completely steal the spotlight, and thus potential clients from other villages.

"Second, whenever Konoha needs Taki's assistance for whatever reason, you will send it. No exceptions, and no excuses." Jiraiya firmly stated.

"What I we don't have enough ninja available?" Shibuki asked.

"You will leave fifteen percent of your total forces inside your village as a reserve force just in case," Jiraiya quickly countered. "And lastly, ten percent of Taki's next year's income will go to Konoha. Do you accept my terms, Shibuki-san?"

When the elders knew of what happened, they would claim for his head. He had to think something to let him keep the leader seat. Then again, he had no other options.

"Yes, Hokage-dono. I accept," Shibuki replied, and sighed in defeat.

"Good!" Jiraiya heartily smiled. "I will prepare a treaty to make it official. Let this be a lesson on what happens when you try to fool me, Shibuki-san."

…

Sometime later, Naruto opened his eyes. Like many Genin before him, he found himself laying on a bed on a place he recognized as an infirmary of some sorts. The stadium's infirmary, he deduced. His body was all sore, and trying to move his arms or legs caused him no small amount of pain.

"Hey, you're awake, Naruto-kun," a female voice besides him said.

Turning around, and blinking a few times, his eyes recognized Shizune's form. The Jonin was sitting besides his bed, smiling sweetly at him.

"Shizune-neechan...? What happened...?" Naruto groggily asked. He had very vague recollections of the later stages of his last match, but if he was in the infirmary then it only could mean one thing. "..Did I lose?"

Shizune gave him a consoling smile, and nodded. "But in your defense, you made Gaara work for his victory."

"I see," Naruto replied, deflated. He then noticed that the room was strangely silent. Looking around, he noticed that the other beds were empty. "Where is everybody else?"

"They have been sent to their homes," Shizune explained. "You've been here for a few hours now. I've been waiting for you to wake up so we can go home. Hopefully, you will be almost completely recovered by tomorrow."

"I see. Where are mom and dad?" Naruto asked.

"Jiraiya-sama is in a meeting with the council of advisors. They already have the examiners' report, and are discussing which Genin deserve to be promoted," Shizune explained. Before Naruto could say anything, she added: "If I were you, I wouldn't be worried. Given your performance, you have the promotion in the bag."

"Hehe, good to know," Naruto replied, his usual mood slowly coming back. "And mom?"

"She took the twins home, but she later came back," Shizune told him. "Tsunade-sama bet a large sum of money on you during the last match, and losing it all...well, she didn't take it very well."

Naruto shivered in terror. "Oh boy, I think I better pack my things and leave the village, right?"

Shizune laughed at Naruto's reaction. "Nah, it won't be that bad. I believe she should have blown off the steam by now. Honestly, it's a miracle that her yells didn't wake you up. Anyway, I better tell her that you're awake so we can go back home."

The Jonin got up and walked towards the door.

With no small amount of effort, Naruto sit up. He looked around the empty room once again, and sighed. "You know...I was planning on asking Hinata out once the exams were over. Pity she isn't here anymore."

When she was opening the door, Shizune turned around. "Funny thing you should mention that. You have no idea how much it took to make her leave. She wanted to stay at your side until you woke up. She'd been watching over you until her clan retrieved her about an hour or so ago."

"Really..?" Naruto asked in disbelief. He smiled softly, and looked down. "That was...very nice of her."

"Indeed it was. Now, take all the time you need before we go back, okay? Nobody wants you to force your body," Shizune said before leaving. "I'll get a wheelchair."

Naruto nodded, as he started to slowly get out of the bed. He couldn't help but think about what Shizune told him regarding Hinata.

"Maybe those guys who told me that Hinata likes me might be right after all..."

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, the Chunin Exams come to and end! What do you think? You know, at first I was planning on having Naruto winning the whole thing, but beating Gaara after having to fight Sasuke would make Naruto look way too overpowered. Plus it was a good chance to give him a loss. Far too many authors turn Naruto into an overpowered, invicible Gary Stu, and I don't want to be one of them.**

 **Besides, Naruto can't win if Tsunade bets for him XD Shout out to Storyman09, who guessed how Tsunade's luck would affect Naruto.**

 **Speaking of Gaara...boy, I grew to hate writing his fights. Everything about Gaara is a wave of sand, arms of sand, whips of sand, a sandstorm, sand constructs, sand, sand, sand...(cue Anakyn Skywalker screaming in anger). So after three fights in a row with nothing but sand, I'm glad I won't have to write Gaara fighting again until Part II.**

 **And before you ask, yes, Plasma Release is my invention. There wasn't a name for a Fire/Lighting combination. Same with Wind/Lightning. I plan on using "Maelstrom Release", but if you have a better idea, feel free to share it with me.**

 **Anyway, the Chunin Exams may be over, but this arc has one chapter left, and you guys don't want to miss it. Not only because we will see which Genin managed to score a promotion (only Konoha Genin, mind you. Non-Konoha nin like the Sand Siblings, Fu or Karui won't appear again until Part II, and by that time all of them will be Chunin or higher), but also because several romantic subplots will finally reach their conclusion. Yes, including THAT one ;). Your patience will be rewarded, rest assured of that.**

 **In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	31. The Chunin Exams End

**Author's Note: You know, finally publishing this chapter, who has been on my mind since the moment I started writing this story waaaaaay back in October 2016, make me really happy. And that's not the only reason for my good mood.**

 **First, last episode broke the 900 reviews mark. 99 more reviews, and this story will reach 1k reviews! Let's hope it doesn't take too many chapters for such thing to happen!**

 **Also, I was stunned by the amazing reception the last chapter got, despite many complains about Naruto losing the final fight. Very few chapters managed to surpass 30 reviews, and the last chapter got 36! Thank you guys again!**

 **And lastly, this story now has its own page at TVTropes! So if any of you have an account there, I'd really appreciate if you added tropes to the page from time to time.**

 **Well, enough of celebrations, let's go to the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 31:**

The Chunin Exams End

 _or_

 _Promotions in Love and War_

Just like Shizune had told him, after a good night of sleep, Naruto was completely recovered. While the rest of the Genin who took part in the finals were good enough to get out of bed and walk, their bodies would take another day or two to completely heal before they would be able to take missions, or even train. Even then, the couple days of vacation for the Genin were appreciated by all of them.

Naruto, alongside Shizune, Kaida and Hagane, were headed towards the Hokage Tower, where at eleven o'clock, Jiraiya would announce the results of the Chunin Exams. While Naruto was evidently nervous, the Hokage had assured him that he had nothing to worry about.

Unsurprisingly, a large crowd had gathered around the tower, where they had placed another podium, similar to the one they put at the beginning of the Chunin Exams, from where Shisui addressed more than a hundred Genin as the exam began. It would be fitting that it would officially end in a similar way.

Naruto could see that all of his former classmates were already there, even those who didn't make it to the finals, as well as their families, alongside other ninja and civilians of the village. Guess that very few people wanted to miss the announcement of the newest Chunin. Even people from other villages were there to witness the event.

Upon seeing Hinata, he waved at her. The Hyuga heiress noticed him, smiled and waved back. Hinata was accompanied by her mother, her little sister, Neji, and other clansmen Naruto didn't recognize. He also saw Haku, with Hayate and Yugao. Other people Naruto saw were Sasuke, Sakura, Karin, the Sand Siblings and Fu.

The crowd began to murmur as Jiraiya, followed by Tsunade, Hiruzen, Koharu, Homura and multiple ANBU, exited the Tower and headed towards the podium. Two of the ANBU carried a stack of diplomas and Chunin flak jackets, still inside their transparent plastic wrapping. Jiraiya took a step forward and cleared his throat, earning the crowd's attention.

"Hello everybody, and welcome to the Chunin Promotion Ceremony," Jiraiya began. "Yesterday, another edition of the Chunin Exams, one I might say was one of the most memorable and spectacular of the last few years, came to an end. I got the examiners' report as soon as the Finals ended, and my advisors and I spent yesterday afternoon discussing which ones of the finalists deserve a promotion.

"We agreed to promote four Genin. Two boys, and two girls. So without further ado, here are the new Chunin. As common courtesy dictates, ladies go first. The first promotion to Chunin goes to...Tenten!"

The crowd broke into an applause. The odango-haired girl couldn't repress a loud squeal as she dashed towards the podium, where one of the ANBU handed her a diploma, and another handed her a flak jacket. Tsunade walked towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I told you I knew talent the moment I see it," Tsunade told her with a sincere smile. "Good job, kid."

"T-Thank you, Tsunade-sama!" Tenten replied, unable to repress her tears.

She returned to the crowd as fast as she ran to the podium, where an excited Gai and Lee were waiting for her.

"Gai-sensei, I did it!" Tenten squealed, lifting the diploma and flak jacket as if they were trophies.

"Of course you did! There's nothing you can't do if you work hard enough for it!" Gai enthusiastically replied.

"Yeah, even if you lost your match, your flames of youth burned so bright they blinded everybody!" Lee added.

Tenten was so caught in the moment that she tackled and hugged Gai, with Lee joining them as well in a three-way hug.

"Gai-sensei!"

"Tenten!"

"Lee!"

"Tenten!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Tenten!"

"Lee!"

"Tenten!"

The sun began to set even if it was eleven in the morning, and the Hokage Monument was suddenly replaced by a beach with waves crashing against the shore.

And for a split second, Neji swore he saw Tenten wearing a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers, and her hair sporting a bowl haircut as opposed to her usual twin buns. And during that moment, the idea of becoming a missing nin became increasingly alluring for the Hyuga prodigy.

After the "Genjutsu of Youth" finished and Tenten was released, Haku saw it as a fitting opportunity to congratulate her as well.

"Congratulations for your promotion, Tenten-chan," the Ice Ninja's greet was much less enthusiasm than that of her teammate and sensei, but not any less sincere. "You really deserve-"

Haku only had a vague recollection of what happened next. Apparently, the promotion had worked Tenten up so much –not helped by Gai and Lee's antics– that the moment Haku was close to her, she grabbed his head and pulled him into a really long and intense kiss.

A wave of "ohhhhhhhhs!" and "awwwwwwws!" ensued.

And while Jiraiya kept a cool façade on the outside, he was giddy on the inside. _"Yes! My long term plan is working! In a few years, wedding bells, and then Ice Release babies!"_

When the kiss broke, was Haku was completely flustered, his face sporting a deep shade of red. His brain took a few moments to process the long and intense kiss.

"So..." Haku began. "Does this mean your answer is 'yes'?"

The question seemed to snap the overly excited Tenten back to normal. Her eyes started to open widely as she started to process her recent actions. Her face flushed as well.

"Good Kami...I kissed you like that...in front of everybody!" Tenten babbled.

"So does it mean...?" Haku began to ask.

"No, no! I do want us to become a couple!" Tenten assured. "It's that, well...doing things this bold is so unlike me..."

"Hey, it's okay, you were caught in the moment. It happens to everybody," Haku reassuringly said.

Tenten just smiled at Haku, blushing a bit.

Jiraiya cleared his throat once again. "Yeah, yeah, young love is always very nice and heartwarming, but let's go back to the business at hand, okay? The second and last kunoichi who will get a promotion is...Hinata Hyuga!"

Once again, the crowd applauded, with Naruto's cheers being heard above them. Even if her reaction was more subdued than Tenten's, Hinata looked no less happy. On the other hand, Karin and Tamaki were visibly deflated. They had hopes that they could still get a promotion despite losing their respective matches, just like Tenten, but those hopes were dashed away. Logically, they weren't going to award either of them over somebody who did win a match.

"Congratulations, Hinata. That new jutsu of yours was really impressive. Very few people have the combination of creativity and talent to come up with something new, much less in the middle of a fight," Jiraiya told her as the ANBU handed her the diploma and the flak jacket.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I feel really honored," the Hyuga heiress politely said as she bowed her head before him. She then got down of the podium, and returned back to her family.

"Good work, Hinata. Today, you made your clan proud," Hikari told her, as she bent down and hugged her, something quite shocking for the Hyuga clan head to do in public.

"Thank you, mother. I'll make sure I will keep honoring both you and the clan," Hinata replied.

"Hey, Hinata-neechan! Will you teach me the Heavenly Thunderstorm?" Hanabi asked, impatiently tugging her older sister's sleeve.

"Well, first you need to train in elemental ninjutsu," Hinata replied. "And master the Heavenly Spin too."

Hanabi didn't look deterred in the slightest. "Okay then, that will be my number one priority!"

"Alright, now let's go with the boys," Jiraiya continued. "This one won't surprise anybody, given his amazing performance during the finals. The first male Genin promoted is...Sasuke Uchiha!"

Surprisingly, the crowd applauded once again. It wasn't as intense as with Tenten and Hinata, but the lack of boos was something the three Uchiha appreciated. Sasuke's face barely changed as he walked up to the podium and got the diploma and the flak jacket. And after a laconic "thank you" to the Hokage, he returned to his elder brother and cousin.

"Good job, Sasuke! We knew you could do it!" Shisui congratulated him as the one-eyed Uchiha heartily patted Sasuke on the back.

"And Konoha seems to be slowly warming up to us. See? I told you things would get better," Itachi added.

Sasuke allowed himself to sincerely smile.

"And last, but not least..."· Jiraiya said in a dramatic way as he himself took the last diploma and flak jacket. "A Genin so powerful and skilled who managed to make it to the finals, and showed Konoha what are we made of. The last promotion to Chunin goes to...Naruto Uzumaki!"

Once again, the crowd erupted into an applause and a wave of cheers as the blond triumphantly walked towards the podium, and was about to get the diploma...

"Or at least, that's why I would have wanted to say," Jiraiya regretfully said as he took the diploma and flak jacket away from Naruto's reach, much to the blonde's confusion.

"What?" Naruto asked, puzzled. The crowd began to murmur.

"You see, Naruto, there's something my advisors told me. Since you're my son...well, some people will think that you getting a promotion might be the result of nepotism, so I'm afraid I can't do that. Guess that you'll have to wait until I step down from being Hokage."

The crowd started to murmur even louder. As for Naruto, he felt his world shattering in a million pieces. His face grimaced in horror, as rage started to fill him. "WHAT!? That can't be-!"

But the blonde's tantrum was interrupted by several flashing lights, accompanied by several clicking noises. When his eyesight returned, he noticed that the ANBU were holding cameras.

"Please tell me you have it!" Jiraiya asked one of the ANBU, barely containing his laughs.

"We do, Hokage-sama. The mission was a success," the ANBU replied in a stoic and professional tone.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!" Jiraiya burst into a wild fit of laughter. "You know, when sensei and I came up with this idea yesterday, we didn't imagine it would be so good! Oh boy, if you could see your face...oh wait, you can see the face you made when the pictures are developed! HAHAHAHA!"

"Wait...so this was.. a prank!?" the jinchuriki asked in realization. Naruto's face contorted in rage. He was about to give Jiraiya a piece of his mind when another realization dawned upon him. "Wait a minute! If this was a prank, then this means..."

"That your promotion is real? Sure thing," Jiraiya replied as he handed Naruto the diploma and the flak jacket. "Come on, only an idiot would have deny you a promotion after the display you put on yesterday."

Naruto quickly grabbed the diploma and the flak jacket, and rushed towards Shizune and the twins. The three of them congratulated Naruto on the promotion.

"And that's all! We wish the best of luck to the newly minted Chunin, and hope that your ninja path only grows better! As for those who failed to score a promotion, don't give up! A true ninja is one who has the guts to keep going, no matter how hard it gets! Be sure to train for the next exams!" Jiraiya declared, as both he and his entourage left the podium.

As the crowd dispersed, an ANBU appeared in front of Tenten and Haku before either of the could leave.

"Excuse me," the ANBU, a man wearing a turtle mask, said. "But given the previous display, I assume that the two of you are in a relationship, right?"

"Yes," Haku answered, looking at Tenten, who nodded approvingly. "Is there a problem?"

"As a matter of fact, there is," the ANBU replied, much to both teens' surprise. "You're a Genin. And she's a Chunin, and thus, your commanding officer."

"Oh," Tenten replied. She immediately realized why the ANBU had stopped them. Since she outranked Haku, the relationship could be seen as problematic.

"All relationships between ninja of different ranks must be approved by the Hokage's Office. Go to the tower, second floor, third door to the right. The person there will inform you further," the ANBU helpfully said.

"Thank you, ANBU-san, we'll do it right now," Tenten replied before she and Haku entered the tower.

Jiraiya had overheard the conversation, and there was no way on Earth that they wouldn't approve a relationship of somebody who was the last bearer of a Bloodline Limit, different ranks or not. Somebody would get fired if he heard it wasn't approved.

"You know, at first I thought that that stunt you did there was kind of cruel..." Tsunade told him, snapping the Toad Sage out of his thoughts.

"You think so?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yeah, but I said 'at first'. Boy, that face he made was hilarious! I want an extra large version of that picture for the living room!" Tsunade asked.

And from the next day onwards, Naruto's incredibly confused and distraught visage would forever decorate the Senju residence.

…

 _A few hours later, Gates of Konoha_

All the ninja from foreign villages were about to leave, and the Konoha ninja they befriended were there to bid them goodbye and a safe return home. It was obvious that many of them would want to stay a bit more, but the life of their duties as ninja wouldn't allow it.

"It was nice to see you again, Gaara," Naruto told his fellow jinchuriki. "And even better to fight you. And the next time we see each other, we will have a rematch!"

"I will be looking forward it," Gaara replied in his usual monotone. "And hopefully, this time nobody will have a handicap over the other."

"You owe me a rematch too, Naruto," Temari piped in. "I didn't like the fact that you defeated me without even using your best moves. Next time, I'll make sure you get to use every trick you have."

"Who knows, maybe by the time we meet again, I have even more tricks you aren't aware of," Naruto replied with a cheeky grin.

"And you won't be the only one," Temari then noticed Shikamaru, who was half-hiding behind Choji. "And don't think I forgot about you! The next time we meet, we're going to finish that match we have pending!"

Shikamaru just sighed in defeat. "Troublesome woman..."

"While I wish we could stay longer, I'm actually eager to get back home," Kankuro mentioned. "Not only do I miss Suna, but father is going to celebrate Gaara's victory at the Finals with a village-wide party."

"Oh man, that sounds so cool! I wish I could go!" Naruto whined.

"We'll make sure you and your friends can come to the next one," Temari added.

"Oh, and be wary of the Akatsuki!" Naruto said, remembering that bit of important information. He raised his voice so Fu and Killer B could also hear him. "If you ever see a guy wearing a black cloak with red clouds, run as fast as you can."

"How about if we make the other guy to run instead?" Kankuro cockily suggested.

"Don't. Their members are very powerful, and pose a danger even for a Kage," Naruto gravely warned. "Dad told me as much."

"You don't have to worry, I will be careful," Gaara assured him.

Meanwhile, Fu was saying his goodbye to the Animal Squad, her closest friends from Konoha.

"I will miss you guys," Fu said as she wrapped the three of them around her arms. "Being here was so fun."

"Hey, it's okay. We'll make sure to visit you from time to time," Kiba reassured. "After all, our villages are allies, and they aren't that far from each other."

"Or maybe you can come to visit us," Tamaki suggested.

"I don't think so," Fu shook her head. "You guys now know that I'm a jinchuriki, and thus, my village's most valuable asset. I just can't leave and come here whenever I want."

"We will find a way then," Shino spoke up. "That isn't a problem with a hard solution to find. For example, we could also write each other to stay in contact."

"That's an awesome idea!" Fu chirped. "But I guess I'll need to learn how to write first..."

There was a moment of an extremely uncomfortable silence, as the Animal squad stared at Fu in disbelief.

"...you...you don't know how to write?" an astonished Kiba asked.

"Pfffffft, of course I do, silly! Hahaha!" Fu laughed as she patted Kiba's shoulder. "I can't believe everybody falls for this kind of stuff! Naruto at least wised up."

"Fu, come on, we need to leave!" Shibuki's voice shouted.

"Guess my time here is up," Fu sadly said as she turned back. But then she turned back at the Konoha Genin, and spotted Karin among the Konoha crowd. "But before I do, there is a couple things I need to do first..."

Fu walked towards Karin. The redhead, still wearing the glasses Fu had broken during their fight – that she futilely tried to fix–, noticed the Taki kunoichi walking towards her, and shot Fu a glare.

"Uh, Karin-chan?" Fu sheepishly asked.

"What do you want?" the redhead huffed.

"Before I leave...I wanted to give you this," Fu then handed Karin a small wrapped box.

A bit puzzled, Karin took the package and unwrapped it. Much to her shock and delight, there was a new pair of glasses.

"Since I broke your other glasses, I thought that I should buy you new ones," Fu said.

"Thank you, but..." Karin put on the new glasses, and her surprise grew wider when she could see perfectly. "Hey, you even got my testing right! How did you...? Wait a minute, you were the one who broke into my house last night, didn't you!?"

When Karin and her mother returned home, they noticed that everything was a mess, as if a robbery had taken place. However, much to their puzzlement, the potential thief didn't steal anything. Now it all made sense.

"Uh...it was for a good cause!" Fu sheepishly replied.

"Hmm...guess that I can let that slip," Karin decided. She then realized of something. "Wait a minute, how did you pay for them? I thought you say you didn't have any money left!"

"I didn't steal them if that's what worries you," Fu clarified. "Shibuki lent me some money. Boy, between this and the bill I racked at Icharaku's, I'll have to work my ass off if I ever want to repay all the debts I made here."

"Thank you for this, I know that glasses aren't exactly cheap," Karin told her. "But don't ever break into my house again like that, got it!?"

"I can do that," Fu replied as she began to walk towards the Animal Squad as well. "Glad you liked my present!"

"You know, that was a really nice thing to do," Tamaki praised.

"Like I said, it was the least I could do," Fu then looked at Shino, and grinned. "Now, for that second thing..."

Much to everybody's shock, Fu grabbed Shino by the back of his head, and planted a huge kiss on his lips. The kiss lasted almost five seconds. When they broke contact, Fu was giggling, and her face had a brief red tint. Shino, however, was frozen in place, and blushed so hard he could give Hinata a rush for her money.

Of course, this didn't went unnoticed by those present, and with Haku and Tenten before, a chorus of coos and "awwwwwws" ensued.

 _"Good, now people will talk about this out of nowhere kiss instead of_ my _out of nowhere kiss,"_ Tenten thought.

"Alright, now I can leave. See ya!" Fu said as she joined her fellow Taki ninja, and they started to walk out of Konoha.

The Kumo group was also ready to go. Unlike the other two foreign groups, nobody was there to greet them goodbye. At least not until a few seconds before they were about to leave.

"Wait! Karui!" Choji's voice called.

The red haired girl turned around, and raised an eyebrow upon seeing Choji walking towards her. "Hm?"

"Hey...I wanted to tell you that it was nice meeting you...and maybe the next time we see each other, we can also have a rematch?"

Karui smiled. "Sure. You're a great ninja. I'd love to trade blows with you as well in the future."

"Also..." Choji awkwardly said as he handed her a bento box. "I made you some food. You know, for the journey back."

"Really? You cooked the food?" Karui asked.

"...my mom did it," Choji sheepishly admitted. "But I helped her! And it was my idea!"

"Okay, no need to get so defensive, hehe!" Karui chuckled as she inspected the bento box. "Thanks a lot. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Hinata-chan!" T suddenly shouted as she waved at the startled Hyuga, who was talking with Haku at that time.

"She's not into you, T," Karui told her.

"I know," the girl with the braids visibly deflated. "All the hot ones are always taken."

"A vacation well spent, even if it's time to end. But to another exams we will go again, or else I won't stop until I turn my bro insane!" B rapped.

"The next exams are in Kumo, so forget about getting more 'vacations'," A snarled. "Come on everybody, we must make the most of the daytime!"

And thus, all the foreign ninjas left Konoha, ready to go back to their villages and resume their lives and duties there. But this doesn't mean that this is the last time their paths would cross.

…

Later that night, at one of Konoha's best restaurant, there was a large feast in honor of all the Konoha Genin who took part in the exams (they were starting to be known as the "Konoha 15") as well as those who did manage to score a promotion, all paid by the Hokage (something the Akimichi would make sure he'll grow to regret). Besides them, their closest family members and Jonin-sensei were present as well.

There were so many, that they had to use several tables. Some Genin sat alongside their teammates, others with their families. Karin decided to take a seat alongside the Hyuga to stay near Neji, and introduce him to her mother. After a long talk, Neji realized that he and Karin were pretty much a couple, though fortunately the prodigy was okay with that –but they warned him not to tell the redhead that he didn't originally had such intention when he treated her to eat some weeks ago.

Even if the mood was overall happy, some wished their foreign friends could have attended the party. Especially Shino, who had no chance to talk to Fu after that kiss. He had spend the next two hours in a near-comatose state, and when he returned to his senses, the Taki kunoichi was long gone.

Shizune, sharing a table with the three Uchiha, stood up and cleared her throat to draw everybody's attention. The buzz of the simultaneous conversations taking place slowly went down until it disappeared as everybody else grew silent.

"Now that everybody is here, I'd like to say something," the black haired medic began. "Sasuke, I want to congratulate you for becoming Chunin on your first try," everybody applauded, and Sasuke allowed himself to smile, even if it was just a little."Sakura, Karin, keep working hard and don't give up, and I'm sure that you'll catch up with him in no time."

"We will!" Sakura replied.

"In the meantime, since you're the one with the highest rank, you'll be the new leader of the Medical Squad for the time being, since I won't be your sensei in the near future."

A deafening silence fell upon the restaurant as Shizune's words sunk in. A couple people began to murmur.

"What? Why!?" a disheartened Karin asked.

"Don't you want to be our sensei anymore?" Sakura asked, just as distressed. "Did we do something to upset you?"

Shizune chuckled. She found the girls' reactions adorable, and couldn't wait to see their faces when she finished her explanation. "You see, it's not just that I won't be your sensei, but I'm not even going to be a ninja. I've been diagnosed with a medical condition that will keep me off-duty for the next year."

"What kind of condition?" Sasuke asked, mildly concerned. She looked perfectly healthy to him.

"A wonderful one," Shizune couldn't repress a huge smile before she dropped the news. "I'm going to have a baby!"

The restaurant erupted into cacophony of female squeals and shouts, as everybody tried to congratulate Tsunade's protégé at the same time.

"That's awesome!" Karin squealed.

"Who is the father? It is Shisui?" Sakura asked.

"Yep!" Shisui replied as he stood up alongside his girlfriend. "I mean, that baby is mine, right?"

Shizune frowned, and slapped his shoulder a few times. "How you dare to say such a thing, you dummy! Of course you're the father!"

"Also, we'd like to announce our wedding, which will be in three months time. And everybody here is invited to attend!" Shisui stated.

The announcement was met with another wave of cheers and applause. Shizune and Shisui felt a bit guilty for stealing the newly minted Chunin's thunder, but given that so many people were gathered, they saw it as the perfect opportunity to make the announcement. Still, none of the youngsters seemed to mind. If anything, the party became even happier after that.

After a few hours, well into the night, long after everybody had stopped eating –minus the Akimichi, who still had enough room for a third dessert–, and everybody still awake merely engaged in a talk with people near them. While the minors didn't drink, the adults did, and some of them were already in the process of mentally scarring their children forever with their drunken antics.

And before things could go out of control, a certain blond knew that this was the best opportunity he had for making his move.

"Hinata, can we go outside for a bit?" Naruto asked. "There's something I need to tell you."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat. She was observant enough to notice that whatever he wanted to say, he wanted to tell her and only her.

"I think I'll go talk with Tenten-chan," Haku said. He then shot a knowing smile at Naruto.

"S-Sure, Naruto-kun," Hinata's stutter briefly returned as she stood up and accompanied Naruto outside, to a zone quiet enough for the both of them.

The air was much cooler outside, something both their lungs appreciated. The racket from the inside was reduced to a mere murmur from the outside, something which their ears appreciated as well. They spent a few minutes there, enjoying the silence and calmness of the night and each other's company.

"So..." Hinata began, as she started to twiddle her fingers. "...what d-did you want to tell me?"

Naruto sighed, as he tried to put his ideas in order. He wasn't somebody who beat around the bush, but in this situation he was kind of at loss for words. He was tempted to follow Fu's advice and example, forget about words, and kiss her directly. But his rational part screamed not to do it, and for once, Naruto decided to be cautious.

"You know, Hinata, you've been my best friends for many years..." Naruto began, as he uneasily put a hand behind his neck. "But as of recently...things have been different...a-and I think I have to..."

"Uh, Naruto? I don't understand what are you trying to say," Hinata asked, a bit confused.

Naruto's face morphed into a mask of anger. "ARGH! To hell with subtlety! Hinata, I like you a lot! And I don't mean 'like' as a friend. Well, I did like you as a friend before, but not anymore, and it has been eating me on the inside, because I didn't know if you liked me back, or even if you did if we would work as a couple, or...or...well, you get it."

"You...you like me!?" a stupefied Hinata asked. "Since when?"

"I couldn't tell. Maybe...maybe shortly after we became Genin? Yeah, I think it was around that time," Naruto replied, trying to remember. "But yeah, now you know how I feel. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or upset or-"

"Naruto-kun," Hinata interrupted as she walked towards him.

"Huh?"

"Did you know that that's exactly how I felt towards you?" Hinata replied as she smiled at him.

"What? You do?" a dumbfounded Naruto asked.

"Yes," Hinata had already closed the distance between them. She was starting to blush. "You are also my best friend, Naruto, and without you...you inspired me, both directly and indirectly, into becoming both a much better person and ninja. I like your determination, your optimism, your desire of self improvement. You gave me somebody to talk to...and to listen to. I wouldn't know when it happened, but I started to feel the same towards you as well. Your good looks didn't hurt either."

This time, it was Naruto who blushed. "So...does that mean that we're boyfriend and girlfriend?" Naruto asked. Hinata giggled a bit, and nodded. "OH YES!" an excited Naruto picked Hinata up by her waist and began to spin. "Not only do I become a Chunin, but I get a girlfriend too! Today the best day ever! And yours too, I hope!"

"Indeed it is!" Hinata giggled.

Naruto placed Hinata back in the ground, and his expression turned a bit awkward again. "So...should we kiss? You know, to...seal the deal?"

Hinata's reply came in the form of her eyes closing, her lips puckering, and her head moving towards Naruto. The blond did likewise, until their lips met in a short, but definitely sweet, kiss. When the kiss broke, they stared at each others' eyes for a few seconds, before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"It was...even better than in my dreams," Hinata swooned.

"Indeed it was. You're an awesome kisser, Hinata-hime, Naruto told her.

Hinata blushed even harder. ""W-What did you call me?"

"Hime. My princess. It's what dad calls mom. And well...given that you're the heiress of a noble clan, that sorta makes you a princess, so I thought it was fitting..." Naruto explained, blushing a bit.

Hinata didn't say anything. She just smiled, and rest her head on Naruto's shoulder, as she softly wrapped her arms around him.

After a few moments, Naruto grinned, broke the embrace, and grabbed her hand. "Come on, we have to tell everybody!"

Hinata laughed as she let Naruto lead her back inside.

"Hey guys, listen, Hinata and I-!"

Naruto's words died on his throat when he saw what was going on in the restaurant. There were several tables turned over, some of them even on fire, there was food smeared everywhere, people running around, fighting, and throwing food at each other, and Tsunade was strangling Kakashi with a bra –presumably her own, given the cup size.

The Chunin couple spent a few seconds watching the scene, completely dumbfounded.

"Uh, Hinata?"

"Y-Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"…Do you want to go back outside?"

"Yes, please."

…

 _Next Day, Training Ground Nine_

Sakura never remembered the last time she woke up so early. Hell, she didn't even have any memory of being up so soon after the sun rose. And combined with the party last night and that she went to bed way later than usual, her body and mind weren't exactly in the best conditions. But hey, nothing that a cup of coffee couldn't fix. Temporarily.

But since she was told that Gai's team started training very early, and she wanted to make the best of the day, she set her alarm clock way two hours earlier than usual. And apparently, she didn't arrive as soon as she expected, as she caught the team's two green clad members doing some stretching after doing some exercises.

"Hello?" Sakura asked the duo. Lee was the first one to notice her.

"Oh, Sakura-san! Your presence made an already great day to be even better!" Lee enthusiastically greeted as he dashed towards her. "Did you come here to train with us?"

"Yes," Sakura couldn't believe that he answered just that.

"Ah, excellent! So good to see another girl who wants to fan her flames of youth!" Gai replied as he walked towards both of them.

This got Sakura's curiosity "Another one? Who?"

Gai smiled brightly. "You'll meet her soon enough. She should finish her warm up just now. Anyway, what can I do for you, Sakura? In which ways do you seek to improve?"

"I'd like to develop my natural strength, stamina and chakra reserves," the pinkette replied.

"Very well, that I can do!" Gai then pulled out a sealing scroll, and unsealed what appeared to be training weights. He handed them to Sakura. "Here, put on this light weights on your ankles and wrists when you train. This will make the training harder, but the results will be far more impressive."

"These are the light ones?" Sakura incredulously asked as she put on the rather heavy weights. But then again, she had to admit her natural strength was nothing to write home about.

"And here she comes, from completing her twenty laps around the training field!" Gai announced as he turned around.

Sakura turned around as well, and saw an extremely exhausted Hinata dragging herself as badly as she could towards them. She was sweating a waterfall, and her face was completely red (and for once, it wasn't because of Naruto). Once she was closer, Sakura could notice that she was also wearing training weights, the same one as the pinkette.

"We were waiting you, Hinata! How do you feel?" Gai happily asked.

The bluenette collapsed on her knees. "I...I want...I want to die..."

Gai ignored Hinata's answer. "Hinata, meet Sakura! Like you, she decided to join us in our daily training in order to become stronger! Though I believe you two already know each other. Anyway, for the time being, you should take it easy. Lee and I are going to run ten laps around the village before climbing the Hokage Monument with one hand tied behind our backs. Once you rest a little, both you and Sakura run, say, fifty laps around the training field!"

And thus, Gai and his pupil left.

"So...what are you doing here?" Sakura asked. Being a Chunin already, she didn't thought that Hinata would be in need of additional training.

"I came here...to...build speed..." Hinata replied between pants. "Neji-niisan told me...that Gai's training i-is the best for...developing strength, speed and...chakra reserves...how about you?"

"Same. My medical knowledge is pretty good, and I learned a lot about genjutsu under your sensei, but my taijutsu and chakra reserves could use some improvement as well," Sakura stated, already feeling tired of carrying the training weights. She rubbed her arms. "You know, this looks like a one way trip to a slow and painful death."

"It is," Hinata agreed.

"But given how much Tenten improved in a single month...well, I think it's worth the effort," Sakura uneasily admitted.

"Well, Neji-niisan and his teammates seem to be doing well, so maybe we will get used to it after some time," Hinata guessed, after recovering some of her breath.

"By the way, I'm surprised to see you here. Given that you managed to become Chunin on your first try. I thought that you'd be good."

Hinata shook her head. "Even if I did manage to become Chunin, I can't shake the feeling that luck played a big part on it. I was unable to master my family's techniques, and instead created sloppy replacements. That's why I am here, so I can be better."

"You call that jutsu you used to beat Tamaki a 'sloppy replacement'? Because it was nothing sort of impressive," Sakura praised.

"Like I said, that jutsu was product of chance, not deliberate training. I do plan on refining it once I master the Heavenly Spin, though," Hinata clarified. She finally stood up.

"By the way, where did you go last night? I saw you leave with Naruto, but then you didn't come back...which given what Kakashi-sensei did, it was probably a good thing," Sakura asked.

Hinata blushed a bit, smiled, and started to twiddle her fingers. "Well, you see, Naruto-kun had something very important to tell me..."

…

 _Land of Sound, Orochimaru's Main Base_

Orochimaru was sitting on a throne above a large pit, where five fighters had been fighting. Not to death, since the Snake Sannin needed all five of them. Four of them laid on the ground, beaten and bruised, while the remaining fifth looked no worse for the wear.

"Bravo, just bravo!" Orochimaru stood up and clapped. "You never fail to impress, Kimimaro-kun."

The winner, a white haired teen, turned at Orochimaru, and bowed before him. "I live only to serve you, Orochimaru-sama."

Orochimaru jumped into the pit, and walked towards his prized champion. Even if he was no longer planning on using his body as a host, Kimimaro still had his uses, as he had defeated Orochimaru's elite guard, the Sound Four.

"How do you feel?" Orochimaru asked.

"Reborn. I've never been better. I don't know what you did but..." Kimimaro flexed his fingers. "It's like I've never been sick before."

Orochimaru grinned. The sight of his smile would have sent chills to any sane person, but Kimimaro merely smiled back. Thanks to the knowledge of the Forbidden Scroll, Orochimaru was able to find a way to restore his strongest fighter to his fullest. Five people needed to die for such thing to happen, but who cared about that? The world is full of unremarkable peasants, but there's only one member of the Kaguya Clan.

And, in fact, he couldn't help but show his former comrades the new powers and abilities he had developed thanks to the scroll Mizuki had helpfully given him. If only that fool didn't waste so much time trying to uncover the scroll's secrets himself before giving up handing it to Orochimaru, maybe Konoha would have been destroyed by now.

But times matter not when you're immortal.

Besides, Orochimaru's twisted dream was about to come even closer to reality when one of his grunts entered the pit.

"Orochimaru-sama, Mizuki just returned from his mission," the Oto ninja said. "He claims he was successful."

Orochimaru's grin grew even wider. Oh, this day was getting better and better.

"Alright then, it wouldn't be nice to make him wait, don't you think so?" Orochimaru replied, licking his lips. The Oto ninja bowed his head before vanishing, while the Sannin headed out.

A few minutes later, Orochimaru arrived at the chamber a restless Mizuki was waiting. Upon noticing his new boss' presence, the traitor stood to attention. He was carrying a large manila envelope under his arm.

"So, Mizuki-san, I've been informed that your mission was a success," Orochimaru began, as he walked towards him. "Was it difficult?"

"Absolutely not. Those fools were so preoccupied with the Chunin Exams that they wouldn't have noticed me even if I didn't use a disguise," Mizuke handed Orochimaru the envelope. "Besides, the location was isolated from the village. It was exactly where you said it would be."

Orochimaru opened the envelope, and picked its content: a single, ugly mask with the face of a monster.

"Was that the mask you asked for?" Mizuki uneasily asked. There were others rather similar, and he didn't want to imagine his boss' reaction if he grabbed the wrong one.

"This is the mask, indeed," Orochimaru confirmed. Mizuki let out a sigh of relief. "You've done well. Now go rest. You will receive your next assignment soon."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama!" the former teacher said before vanishing.

Orochimaru looked at the God of Death Mask in his hands in delight. Now the last part of his plan would be complete.

Turns out that delaying the invasion wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Whew! I can't believe that after more than ten chapters, the Chunin Exams Arc is FINALLY over! But what an arc it was!**

 **Naruto and Hinata are finally a couple, yay! And they're also Chunin, double yay! And Haku and Tenten are also a couple, yay! And so are Shino and Fu, yay! And Shizune is pregnant, yay! And Orochimaru has the Shinigami Mask, yay!**

 **...no, wait. I don't think the last part is a reason to celebrate.**

 **Anyway, even if the chapter was shorter than usual, a lot of stuff happened. I hope you guys are happy with both the promotions and the romantic developments. And while I can see some people being a bit miffed of not one but other two couples getting together and sharing their first kiss before Naruto and Hinata did...well, think of it was saving the best for the last, pun intended.**

 **And as I said before, say goodbye to Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, Killer B, Karui and Fu, since they won't appear again until Part II. Boy, of all of them, I'm going to miss Fu the most. She's so fun to write. I even felt tempted to follow other stories' examples such as "New Chance" or "Uzumaki Tales: Return of the Whirlpool" and have Fu defect Taki and become a Konoha ninja, but I have big plans for her, and remaining a Taki ninja is a must for such plans to happen.**

 **And speaking of "Uzumaki Tales", the scene of Shizune announcing her pregnancy is inspired by a similar scene in that story, but with Kurenai instead. People who read that story surely noticed the similarities.**

 **Once again, thanks to gio8 for betareading this chapter.**

 **I believe that's all. The next chapter will be the beginning of a new arc, which will also close Part I! In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	32. The Coming Storm

**Author's Note: Some people asked why Gaara wasn't promoted in the last chapter, given that he won the tournament. If you guys didn't notice, all the promotions were for Konoha ninja.** ** **He will be promoted, once he gets back to Sun, and the same goes for the other foreign Genin. In fact, I did some stories in which the Hokage gets to decide the promotion of every ninja, not just those from Konoha, which makes absolutely no sense.  
****

 ** **Anyway, here's the next chapter, and the beginning of the end of Part I. I know that there's a part that's going to be a bit controversial, but hope the majority of readers agree with me. Anyway, enjoy, and see you at the bottom notes.****

* * *

 **Chapter 32:**

The Coming Storm

 _or_

 _Blast from the Past_

 _Land of Sound, Orochimaru's Lair_

In a vast, cavernous underground chamber, two young men fought each other with everything they got. The chamber shook with each fist that connected, with every kick that landed, with every jutsu that was cast.

Giant snakes made of stone witnessed the fight that took place between two of the most promising Konoha ninja. One fought with hatred and lies in his heart, the other with the pain of betrayal and steel-hard determination.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke Uchiha breathed a huge fireball at his target, who pulled out a kunai with a blue paper seal and tossed it. Kunai and fireball met midway, and the seal attached to the kunai burst in a watery explosion, putting the Uchiha's attack out, creating a wall of steam.

Coming from the steam, Naruto dashed at Sasuke, his trusty chakra blade in hand, ready to cut his former friend open. Sasuke was quick to unsheathe his own katana, and after infusing it with his own chakra, used it to block the attack. Before Naruto had any time to react, Sasuke delivered a painful kick to Naruto's gut, which pushed him a couple meters backwards.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke, looking at him with pleading eyes. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Sasuke's eyes flared with anger. "Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about!" the Uchiha angrily protested.

"I do. I admit that I used to be quite dense back then, but now...now I know the truth. Now I see everything the way it is, and I know the way to fix it. If you only let me..." Naruto continued.

"Let you? LET YOU!?" Sasuke roared. "To let you help the man responsible for the death of my clan!?"

"That's why you need to help me, Sasuke! To make sure that such a tragedy won't happen again!" Naruto protested. "I can't be Hokage and let something like that happen again!"

"You won't be Hokage if you follow your actual path. Only death awaits you," Sasuke grimly reminded him.

"Perhaps. But a Hokage should be willing to die for the greater good," Naruto adopted a fighting stance. "But my death won't come today, Sasuke, nor it will come by your hand."

"We'll see about that," Sasuke replied as he adopted a fighting stance as well.

"We already fought once, I proved to be stronger than you. Even that jutsu with two elements wasn't enough to defeat me. You have no chance of winning against me," Naruto stated, hoping that maybe he could make Sasuke to stand down, but deep down he knew the Uchiha was as stubborn as himself.

"Things change. That jutsu was incomplete, and it's not the case anymore. And this isn't a mere fight for a promotion. There's too much at a stake for me to hold back, even if it ends in your death," Sasuke replied.

Naruto chuckled. "So, you are willing to kill me? It is true what they say about you Uchiha. You'd kill your friends without remorse."

"Do not dare to insult my clan!" Sasuke roared as he charged against Naruto.

Naruto smirked, as he prepared for Sasuke's onslaught. Even if the situation was dire, he was going to enjoy the fight.

…

 _Konoha, Two Days Earlier_

Things were quiet in Konoha after the Chunin Exams. The four newly minted Chunin slipped into their roles nicely. All of them took no time to notice that their new rank carried a lot more responsibilities and workload, something they hadn't quite got used to.

If a Genin wasn't doing a mission, they could do whatever they wanted (any Genin that took their job seriously used at least some of that spare time for training), however, if a Chunin had no current assignments, they were often tasked with patrolling the village, keeping the peace, or guard the gates. And unlike Genin, Chunin sometimes were required to work on weekends as well.

Even then, the four of them were proud of their newly attained rank, and showed that pride by wearing their flak jackets. Sasuke wore it over his usual clothes, as so did Tenten. Hinata used it as a replacement for her coat, destroyed by Tamaki during their fight in the Finals, while Naruto replaced the upper part of his track suit with an orange short sleeved shirt under the flak jacket.

It was six in the afternoon, and after finishing his patrol duty for the day, Naruto decided to head home. Lucky for him, that day Jiraiya also left the Hokage's office earlier than usual, and as they were doing for the past few days, went to their usual training ground in order to continue developing a new jutsu they were creating.

It all started the day after the Chunin Exams, when Naruto approached Jiraiya and talked him about a new kind training he wanted to undergo...

 _Two Weeks Earlier_

"So, what do you want to do? Do you want something specific for me to teach you?" an interested Jiraiya asked.

"You can bet on it," Naruto had replied. "You see, now that I'm a Chunin, I think I need a new jutsu to reflect my new status, you know? Something way stronger that what I already have."

Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh in return. "Something stronger than the Rasengan? Well, I don't think that there are many Chunin, or even Jonin for that matter, that have something with more packing power than that, haha!"

"I know, but listen to my idea. Hinata-hime, followed by Choji and other of my former classmates, started combining elemental ninjutsu with their clan jutsu. And I thought that maybe I could do the same with the Rasengan?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya looked pensive, before smiling. "You know kid, your father and I had the same idea. Problem is, doing it requires such amount of focus that it is pretty much impossible."

"Impossible just means that it hasn't been tried yet," Naruto sharply replied.

"Oh, we did try, I can tell you that we did try and gave our all, but see," Jiraiya had formed a Rasengan on his hand to better illustrate his point. "It takes quite a lot of focus to create a normal Rasengan. And if we try to infuse it with elemental chakra..." Jiraiya did so, and the Rasengan expanded and began to turn a golden-orange color. However, as it expanded, the Rasengan quickly destabilized and exploded.

"Dad!" Naruto cried.

When the smoke dispelled, Naruto could see that Jiraiya had some minor burns, but he was otherwise fine.

"See what I meant? Keeping a Rasengan stable is hard enough, and if we add the extra difficulty of the elemental chakra..."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto had conceded. "I remember that I took me a while to do the Rasengan one-handed, and needed the help of a clone to pull it off..." it was that moment when a brilliant, but surprisingly simple idea dawned upon the blond. "Hey, why don't you use a clone to help stabilize the elemental chakra?"

Jiraiya opened his mouth ready to shoot down the idea, but words didn't come out. He opened his mouth again, but he couldn't say anything. He remained pensive for quite a few time, until he admitted defeat.

"You know Naruto, there are some times in my life in which I feel like a fool," the Sannin began. "Then there was this time twenty years ago in which somebody made me feel like the biggest fool alive. Well, congratulations, you now made me feel even a bigger fool than that."

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, and swell his chest with pride. And from that day onwards, both Naruto and Jiraiya had tried to dedicate an hour or two to create an elemental Rasengan.

 _Back to the present..._

While they used multiple clones in the previous days, this time they only created a single one each. As the original created the Rasengan, the clone began to infuse elemental chakra into it. It appeared that the result would be the same and it would destabilize, but this time, after so many tries, they successfully created an elemental Rasengan.

"Look at that, Naruto, we did it!" Jiraiya cheered in joy.

Both Rasengan had doubled in size. However, Naruto's was bluish white, and had visible air currents spinning around it, while Jiraiya's was golden red, almost like he was holding a miniature sun on his hand.

"Yes!" the blond replied, just as excited, and he readied as if about to fight. "Come on, let's see which one is stronger!"

"Naruto, no," Jiraiya flatly denied. "Mine is fire. Yours is wind. If they clash, yours will make mine even bigger and...well, it might not end up good for you."

"You're no fun," Naruto childishly replied as he canceled the jutsu, with Jiraiya following suit. "Anyway, now I already have a new powerful jutsu worth my rank!"

"Can't help but wonder what would you want to learn once you reach Jonin," Jiraiya commented, and shuddered in terror as he imagined a Naruto trying to create a jutsu the same level as a Tailed Beast Bomb.

"I know, right? We just improved an A-Rank jutsu created by the Fourth of all people. This is going to be something hard to top," Naruto replied as he grew pensive. "I guess he didn't have more jutsu in need of completion, did he?"

"Well, not exactly that needed to be completed, but the knowledge of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu was lost the night he died, since he didn't teach it to anybody," Jiraiya began. "I have Minato's notes and tried to recreate it with them, but I had no luck. Maybe you can try that."

"Alright, a new challenge!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "I won't rest until I learn the Flying Thunder God!"

Jiraiya chuckled. Naruto's unbound enthusiasm never failed to both amuse and please him. "Then again, that might be a bit too much for you right now. Let's keep honing your overall skills, fuinjutsu included, before we tackle that beast, alright?"

"Yeah!"

…

 _Uchiha Training Grounds_

"Alright Sasuke, let's try it again. Remember, calmness is the key," Itachi instructed his younger brother.

Sasuke nodded, and once again began to channel elemental chakra through his sword. First the blade was coated in flames, followed shortly after blue electric sparks. Once the second element was added, keeping the jutsu active became ten times harder.

"Your chakra control is good enough, you only need to focus," Itachi reminded him.

"I know!" Sasuke snapped.

After a few seconds, the electricity flickered away, leaving only the fire. The youngest Uchiha sighed in defeat and canceled the fire as well.

"Don't feel too bad. The more times you try, the longer you're able to maintain it," Itachi reassured,

Sasuke shook his head. "It's still not good enough. Naruto has no problem maintaining the Rasengan."

"From what Hokage-sama told me, he needed to use clones first before he got the full grasp of it," Itachi reminded. "Maybe that's the solution. Use a clone to add the second element."

Sasuke rejected the idea as well. "I don't want, nor need any crutch. I can do this on my own,"

"While striving for independence is admirable, you shouldn't try to do everything on your own," Itachi advised him. "Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. Sometimes is good to let others help you. Even when said others are mere clones."

"Hmph. I'll do it if I see that there's nothing else I can do on my own," Sasuke replied.

Itachi sighed in defeat. "How I wish Shisui was here. Between the two of us, dealing with you was way easier. But guess that now all the 'fun' is entirely mine."

Since they announced their impending marriage, alongside their future child, Shizune and Shisui spent most of their time looking for homes to move into. At first it appeared that they were going to live on their own away from the brothers, but Shisui convinced Shizune to live all of them together, since that was the way of the ninja clans.

So it was decided that they would buy a plot of land to buy a completely new clan compound that would house every present and future Uchiha. But while the compound was built, the two of them and their child would rent a flat, away from Itachi and Sasuke.

Shisui claimed that, since this baby symbolized the rebirth of the clan, he thought that maybe they could build a new place to live in order to symbolize their new beginnings.

Naturally, the news of Shizune's pregnancy quickly spread once it became public, and left nobody indifferent. Some people wished the "Red Eyed Demons" would disappear forever, and that letting them recover meant giving them another chance to betray the village. Others were more optimistic, and hoped that more Uchiha babies followed, so Konoha could once again have several Sharingan wielders among its ranks.

This made Sasuke realize that, if he wanted to restore the clan, both Itachi and him should marry and produce children. Sasuke always thought that girls were only a needless distraction –not helped by how most of his fan girls usually behaved towards him–, and while never said it out loud, he found Naruto's romantic woes worth laughing. Not so much now that he and Hinata had officially become a couple.

 _"But then again, there's no girl I could have the kind of relationship Naruto and Hinata had for most of their lives"_ Sasuke thought.

Sasuke often avoided girls given how much they annoyed him, and only started to deal with them on a regular basis after graduating the Academy. At first, it seemed that Sakura and Karin were trying to see which one could be even more obnoxious and annoying than the other, but as time went by, they started to get better, mostly thanks to Shizune-sensei's influence.

And then, sometime before the Chunin Exam Finals, Sasuke didn't know when or how it happened, but Karin started dating Neji. Sasuke thought that the Hyuga prodigy would have a better taste in women, but hey, he seemed happy –or all the happy his perpetually sour face could reflect– and Sasuke got one less problem to deal with, leaving Sakura as thankfully the only girl vying for his affections.

He had to admit that the pinkette was less of a burden than what he initially had imagined. The girl had natural talent for medical jutsu, and as her training with Kurenai proved, she also had a gift for genjutsu –not as good as an Uchiha, of course, but for a civilian-born girl that was remarkable–, and was willing to seek help in order to improve the areas she was lacking, such as physical prowess.

The Uchiha was surprised when he realized that he was entertaining the idea that maybe, just maybe, he could give Sakura a chance and see if it worked.

"Sasuke?" Itachi snapped his younger brother out of his thoughts.

"Sorry. I was just thinking," Sasuke replied.

"Mind to tell me what?" Itachi politely asked.

"The future of the clan," was Sasuke's laconic answer.

Itachi couldn't help but smile. "So, already thinking in following Shisui's example? Is there a girl you like?" Itachi thought that getting a girlfriend would benefit his brother immensely.

"It's not that. I was just wondering how it long it would take for the clan to achieve enough numbers," Sasuke wondered.

"Probably very long," Itachi answered matter-o-factly. "But don't worry about that now. Even if we won't live to see it, the clan will live long enough to recover his former glory."

Sasuke nodded, and resumed his training.

…

 _Training Ground Nine_

Speaking of said pinkette, she was also doing her own share of training. Even if she already had the idea of training under Gai before Shizune announced her pregnancy and temporary retirement, now it was her only option. Then again, she couldn't help but remember that it was Shizune herself who suggested and encouraged her to do so.

Sakura also wondered what Karin would do now (she wasn't worried about Sasuke since he had his older brother to train him, and in fact, he got more training from Itachi than he did from Shizune) that the team was sensei-less. After her defeat at Fu's hand, the sensible thing would be to find another mentor to help her become stronger.

When she heard the gruesome training the Close Combat Squad underwent, she always thought that it was an exaggeration. It took her a mere day of training to realize that no, nobody exaggerated. Even worse, due to her subpar physical condition, Gai mentioned how he would "go easier than usual" on her, something that didn't evoke hopeful thoughts for the future.

"Come on, Sakura-san, you're doing it fine! Just seventeen more laps!" Lee, who was running alongside her, enthusiastically cheered.

She had to admit that, despite the fact that Gai's training regime would make a hardened Warring States Era veteran cry like a baby, he put a lot of care in building confidence and self esteem of his students, and Sakura was no exception. And when Gai wasn't there, Lee took his place.

"You said seventeen...as if it is nothing!" the pinkette protested between pants.

"Well, you made thirty four laps already, you're more than halfway there!" Lee was always able to see the positive side of everything.

Despite the unending amount of suffering, Sakura also had to admit that Gai's training worked. In a couple weeks, she went from barely doing five laps around the training field with the weights on, to do fifty and not end up crying for the sweet release of death.

"By the way, where is Hinata-san?" Lee asked.

Sakura just shrugged. Unlike the pinkette, the Hyuga heiress didn't come every day. Given that she still had her own sensei, plus training with her clan, it was understandable that she didn't have the time or the energy to come to train with Gai every day.

Eventually, after what appeared to be an eternity, with her lungs unable to breathe enough air, her muscles completely sore, and her heart working overtime, Sakura finished her lap number fifty, and allowed herself to collapse on the ground.

"See? I told you I could do it," Lee, on the other hand, didn't look any worse for the wear.

"How do you do it, Lee?" Sakura asked between pants. "How can you do all this hellish exercises, and then ask for more?"

The green clad Genin merely shrugged. "I don't know. I guess that I got used to it. But don't worry, Sakura-san, keep working hard and your flames of youth will burn as bright as mine!"

"Yes, but..." Sakura continued. "You said that when you started, your training was even more intense. How were you able to keep going? Weren't you tempted to just toss the towel and go home?"

Lee's usually cheerful demeanor disappeared, and was replaced by a serious, and even solemn expression."I did, plenty of times. But that's what they wanted me to do."

"They?" Sakura asked, quizzically tilting her head.

"All the people who told me that I couldn't be a ninja because of my...shortcomings," Lee replied, his voice laced with pain, and Sakura immediately understood. "You know, both my parents were ninja who died the night the Nine Tails attacked. They died protecting me, or that's what I was told. So that's why I wanted to follow their path, so I could in turn protect others. That way my parents' sacrifice would extend to more people besides me."

Sakura couldn't help but smile. "That's...really noble of you."

"But that's not all," Lee continued. "You know, besides wanting to honor my parents and proving all the people who discouraged me wrong...there's also another reason for me to push beyond my limits: the one person who did believe in me."

"Gai-sensei?" Sakura tentatively guessed.

"Correct!" Lee grew excited again. "Among all the people who told me I couldn't do it, he told me I could, if I worked hard. So how could I disappoint the only person to ever believe in me when I had nothing to show?"

A lot of people considered Lee one of the strongest ninja of his generation, but that was only after his intense training. Sakura knew that a lot of people, probably herself included, wouldn't have seen any potential in the green clad boy if they had seen him at the beginning of his ninja career. Lee's comically extreme admiration for Gai didn't become as laughable after that.

"Gai-sensei always said you should always encourage people who try to better themselves. That's why, as long as you train with us, I will always cheer for both you and Hinata-san," Lee added.

Sakura smiled softly at him. "Thank you. That...means a lot."

Lee replied with his and Gai's trademark "nice guy" pose. Then, he realized of something, and grew serious.

"Okay, now that we've rested enough, our training has to continue! One thousand sit ups, one thousand pushups, one thousand squats and a fifty kilometer race! Come on go!" Lee cheerfully stated.

Sakura's smile turned into a grimace of hate and horror, as she groaned while she pulled herself up and prepared for the torture disguised as training.

…

 _Hyuga Estate_

"Channel your chakra into the paper, and by the way it reacts, we can determine your elemental affinity," Hinata instructed as she handed her little sister a litmus paper.

Hikari's two daughters were in one of the estate's backyards for a special training session. Hanabi wanted to learn elemental manipulation, something she had been promised to do whenever she had some free time. And now it was time to fulfill that promise.

"Got it!" Hanabi cheerfully replied. The paper started to burn, and Hanabi instinctively dropped the burning paper the moment the fire licked her fingers. "Ouch!"

"If the paper burns, then your affinity is fire," Hinata told her.

"Dammit! Now I won't be able to learn the Heavenly Thunderstorm!" Hanabi protested.

"Language," her older sister chided. "No, but you will be able to create your own version of it using fire chakra instead."

"Right, sorry," Hanabi replied. "So...what do I do now?"

Hinata flipped through the pages of the book that was resting on her lap. While the Hyuga Clan library was extensive, most of its books regarding combat focused on taijutsu for obvious reasons, and very few on ninjutsu or genjutsu. And the few who did never covered anything beyond intermediate level. But for what they were trying to do, a beginner's manual would work.

"According to this, your first exercise is to burn a leaf with the force of your chakra," Hinata read from the book. She got up, plucked a leaf from one of the backyard's trees, and handed it to Hanabi.

"Alright!" Hanabi excitedly said as she took the leaf and tried to complete the exercise.

Hinata watched as her little sister tried to burn the leaf, to no avail. As the minutes passed, patience disappeared from her face and was replaced by frustration. Her mouth curved down, and her eyes narrowed. Beads of sweat started to appear on her forehead and temples. And after half an hour trying, she gave up.

"Ugh! This is impossible!" the little girl shouted as she tossed the leaf into the ground.

"Don't get so frustrated. It's not easy the first time," Hinata softly reassured her. "It took both Naruto-kun and I some time to get it down."

Hanabi seethed and went to sit down besides her sister.

"By the way, what did you two have to do instead of burning a leaf?" Hanabi asked.

"Naruto-kun had to cut a leaf in two using his chakra. I had to keep a light-bulb on for five minutes, without overloading it," Hinata replied.

"Ohhhhhhh...so that's why you kept a light-bulb with you all the time that time those years ago," Hanabi said in realization. "Well, then you did take a lot of time."

"Five minutes was the first part. In the end, I had to kept it on for half an hour," Hinata clarified.

"And what did ninja from the times before light-bulbs do to practice lightning chakra control?" Hanabi asked.

Hinata grew pensive. "That's a good question. Unfortunately, I don't have the answer. Maybe the answer is inside a history book?"

Hanabi didn't reply. She just looked at her feet, as thoughts drifted through her head, until a new question popped in.

"Nee-chan," Hanabi suddenly said, turning at Hinata. "What is being Chunin like?"

"Well..." Hinata began as she recollected her thoughts. "It's a superior rank, and thus it entails superior responsibilities. On the plus side, Chunin don't have to do any D-Rank missions anymore, but on the other hand, we have other duties besides taking missions, such as patrolling the village, guard the gates, and fill the duties of the Military Police."

Turns out that the Uchiha Insurrection had affected the village in more ways than one. There were some people who wished for the Military Police to return, so regular Chunin and Jonin wouldn't have to fulfill their duties, but others weren't so eager, due the Police being so closely related to the Uchiha Clan, and the insurrection.

"No wonder I see so little of you nowadays..." Hanabi said, a little crestfallen.

Hinata smiled. She got up, walked towards her sister, and wrapped her arms around Hanabi's shoulders. "You know that I will always find time to spend with you, Hanabi-chan."

"I know," Hanabi replied, resting her head on Hinata's chest.. "Even if that means spending less time with Naruto-kun?"

Hinata was a bit startled, but her smile didn't waver. She nodded. "Even if it means spending less time with him."

"And...now that he's your boyfriend...is there any difference from when you were just friends?" Hanabi asked.

Hinata grew a bit pensive. "Well...we haven't been dating for that long, so I couldn't tell. We do spend less time together, but that's because of our new ranks. But yes, we do things we didn't do before, such as walking holding hands...or kiss."

"Ew!" Hanabi shuddered. "Gross!"

Hinata giggled at her sister's reaction. "When you grow older, you will change your mind, you'll see."

…

 _Senju Residence_

Somebody knocked the door. Eager to see who it was, Kaida rushed to the door. Upon opening it, she saw a bespectacled redhead awkwardly standing there.

"Oh, hi," the white haired girl greeted. "Who are you?"

"My name's Karin. Karin Uzumaki. Is Naruto home?" Karin asked.

Kaida took a deep breath, and turned her head indoors."NARUTO-NIISAN! SOMEBODY'S ASKING FOR YOU!"

"Wow..." Karin said. "You have a nice pair of lungs."

"Thanks," Kaida smiled at her. "Oh, I think I remember you now! You fought in the Chunin Exam Finals, right?"

"Yup, that's me!" Karin proudly confirmed.

"And you lost against that girl with green hair," Kaida continued. "Such a beating is hard to forget."

Karin visibly deflated, and let out a depressed sigh. Before Kaida could make her feel any worse, Naruto appeared.

"Who's asking for me...? Oh hey, Karin-neechan!" Naruto smiled upon seeing his only known clansman.

"Wait, she's your neechan too?" a confused Kaida asked.

"Yeah, we're from the same clan," Naruto told her.

"Didn't you notice that I have the same last name as him?" Karin pointed out.

"If she's your family, then how she isn't living with us?" Kaida asked.

"Well, that's...complicated. I'll explain you sometime later," Naruto told Kaida, while at the same time realizing that she made a good point.

"Okay then," Kaida said before finally returning inside.

Naruto closed the door behind him. He started to walk, and Karin trailed alongside him. "So, what do you want? You got lucky you caught me on my spare time. I never knew being Chunin could be so insane, hehe!" Naruto chuckled.

"Well, it's that, since Shizune-sensei is no longer available, I have nobody to train with," Karin explained. "I know Sakura is training with Neji-kun's team, and he suggested me to train with them as well, but something so physical isn't what I'm looking for. Plus I don't need to increase my chakra reserves. I'm looking forward improving my ninjutsu and medical jutsu."

"Well, I can help with the ninjutsu part, but I'm not that good with medical jutsu," Naruto admitted.

"I know. I was hoping if you could ask Tsunade-sama to train me outside our regular medical lessons," Karin asked. "After all, she has Uzumaki blood, right? I'm sure that she can help a clansman in need."

"I can ask her. She's always willing to train people who want to learn and improve, but she's kind of busy," Naruto told her.

"Thank you. You'd help me a lot," Karin replied.

"By the way, how are things between you and Neji? I almost didn't believe it when Hinata-hime told me you were dating him. I mean, you used to drool over Sasuke a lot," Naruto reminded.

"Yeah, I did," Karin admitted, blushing a little, as she rubbed her arm. "Sasuke is pretty cute...but hey, Neji-kun is also pretty cute too, and he's interested in me to boot, so in the end the choice was a no brainer. Sakura can have Sasuke all for herself as far as I'm concerned."

The fact the Karin no longer used the "-kun" honorific with Sasuke didn't go unnoticed by the blond. Then, the two of them started to walk, heading to nowhere in particular.

"You know, I just noticed something," Naruto said.

"And that would be...?" Karin asked, mildly interested.

"That we're cousins who are dating two people who happen to be cousins too," Naruto pointed out.

Karin couldn't help but chuckle. "You're right! Wonder if there's something in our family that make us attracted to Hyugas."

"There may be. Clans are weird like that," Naruto replied. "Anyway, besides training you, we can use this as an opportunity to spend time with each other. As far as I know, we might be the last Uzumaki on Earth, yet we barely speak to each other!"

"I admit that I could have spend a little more time with you instead of futilely chasing Sasuke," Karin stated. "You know, there was a time in which my mom and I dreamed to find a permanent home, hopefully alongside other members of our clan. And now that we found it...maybe I should get to know that family a bit better."

"This reminds me," Naruto began, as he started to think. "I remember that one day you showed up at the Academy alongside Haku and Tamaki, but I never asked you where have you been before you arrived at Konoha..."

"I don't remember much of my childhood before arriving Konoha, but what little I remember..." Karin tried to remind, and she grimaced. "...it sucked."

"That bad?"

Karin nodded. "We never stayed in the same place for long. My mom said that if people knew who we are and what can we do, a lot of people would try to kidnap us and force to use our abilities for them. My mom always wanted to find more clansmen, and was always trying to look for any other surviving members across these lands."

"Wait, 'surviving'?" Naruto noticed. "Did something happened to our clan?"

"I don't know the whole story..." Karin began. "Mom was born in another village...a village where our Clan originally lived...but the village was destroyed during the Second Ninja War. She somehow managed to escape. Eventually she grew up, fell in love with a man, and had me. Despite keeping her identity a secret from everybody bar my father, somehow somebody learned about her, and tried to kidnap both her and me. My father died protecting us..."

"I'm sorry..." Naruto told her. "You know...my biological parents also died protecting me..."

"Heh, another thing we have in common," Karin chuckled sadly. "Anyway, one day, when we were having breakfast at an inn at some small town, we heard some ninja talking about this 'Tsunade' woman who had returned to Konoha. The name didn't say anything to me, but the way my mom reacted...it was as if her prayers were answered. After that, we decided to come here and...well, the rest is history."

"Fascinating," Naruto told her. "Boy, I have so many questions! However, what draws my attention the most is this village your mom was from. What can you tell me about it?"

Karin shrugged. "Nothing, really. Mom never talked me about it. I think it's too painful for her to remember, and truth be told, I don't want to make her to. Besides, as for myself, Konoha is my home."

"What about other Uzumaki? Do you think they survived...whatever killed the rest of the clan?"

Karin shook her head. "If there are other members out there, we never met them. Like I told you, the closest thing we found was Tsuande-sama. The fact that there was an actual Uzumaki survivor living in Konoha was something we weren't aware of. Speaking of which, what about you? How did you arrived here?"

"My parents were from Konoha. I think," after what Karin said about the Uzumaki village, he wasn't so sure anymore. "My mom was an Uzumaki, my father a civilian born ninja, that's why I got her last name instead of his. They died the night the Kyubi attacked."

"And you don't know anything more about them?" Karin asked.

"I do but...well, it's kind of an S-Rank secret, so I'd have to kill you if I told you," Naruto awkwardly chuckled after saying this.

"Geez, was your father a Hokage, or what?" Karin asked. "I mean, another one. I know Jiraiya-sama is the current Hokage."

Neji's words about Naruto being close to the Hokage echoed in his mind.

"You know, I'm glad I had this talk with you. Now I know a lot more about my origins...and there's a certain somebody I need to have a chat with," determined, Naruto headed back to his home.

"Hey, wait a minute! What about the training?" Karin asked.

"Oh, that! Yeah, sure, we can train together! And I'll ask mom about giving you an extra course, don't worry about it!" Naruto assured as he walked away.

…

 _Senju Residence_

Sitting in the living room, Jiraiya and Tsunade were enjoying the rare opportunity of having the house all for themselves. Shizune was with Shisui looking for a new place to live, Naruto had left after somebody came looking for him, and Kaida an Hagane had left shortly after him to a friend's house. Even if they were tempted to have sex in a place other than their bed, they knew that the kids could be back any moment, so they settled for their usual pastime of sharing a bottle of sake together.

"Boy, I'm so glad that the Chunin Exams are finally over," Jiraiya said in relief, as he gulped his cup of sake in one go. "Next time they will be somebody else's problem."

"Don't remind me," Tsunade sourly replied, as he followed Jiraiya's example with her sake. "I lost so much money...I swear I won't bet again."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Tsunade, we both know that's not true."

A tick appeared on Tsunade's forehead, and turned angrily at her husband. "What are you implying? That I can't overcome my vices? If you were able to shed all your perverseness away, unbelievable as it is, I can do the same with my gambling!"

"It's not the same situation. In my case it was easy," Jiraiya countered. "Going out to eat suddenly becomes much less appealing when you have the best chef in the world in your house, right?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Tsunade angrily replied.

"Flattery often takes me very far," Jiraiya shot her a very sly grin. "And seriously, you were a gambler since the very first moment I met you. Which is pretty insane, now that I think about. What kind of kid loves to bet so much?"

"Well...Grandfather liked to go to casinos and such, and since he couldn't take me with him, he taught me how to play cards, the roulette and stuff like that whenever we spend time together."

"When you say 'Grandfather', you don't mean Hashirama, don't you?" Jiraiya asked.

"I do mean him," Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

Jiraiya was taken aback by the revelation. "Well, it's kind of hard imagining the God of Ninja as a gambling addict," Jiraiya then began to chuckle. "And now that I did, way funnier than it sounds!"

Tsunade snorted and punched Jiraiya in the shoulder. "Don't mock my grandfather, understood!? He was a great man."

"Nobody doubts that," Jiraiya tried to suppress his snicker. "But you have to admit it's kind of hard not to find funny that such a legend had those vices. Then again, I wonder if you'd pass gambling to our children."

"I tried, but they suck at it," Tsunade replied, shaking her head. "They're such disappointments."

"Kinda like their mother, don't you think so?" Jiraiya laughed.

Tsunade's scowl deepened and punched Jiraiya in the shoulder again.

"Next time you make fun of me, the punch will be a chakra-enhanced one," Tsunade hissed.

"Come on, don't get mad. If they're anything like you, they'd be awful gamblers but kickass ninjas. Especially with those Bloodline Limits of theirs. You know, wonder if Kaida and Hagane will become Chunin on their first try, just like Naruto did," Jiraiya pondered.

Before Tsunade had any time to answer, they heard the door opening, and somebody coming in. Soon Naruto's frame appeared in front of them.

"Hey kid, you're back. Who was that who wanted to speak with you? Was it Hinata?" Jiraiya asked.

"No, it was Karin-neechan. She wanted some help with her training," Naruto looked at Tsunade. "She also asked if you could give her a more intensive training as well, now that Shizune-neechan is no longer her sensei."

"I'll talk with her about it," Tsunade replied. Then she noticed something odd about Naruto. He looked as if something was bothering him. "Something wrong, kid?"

"Well, after that, Karin-neechan and I have been talking...about our clan," Naruto said.

A deafening silence fell upon the living room as the two Sannin processed Naruto's words.

"And what did she tell you?" Jiraiya cautiously asked.

"Not much," was Naruto's answer. "Her mom doesn't want to talk about it since it brings her painful memories, so Karin-neechan doesn't know much either. And I was wondering...if you guys know something?"

Jiraiya and Tsunade shared a glance, and they moved a bit to the side, and motioned Naruto to sit between them. Naruto did so.

"You never asked us about the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto. What's with the sudden interest?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. Guess that talking with Karin-neechan peaked my curiosity. And well...since you guys raised me since I was a baby, guess that I never had the need to know about my origins. But now...I do want to know."

"Okay then," Jiraiya nodded. He looked at Tsunade. "Given that you have Uzumaki blood as well, I believe that you might be the best one to tell Naruto about his clan."

"Alright," Tsunade cleared her throat before beginning. "As with most Clans, nobody really knows where the Uzumaki Clan truly came into existence. But we do know quite a few certain things about them: they hail from an island to the east named the Land of Whirlpools, named after the many whirlpools that surrounded the island and acted as a natural defense. Despite having their base there, it wasn't rare to see them in the main continent.

"This is because, as far as recorded history, the Uzumaki and Senju clans were close allies. While there are no proof, many believed both clans shared the same ancestor. Their relationship was so tight, that Grandfather, upon founding the village, wanted the Uzumaki clan to join as well. The Uzumaki declined, opting to join other clans of the Land of Whirlpools and form another village, Uzushiogakure, to defend their country. The relationship between both clans was so tight that Konoha's flak jackets have the Uzumaki Clan symbol, a swirl, as a way to symbolize their ties.

"The Uzumaki Clan were master sealers –that's where your talent for fuinjutsu comes from–, and their alliance was invaluable to Konoha."

"And what happened then? How is that their village doesn't exist anymore?" Naruto asked, antsy to know the fate of the village.

Tsunade began to recollect her memories. "I believe it was the beginning of the Second War. Konoha was fighting in multiple fronts against Suna, Ame and Kumo, while Uzushio was handling the threats coming from the sea, mostly from Kiri."

"Wait a minute, Suna?" Naruto asked, confused. "I thought they were our allies."

"Back in the Second War, they weren't. It wasn't until the Third War when an alliance was made,'" Jiraiya interceded. "Just like how Ame weren't our allies either. In fact, we did tell you our epic fight against Hanzo the Salamander, didn't we?"

"Multiple times," Naruto replied.

Tsunade cleared her throat once again before continuing. "Anyway, I won't bother you with the details, but there was a plan to take advantage of the war in order to force one of the enemy villages to give up kageship, and promote Uzushio as one of the Five Great Villages in its place.

"As you know, only the major villages have the right to call their leaders a Kage. It's seen as a symbol of power and prestige. If a minor village did such thing, it would be seen as an insult and the other villages would retaliate."

"Which explains why Orochimaru didn't appoint himself 'otokage' or something like that," Jiraiya intervened once again. "The snake bastard might be an insane sociopath, but he isn't stupid."

"Of the minor villages, Uzushio was among the strongest, despite its low numbers, mostly thanks to the Uzumaki's sealing prowess, and thus had a nice shot of being recognized as a Great Village if one of the other five suffered enough loses. Then, something happened that would change the course of war: due to some kind of dispute, Kumo and Kiri terminated their alliance and declared war on each other.

"Kumo was busy also fighting on multiple fronts against Konoha and Taki, so Kiri saw it as an opportunity, and launched an invasion on the unprotected coast of Lightning Country. And this is where the end of Uzushio began," Tsunade gravely said, much to Naruto's confusion. "Kuninotoko Uzumaki, leader of Uzushiogakure, saw it as an opportunity to accelerate his village's ascension. He proclaimed himself 'Uzukage', and launched an invasion on the Land of Water, taking advantage Kiri and Kumo's situation. Sarutobi-sensei tried by all means to convince him not to do such a stupid thing, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

"Unfortunately, Kuninotoko's audacity was seen as a grave insult to both the Raikage and the Mizukage. It made them to repair their alliance, and together managed to repel the invasion of the Land of Water. But it didn't end there, oh no. Seeing it as a golden chance to acquire Uzushio's secrets of fuinjutsu, they launched a joint invasion on the Land of Whirlpools.

"Most of the village's forces had been decimated in the failed invasion attempt, so Kuninotoko asked help to Konoha. However, Konoha already had its forces spread thin and couldn't spare a single ninja. And thus, Uzushio fell to the might of two of the great villages. Many Uzumaki clansmen died, though some of them managed to flee to the continent. Ironically, this proved to be Kumo and Kiri's undoing, since while they were focused plundering Uzushio, they were pushed back in other fronts, which helped Konoha's achieve victory in the long run.

"However, it was too late for Uzushio. The Uzumaki Clan had been decimated, and their village was razed to the ground. When the war ended, Sarutobi-sensei tried to locate and gather the survivors, but he didn't find any. The only silver lining is that the Uzumaki Clan managed to somehow protect their secrets, and the invaders didn't get anything meaningful out of the invasion, aside from common goods.

"And to this day, only you and that Karin girl, as well as her mother, are the only Uzumaki we have knowledge of. Sad as it is, we have reasons to believe that you three might as well be the last members of the Uzumaki clan," Tsunade finished her tale. "Now that you know the history of your clan, what do you think?"

Naruto remained uncharacteristically silent for a few seconds, before he replied.

"You know...it kind of surprised me that the village leader would make such a stupid move. Was being a Kage so important to him? I mean, yeah, I want to be Hokage, but if being one came at the expense of other people, especially people from my own village, I wouldn't do it," Naruto said.

"What, did you think that unbridled pride and ambition were an exclusive domain of the Uchiha?" Jiraiya asked. "Any leader can fall prey to the temptations of power and glory. Let this be a lesson if you ever want to lead this village one day."

"I see..." Naruto replied, pensive, until a realization dawned upon him. "Wait, you said that the Old Man was unable to find any survivors. What about my biological mother?"

"Kushina was already here long before Uzushio's fall," Jiraiya mentioned. "You see, besides their talent for fuinjutsu, members of the Uzumaki clan were known for their very long life spans, large chakra pools...and a very potent chakra, which was the only thing that could only contain the Nine Tails.

"The very first jinchuriki of the Kyubi, Mito Uzumaki, was my grandmother, and Hashirama's wife. When her life was close to its end, it was necessary to bring another Uzumaki to keep the Kyubi contained."

It took Naruto no time to make the connection. "Wait a minute! Then that means...that my biological mom was also a jinchruiki!"

"Correct," Tsunade said. "We kept Kushina's status as a Jinchuriki a secret, so that's why most people think the Kyubi appeared out of nowhere and attacked us for no reason."

"You see, the seal that held the Nine-Tails weakened during childbirth. And somehow, that Akatsuki member who spurned the Uchiha into rebelling, managed to learn when and where Kushina was about to give birth. He was successful in his endeavor, and released the Kyubi. Even if Kushina survived the extraction process, I presumed she was too weak to hold the monster a second time, so I guess that's the reason Minato chose to seal it within you instead," Jiraiya finished the explanation.

Another moment of silence. Naruto looked down, his sight darkened.

"You know, I shouldn't feel anything, given that you're talking about people who died when I was a newborn..." Naruto began. "But knowing what happened to my clan...and what happened to my biological parents...it makes me feel...a bit sad."

Tsunade put a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's only natural. I would worry if you _didn't_ feel anything."

"If you want to talk about it, we're always willing to listen," Jiraiya added, echoing Tsunade's gesture.

"No, it's okay," Naruto told them. "I mean, it was a sad tale, but it would had more impact if I was on Karin-neechan's shoes, but to me, Konoha had always been my home. But I'm sure that there are more Uzumaki out there hiding. The Old Man didn't find them because, like Karin-neechan and her mom, were always on the move and never trusted anybody." Naruto then turned at Tsunade. "Did you know that you were the reason they came to Konoha?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. The mother, Mariko, asked for me when they arrived. I helped them to set them in, but I didn't have much contact with Mariko after that. Maybe I can drop by and ask her how everything's going," Tsunade mused.

"That would be nice," Naruto told her.

…

 _Next Day, Undisclosed Location_

 _Black clouds covered the night sky, accentuating the existing darkness. A multitude of corpses wearing Kirigakure's ANBU mask and uniforms were scattered around. The corpses were still fresh, hinting a previous battle not long ago. Rain poured from the sky, turned the soil into mud, and inundating the air with a smell of wet grass._

 _However, none of those corpses mattered. Only one did. The only one which belonged to a Konoha ninja. A brown haired girl with purple marks on her cheeks, and a huge, bloody hole in her chest. Said girl was being cradled by a one eyed boy the same age as her._

 _"This...this is hell..." the boy cried._

 _Darkness and rain. It was a fitting image for Obito Uchiha, equating the darkness of his heart and the tears pouring from his eyes. He clutched the girl's corpse near him._

 _"Rin..."_

"RIN!"

Obito Uchiha opened his eyes, and saw his hand extended upwards, trying to grab something that wasn't there. He was panting, and his body was drenched in sweat, despite the fact that he had been sleeping for the past hours. Grunting, he sit up, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

A White Zetsu emerged from the ground.

"Is everything okay, boss? I heard you scream," the White Zetsu worriedly asked.

"It's nothing," was Obito's answer.

"Another nightmare?" the plant being guessed.

Obito didn't reply, but the answer was obvious. There wasn't a single time in which he didn't relive Rin's death. At this rate, he would turn insane, if he wasn't insane already. Even if he didn't have the Sharingan active that night, the image would still be burned into his brain. The Mangekyo Sharingan only made it worse.

"This is why I don't want to sleep," Obito hatefully said.

The White Zetsu tilted his head. "Yes, but your species need sleep. Even if Madara-sama's enhancements removed your need to eat and drink, your brain and body need several hours of rest. While not lacking in imagination, your alternatives to sleeping are...insufficient. And we need you rested for today's operation. Orochimaru and his army already left."

"I see. What time is it?" Obito asked.

"The sun will rise in less than an hour," the creature informed him.

"Then we still have plenty of time until I have to play my part," Obito stated.

…

 _Outskirts of Konoha, shortly after sunrise_

Perched on a tree branch, the Snake Sannin stared at his target, the village of Konoha, with lustful eyes. Soon, the proud village wouldn't be more than a smoking ruin. He had been waiting for this moment for such a long time.

Orochimaru's second in command, Kabuto gracefully landed besides him.

"The army is in position, Orochimaru-sama. We can start when you give the order," the silver haired medic informed.

"Good," Orochimaru replied. "What about the Sound Five?"

"They're in position too. They will infiltrate the village exactly fifteen minutes after the invasion commences, just as you ordered," Kabuto told him.

Orochimaru licked his lips in anticipation. "In that case, then there's no point in waiting any further. I had delayed this long enough already," the Snake Sanin said as both he and Kabuto jumped from the tree and landed on the grassy ground. He made several hand seals before slamming his hand into the ground. "Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!"

Two wooden coffins emerged from the ground below. Their lids falling on their own, letting their occupants walk free. Said occupants were two men who were way older than they looked. One had long straight black hair, tan skin and was wearing a red armor. The other, almost his complete opposite: very pale skin, short spiky white hair, and wearing a blue armor.

"Hashirama, Tobirama," Orochimaru addressed the resurrected Hokage. "You've been brought here for a very special event: helping me destroy Konoha. Given that you played an instrumental part in its creation, I believe that it's appropriate you play an equally large role in its destruction."

"So this is the reason for you to resurrect us, snake," Hashirama snarled.

"Konoha is a strong village. Even with us as your puppets, you won't destroy it as easily as you think," Tobirama warned.

"Konoha has already suffered its own share of misfortunes. I'm here to merely give it the final blow. And truth be told, even in your weakened state, I don't expect anybody being able to fight any of you as equals, especially given that you're now impossible to kill and have unlimited chakra.," Orochimaru told them in delight.

Hashirama shot Orochimaru a bone-chilling glare, but the Sannin remained impervious. "Mark my words, one way of another, I will make you pay for this!"

"Somehow, I find that just as doubtful," Orochimaru chuckled. "Now go. Pry Konoha's gates open, and secure a passage for my troops to enter the village. Then kill every Konoha citizen that crosses your path, both ninja and civilian, men and women, adults and children. Spare no one. On second thought, try to spare some if they have a Bloodline Limit."

Unable to resist, the Senju brothers moved towards their target.

"Dammit! There has to be something we can do!" Hashirama cursed as he futilely tried to regain control of his body. "Brother, it was you who created this accursed jutsu! Didn't you put any kind of failsafe in case something like this happened?"

"No. I was unable to complete this jutsu within my lifetime," Tobirama replied. If he was regretful, he didn't look the part. "Our only hopes is that their current ninjas are strong enough to deal with us," the Second grimly said.

The gates of Konoha, still closed, appeared before them, and they stopped. The guards barely had any time to react before Hashirama made several hand seals.

"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

...

* * *

 **Omake: Naruto Elseworlds #1**

It was a dark and quiet night. The Akatsuki known as Tobi contemplated the village of Konoha, as he was about to start his evil plan.

"Alright, time to start!" Tobi pulled out a red and black pokeball from within his robe. "With this legendary Pokémon I stole, Konoha will be destroyed! Go, Nine Tails!"

Tobi tossed the pokeball, releasing the nine tailed beast, landing with a big crash.

"KURAMA!" The Nine Tails cried.

"Nine Tails, destroy Konoha now!" obi ordered.

"KUR!KURAMA!" The Nine tails growled as he was about to do as ordered.

"Not so fast, villain!" A blond man said as he landed in front of Tobi and his pet. "I, Minato Namikaze, Fourth Gym Leader of Konoha, won't allow you to carry on your nefarious plan! Especially not with my wife's stolen Legendary Pokémon!"

"Oh really? And what do you plan to do about it, huh?" Tobi asked.

"Obviously, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle! Go Gamabunta!" Minato said as he tossed a Pokeball, releasing the giant Toad.

"BUNTA!" Gamabunta croaked.

"The Nine Tails is Fire/Dark, while Gamabunta is Water/Fighting! I have type advantage in two different ways!" Minato boasted.

"Maybe, but the Nine Tails has better stats, befitting a Legendary! Besides, I'm sure your Gamabunta isn't even IV trained!" Tobi angrily replied. "Nine tails, use Flamethrower!"

"KURAMA!" the Nine tails roared before taking a deep breath, and releasing a wave of fire from his mouth.

"Gamabunta, counter with Water Pulse!" Minato ordered.

"GAMABUNTA!" the toad replied as he released a powerful water blast from his mouth, cancelling the fire attack.

"Excellent! Follow with Karate Chop!"

Gamabunta leaped into the air, and was about to smack the Fox with a hand chop. Of course, Tobi wasn't going to have any of it.

"Use Smokescreen!" Tobi ordered.

This time, the Nine Tails released a cloud of smoke from his mouth, blinding Gamabunta, who missed the attack. Tobi smiled under his mask.

"Okay, now let's finish with Tailed Beast B-"

But Tobi was interrupted by a punch to the gut, followed by a kick, which knocked him on his back. Much to his shock, Minato was now besides him, holding the Nine Tails' pokeball.

"Wait a minute, did you just attack a trainer during a Pokémon battle!?" Tobi asked, incredulous.

"I did. What about it?" Minato asked.

"That's against the rules!"

"Screw the rules, I have money!"

"We're parodying Pokémon, not Yugi-Oh, you dumbass!"

"Besides, you're the villain, you don't give a damn about the rules. And now that I have the Nine Tails Pokeball, I can stop it from destroying Konoha," Minato declared.

"Ha, you'd wish! That's a special Uchiha pokeball that can only be used by a single person, namely me!" Tobi retorted.

"Okay then," Minato then dropped the poke ball, and stomped it into pieces. "Now the Nine Tails is no longer under your control!"

"No… but he reverted now to its wild state, and will destroy anything in his sight. Have fun with that," Tobi said before vanishing.

"...shit," Minato cursed. "Anyway, let's not panic, I'm sure I can capture it myself and...SHIT! I'm out of pokeballs" Minato noticed when his hand reached his pocket.

Kushina then appeared, holding baby Naruto in her arms.

"Don't worry, Minato, use this!" Kushina said as she tossed Naruto at her husband. "Newborn babies can be used as pokeballs!"

"Really? How convenient! Okay then, go Naruto, catch the Nine Tails!" Minato said before tossing Naruto at the now free Tailed Beast.

Upon hitting the kyubi, Naruto split in two by his midsection, turning the Legendary beast into pure energy, which was absorbed into the baby. Naruto struggled to contain the beast, but after a few seconds of wobbling Naruto remained still and a spiraling seal appeared on his bellybutton, hinting that he had successfully trapped the beast.

"Yes, we captured the Nine Tails!" Minato cheered, pumping a fist into the air.

"Wait, I remember that using a baby as a pokeball had a negative side effect," Kushina said, as she started to remember. "Oh yeah, the baby's parents will die of a heart attack after the Pokémon has been captured."

Minato stopped cheering. "…oh shi-"

 **End Omake**

* * *

 **Author's Note: Okay, a lot of things to discuss here. First of all, I hope you guys found my second omake funny. I have more ideas for future omakes, both elseword parodies, aleternate endings, and many more.**

 **Now, let's talk about something that took up nearly half the chapter: the Uzumakis. I always wanted to write more Naruto/Karin scenes in which they bond over their blood ties, but I just couldn't find the right moment. Hope those who (rightfully) asked for more Naruto/Karin moments are satisfied with this chapter, and don't worry, it won't be the last time these two have a meaningful conversation.**

 **Now, to address the topic I'm sure it will raise some controversy: my depiction of the Uzumaki Clan's history and demise. Let me tell you something, and tired, TIRED I tell you, of reading fanfics that depict the Uzumaki Clan as these perfect, angelical beings capable of doing no wrong (depite Pain and Karin debunking that notion in canon), while at the same time portraying Konoha as these uncaring jerks who didn't move a finger to save them in time. Also, Uzushio being ruled by an "Uzukage". No, people, NO! There are only FIVE Kages, no more, no less! Get that in your head!**

 **So yeah, to address those personal pet peeves, I decided to have the Uzumakis bringing their doom upon themselves, and show that they're as fallible as other human being (or at the very least, their leader is), and what happens when a leader of a minor village decides to call himself or herself a Kage, while at the same time answering the question of why Konoha didn't help Uzushio in time. I know a lot of people won't agree with this, but I will stand by it.**

 **Anyway, now that's out of the way...yeah, the invasion of Konoha had just begun, and yes, Orochimaru has yet to show all his cards. Like the Chunin Exams, this arc will feature a lot of fights (thought thankfully it won't be as long), plot twists, betrayals, revelations, and the appearance of a certain character I'm sure no one will see coming ;)**

 **While you wait for the next chapter, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	33. The Invading Sound

**Author's note: Hmmmm...the last episode's reception wasn't as good as I expected. Wonder if Orochimaru has something to do with it, since the Land of Sound arc is so far my least reviewed arc as a whole. Anyway, let's hope that the following chapters are better.**

 **Now, enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 33:**

The Invading Sound

 _or_

 _The Toad versus the Snake_

"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

Huge green vines emerged from the ground, and forcefully opened the village's gates open, almost tearing them from its hinges. A couple seconds later, a tide of gray and black-clad ninjas rushed into the village, screaming battle cries, cheers, and in some cases, profanities. And the two resurrected Kage could do nothing but watch powerlessly as the invaders flooded the village.

"At the very least, we'll see how strong the village's ninja got after our demise," Hashirama stated, earning a glare from his younger brother in return. "What? Excuse me for trying to see the bright side of our predicament."

Before a fraternal argument could take place, the force controlling their bodies made them to join the invaders in the destruction of Konoha, and went in different directions.

…

On its own, though large, and even having bypassing the walls, Orochimaru's army wouldn't have a chance of dealing much damage to Konoha. Unfortunately for Konoha, the invaders were also supported by a no small amount of giant snakes, including the Snake Boss, Manda, as well the resurrected Hokage.

Fortunately for the defenders, two of Konoha's strongest Jonin, who were in the middle of one of their allegedly casual competitions before it was time to get to work, witnessed everything and went for the most obvious threat: the giant, rampaging purple snake.

"Alright Kakashi, we can still salvage our competition!" Gai stated as he enthusiastically dashed towards the snake boss.

"Gai, Konoha is being invaded, and you still care about our competitions?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"They aren't mutually exclusive! We can see which one is better at defending the village!" Gai suggested as he prepared to attack. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

Gai landed a powerful flying kick on the giant snake's maw. Manda hissed in pain, and he tried to bite or swallow Gai, but Konoha's Green Beast proved to be too fast.

"Let's try to lure it out from the more populated areas and into the training fields," Kakashi noted as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The Copy Ninja breathed a massive fireball, hitting Manda in the eye, leaving a burnt mark. The giant snake hissed again in pain. Forgetting about Gai, the Snake Boss lunged at Kakashi, who nimbly dodged.

"Yes! Come get us, you unyouthful armless lizard!" Gai taunted the snake.

However, despite their success in drawing its attention, Manda refused to follow them whenever they got far from the populated zone.

"There's something wrong. Why it isn't following us?" Gai asked.

"Its chakra seems irregular," Kakashi observed. "It may be under the effect of a genjutsu."

"Don't worry guys, here I come to save the day!" a feminine voice shouted, before Anko appeared between them. She bit her thumb, and made several hand seals, before finally slamming her hand into the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A giant gray snake appeared before the three ninjas, though not near as large as Manda was. Upon noticing the Snake Boss, Anko's snake disappeared, just like the purplette expected. However, contrary to what she was expecting, Manda did not disappear. The giant snake swung its tail, and tried to crush the three Konoha ninja as if they were bugs. Fortunately, they managed to dodge it in time, but they couldn't prevent a house from being demolished by the snake's attack.

"The hell? Summoned animals disappear if they're summoned by two people at different sides of a conflict!" Anko protested.

"The snake's chakra is irregular. I believe Orochimaru put it under some kind of genjutsu. That would explain why it didn't leave," Kakashi reasoned.

"It would also explain how he finally managed to get the Snake Boss to do his bidding," Anko continued. "From what I know, Orochimaru never earned Manda's respect."

"Then how are we going to get rid of it?" Gai asked, clenching his fists.

"The old fashioned way," Kakashi grimly said. "But I presume that, if we break the genjutsu, the snake will leave on its own. If what you told me is true, then this Manda won't appreciate being mind controlled into doing somebody else's bidding. Gai, do you think you can keep the snake distracted?"

"You only need to ask, Kakashi. Now let's go!" Gai cheered as he dashed towards Manda, followed by Kakashi and Anko.

…

In another part of the town, Yugao and her fellow ANBU were fighting against some of Orochimaru's goons, which were supported by a giant snake. While her comrades deal with the human forces, she would fight the snake.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" two clones of Yugao appeared at each side of the original. They unsheathed their katanas and charged forward, leaving a trail of afterimages. "Dance of the Crescent Moon!"

The giant snake hissed, and lunged at the three of them. Before it could sink its fangs into wither the original or the clones, they jumped in different directions, leaving many afterimages that confused the giant snake.

And a single moment of confusion is all Yugao needed. With a swift strike, the ANBU woman and her clones quickly sliced the snake from three different sides. The purple haired woman wouldn't give the giant reptile time to recover, and she charged again. The snake managed to bite a clone, but the original and the remaining clone slashed it again. The snake couldn't take it anymore, and it was forcefully unsummoned.

"Great job, Cat!" a bird masked ANBU praised, while fighting against a couple Oto ninjas.

"Without the summon, these rabble stand no chance against Konoha's ANBU!" Yugao cheered as she joined her partners. "Let's show them-" Yugao suddenly stopped. A ridiculously powerful chakra had entered her sensory range, and in no time was upon them. The chakra then began to change in a way Yugao knew what was going to happen. She disengaged the Oto ninja was fighting against and jumped into a nearby roof. "EVERYBODY, FLEE!"

"Huh?" a rat masked ANBU asked in confusion. But it was too late.

"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Suddenly, the ninja who didn't heed Yugao's warning, both Konoha and Oto, were washed away by a massive watery torrent. When the torrent disappeared, only corpses remained. Yugao and a couple other ANBU did manage to avoid the deadly attack.

"What...who...?" a bird masked ANBU asked, feeling a mix of horror and confusion.

"I think that's the culprit," Yugao pointed with her sword to a man with white spiky hair, wearing an outdated blue armor.

"No way!" the other ANBU, who was wearing a ferret mask, shouted. "That's...the Second Hokage! It can't be!"

"It can," Tobirama himself answered. "I've been revived by Orochimaru via Impure World Resurrection. I'm nothing but his puppet, and he's using me to destroy the village. Now, you've seen my power. If you value your lives, you should flee."

While the three ANBU were in no small way afraid of having to face a Hokage, they didn't bulge.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, that's not going to happen. We swore to protect Konoha from any threat, no matter how big," Yugao declared as she adopted a fighting stance. Her partners did the same.

Tobirama smiled. "I'm glad to hear that, especially from the special corps I founded. Still, it would be wise if you asked for help in dealing with me."

"The village is being attacked. I doubt there are that many ninja not busy right now," Yugao replied.

"So be it then," Tobirama started to make hand seals. "Water Release: Water Severing Wave!"

The Second Hokage released a high pressure water stream from his mouth at the ANBU. The three of them jumped to avoid the attack, but it came with such force and speed that not all of them could, and Ferret was cleanly cut in half, his life ending that moment.

Bird made several hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thousand Thunder Needles!" the Anbu then thrust his hands forward, releasing a barrage of white glowing electric needles.

However, displaying an spectacular skill, Tobirama dodged the attack and dashed at Bird in a zig zag. Bird tried to cut Tobiraba with his tanto, but he only hit an afterimage.

"Sorry," was the last thing Bird heard before the first Hokage appeared from behind and snapped his neck.

Yugao moved to attack from behind, but Tobirama got out of the way before her katana could even touch him. Moving at an imperceptible speed, Tobirama was once again behind his unsuspecting enemy. He drew a kunai and prepared to sink in into the purplette's back.

"You're a brave kunoichi. It's a pity it has to end like this," Tobirama sorrowfully but stoically said before ending Yugao's life.

Suddenly, something unexpected happen. The moment the kunai sank into the kunoichi's flesh, Yugao burst into a murder of crows that began to fly around the deceased Hokage.

"What the...?" the Senju ninja asked, before realizing what was going on. "Oh, I see." He made a hand seal, and after a burst of chakra, the genjutsu was undone.

The world returned back to normal, and in front of him there was the cat-masked ANBU, alongside a new enemy. A young man with dark gray hair and red eyes, eyes Tobirama knew too well.

"Itachi-san, thank goodness you came," Yugao gratefully said.

"This enemy is too much for you," Itachi stated, without a hint of condescension. "I think it's also too much for me. But I believe I stand a better chance against him. You'll be more useful elsewhere."

As much as it pained her to admit it, she conceded that Itachi had a point.

"Alright. Stay safe," was all Yugao said before departing.

"You're a skilled ninja, Uchiha," Tobirama pointed out. "Being able to sneak past my sensory abilities, plus placing me under a genjutsu without my knowledge. But keep in mind that such thing won't work twice."

"It'd be disappointed if it did," Itachi unsheathed his katana. "Shall we begin?"

…

Gai, surrounded by a glowing green aura, landed a punch on Manda's jaw that pushed his head backwards. The snake hissed once again as it tried to eat Gai whole, the but the green clad ninja was too fast for him. Kakashi and Anko flanked the giant snake from opposing sides.

"Anko, now!" Kakashi shouted. Anko nodded, and both of them started making hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Bullet!"

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Once again, both fire attacks hit the snake in full, Manda cried in pain, and swung his tail wildly in an attempt to fend off his attackers. He missed, but in doing so he destroyed a couple houses and hit several Konoha and Oto ninja fighting each other.

"Dammit, this isn't working!" a frustrated Anko protested.

"Indeed. We're only helping spread the destruction," Kakashi agreed, then he looked at his eternal rival. "Gai, how many Gates have you opened?"

"Four!" was Gai's response.

"I think you should open another one," Kakashi advised.

"Very well then," Gai's green aura glowed more intense as his body got ready to release more chakra. "Gate of Limit: Open!"

However, before Gai had the chance to do so, a huge shadow bloated the sky. Looking upwards, they saw a massive toad wielding an equally massive sword falling from above. The giant toad landed on top Manda. The giant snake hissed in pain once again. Kakashi recognized the toad as Gamabunta, the Toad Boss. Painful memories of his late sensei invaded his mind.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure this scumbag doesn't cause anymore problems!" Gamabunta stated, as he kept Manda trapped under his weight.

"Thanks a lot, Gamabunta-san," Kakashi greeted. "Is not Jiraiya-sama with you?"

The toad shook his head. "He went to face Orochimaru. He summoned me so I'd deal with Manda. "

Anko's eyes opened wide in shock. His hand reached the base of her neck for some reason. "Wait...that traitor is here?"

"Yes, he was witnessed north of here and-wait! Where are you going!?" Gamabunta asked as he saw Anko running. "Jiraiya said he doesn't want anybody to interfere!"

"I don't care what he says! Orochimaru is here, and I'm not going to miss the opportunity to make him pay for all what he did!" an angry Anko replied, not looking back.

"Should we go after her?" Gai asked.

"Better we take care of the giant snake here, don't you think so?" Kakashi pointed out, noticing how Gamabunta was struggling to contain Manda. "Now that it isn't moving so much, it should be much easier. Let's aim for the eyes once again." Kakashi suggested as his hand started to crackle with electricity.

"Alright then!" Gai agreed as he dashed at Manda, or more specifically, his head. "Konoha Hurricane!"

"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Running Jutsu!"

Kakashi cast a hound made of lightning, still connected to his hand via an electric stream, which despite its name, flew towards Manda's left eye as Gai delivered a powerful kick to the right eye. He giant snake once again hissed in pain.

"AHHHH!AHHHH!...What's going on here!?" the Snake Boss growled, as he awoke from a bad dream, and soon he grew angry as realization of what was happening dawned upon him. "Orochimaru, you bastard! How you dare enslave me like that! Next time he dares to summon me, I'll make sure his last moments are as agonizing as possible!"

And Manda disappeared, leaving a poof of smoke in its place. Kakashi and Gai sighed in relief.

"Well, that takes care of one problem," Kakashi looked at Gamabunta. "Thanks for your help, Gamabunta-san."

"I don't like being summoned without having a couple drinks first, but this time Jiraiya was right when he said it was an emergency," Gamabunta admitted. "Well, I better get going. With Manda gone, I'm afraid that I'd only cause more collateral damage if I tried to help," the Toad Boss stated before disappearing as well.

"What do we do now, Kakashi? Should we follow Anko and make sure she doesn't get in trouble?" Gai asked. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but her Flames of Youth burn too bright for her own good."

Before Kakashi could answer, a small forest appeared out of nowhere to the east, engulfing multiple houses in the process. While it didn't look like Tenzo's jutsu, both of them could tell it was Wood Release.

"I believe we should check that first. Anko will have to take care of herself," Kakashi suggested. Gai nodded in agreement, and both men headed to the newly formed forest.

…

A group of about nine Oto ninja arrived to a park. The park was mostly populated by young mothers with very small kids, and a lone old man. Upon seeing the attackers, everybody screamed in terror, picked up their kids and tried to run away, but unfortunately the invaders weren't going to have any of that.

"Capture all of them!" the group leader ordered as his subordinates jumped into action. "Orochimaru-sama wants more test subjects to experiment on, and whoever brings more people will get an extra reward! Make sure WE are that group!"

"If I were you, I wouldn't do such a thing," the old man calmly said.

The Oto ninja looked at the audacious man in disbelief for a few seconds, before breaking into laughter.

"Oh boy, look at this old guy, thinking he can order us around!" one of the Oto ninja said.

"Should we take him with us?" another one asked.

"No. Orochimaru-sama doesn't want people above the age of forty, and this guy looks to be twice as that," the leader told them. "Kill him instead."

Two ninjas pulled out a couple kunai each and walked dangerously towards the old man.

"I wouldn't advice doing that either," the elderly man advised.

"And why not, gramps?" one of the Oto ninja said as he came closer.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," the old man then started making hand seals at an almost imperceptible speed. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

The Oto ninja were engulfed by a massive wave of fire, and they ceased to exist. After the old man saved the civilians from the remaining Oto ninja, he looked at the village, and sighed.

"It's true what they say that there's no such thing as retirement for us ninja," Sarutobi sadly sighed, before leaving the park.

…

Orochimaru calmly walked the streets of Konoha, admiring the destruction brought by his forces, the fights that were happening left and right, the screams of people dying –regardless of whom they belonged, either friend of foe–, and overall, the feeling that Konoha was close to its end.

From time to time, a Konoha ninja –several at once if they ever had some brain cells left– would identify Orochimaru and tried to attack him. "Tried" being the key word, since the Sannin easily swatted them aside as if they were flies, and truth be told, the threat they posed to him was pretty much the same.

"This used to be more fun," Orochimaru mused to himself as his snakes strangled an unfortunate Konoha ninja. "Guess that the Sharingan does have a downside after all."

"Wanna see if I'm that easy as those chumps?" a voice behind him said, before the Snake Sannin was hit with a wave of unusually powerful killing intent.

Not worried in the slightest, Orochimaru turned around and saw a masked man carrying an impossibly big sword.

"Zabuza Momochi," Orochimaru recognized the rogue swordsman immediately. "I find it hard to believe the reports that said that you were now working for Konoha. What a shame, to see such a magnificent ninja like yourself being reduced to Jiraiya's lapdog..."

"I'm nobody's lapdog!" Zabuza yelled, increasing his killing intent. "Even if my predicament isn't the best, it's still miles ahead of your fate. I'm sure Jiraiya will accelerate my probation if I give you your head on a silver platter."

Orochimaru chuckled, amused. "You think so?" The Snake Sannin then countered Zabuza's killing intent with a wave of his own, which overpowered the swordsman's, and even made him to flinch. "Are you really aware of what you're going against?"

Still, Zabuza managed to make an admirable job in withstanding the almost inhuman wave of killing intent. He smirked, and slammed his sword into the ground. "You don't become one of the Seven Swordsmen by running away from challenges."

"So be it then," Orochimaru grinned before thrusting one hand forward. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Multiple snakes appeared from his sleeved and lunged at Zabuza. The swordsman quickly swung his sword, beheading all of them in one swipe, and charged against Orochiomaru as fast as he could, thrusting his sword forward. Orochimaru nimbly stepped aside, let the sword pass, and locked his arms around Zabuza's neck and shoulder.

"That was very amateurish on your part," Orochimaru told him.

"Think so?" Zabuza smirked under his mask.

Suddenly, other two Zabuzas appeared and charged Orochimaru from different directions. The Sannin tossed the Zabuza he was holding against one of the attackers, while he faced the other. He made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Thrusting his arms forward, the Snake Sannin cast a gale-force burst of wing that turned Zabuza, who revealed itself to be a clone, into a puddle of water. The other two Zabuzas wasted no time and attacked from behind, but Orochimaru extended his arms, and snakes came from his sleeves, biting them in the neck, turning them into puddles of water as well.

"Why don't you stop hiding behind your clones and come out to fight me yourself? Or are you a coward?" Orochimaru taunted.

Zabuza jumped from a nearby roof, landing in front of Orochimaru.

"I do not appreciate being called a coward," the –presumably– real Zabuza stated as he grabbed his sword.

Orochimaru ignored Zabuza's wounded pride and chuckled. "Hey, I have an idea. Given that we're both swordsmen, how about if we fight using nothing but swords? I believe it's appropriate."

Zabuza snorted. "You, a swordsman? My bingo book doesn't say anything about that."

"Your bingo book needs an update then. Now behold," Orochimaru opened his mouth wide, and a snake emerged. The snake also opened its jaws, and a sword came from its throat. Orochimaru grabbed the blade, while the snake returned inside the Sannin's body. He twirled his sword, a double-bladed straight one with a golden handle, and shot the Kiri ninja a chilling smile. "So this is my sword. What do you think?"

Zabuza's eyes were wide open. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Which would make his fight against Orochimaru even harder. "I-Is...is that...the Sword of Kusanagi?"

"Correct. I would have been disappointed if you of all people didn't recognize it," Orochimaru replied with slight amusement, as he made a couple of air swings."Shall we begin?"

Before Zabuza had a chance to answer, Orochimaru was already charging, his sword hungry for flesh and blood. Zabuza managed to snap out of his stupor in time, and parried the initial hit. Sparks flew the moment both weapons clashed. Using his sword's superior size, Zabuza pushed Orochimaru's back and prepared to swing again.

"Too slow!" Orochimaru cackled as he quickly tried to stab Zabuza.

Zabuza, however, was aware of this, and moved his sword so Kusanagi would pass through the hole of the upper side. In another quick movement, he then moved his sword into the opposite direction, leaving Orochimaru's sword locked.

"Very well, Zabuza," Orochimaru praised, his grin never leaving his face. "It would have been a valid tactic if my blade didn't have so many perks."

Kusanagi's blade started to glow with a blue light, and Orochimaru pulled his sword, releasing it while cutting Zabuza's Executioner's Blade as if it was butter.

"MY SWORD!" a panicked Zabuza shouted.

Orochimaru capitalized on Zabuza's shock, and tried to stab him again. Zabuza noticed, and moved to the side. Unfortunately, he was too slow, and the sword ended up slashing his shoulder.

"Now die!" Orochimaru shouted before lunging at Zabuza once again.

The Kiri swordsman made a hand seal, and suddenly a very thick mist covered the area. The swordsman managed to get away, since Kusanagi only pierced thin air. The Sanin activated his Sharingan in order to see through the mist, but much to his shock and anger, his stolen Bloodline Limit wouldn't be of any help. The mist dispelled itself a few seconds later, but Zabuza was nowhere to be seen.

"And you said you hated being called a coward!? Come back here and face me!" Orochimaru yelled to no one in particular.

"Come now, don't be angry just because a man follows his self-preservation instincts," a voice behind him said. "Besides, I'm sure I can provide a much better challenge."

Orochimaru turned around, and his anger instantly melted, replaced by pure sadistic joy.

"Jiraiya," Orochimaru was grinning widely. "I was hoping that you would come out and play with me a little. By the way, I heard that you somehow married Tsunade-hime. However, I didn't get any invitation to the ceremony. You really hurt my feelings, Jiraiya."

"Feelings? You have those?" the white haired Sannin snarled. "Anyway, when I'm done with you, your feelings won't be the only thing I hurt."

"Ah, I see that time didn't reduce your bravado in one bit. But unfortunately for your ego, you're about to get a reality check. Especially once I show you the surprise I have prepared, specifically for you. You're going to love it," Orochimaru sadistically grinned.

"Unless said surprise is your own head in a spike, don't bother," Jiraiya started to make hand seals. "Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya breathed a huge fireball at Orochimaru, who didn't bother to dodge, letting the fire consume him. However, when the fire died down, all what was left was a melting mud clone. And before the Toad Sage had any time to react, two snakes emerged from below, and wrapped themselves around the Sannin, pinning his arms against his body.

"Once again, you prove it takes very little effort to fool you, Jiraiya," Orochimaru chuckled as he appeared from behind. He made a hand sign, and both snakes sank their teeth into Jiraiya's neck...which then turned into another mud clone. "What?"

"And once again, your arrogance proves to be your undoing," Jiraiya stated from the roof of a nearby building. He then adopted a theatrical pose. "Do you really think I'll let you or anybody fool Jiraiya, Great Toad Sage and Fifth Hokage, in front of the people of the village I rule and protect? Ha! Your head will explode upon witnessing the sheer awesomeness I possess!"

"Oh, I'm so going to enjoy shutting up that big mouth of yours forever...enough playtime! Sharingan!" Orochimaru's stolen Bloodline Limit flared to life, before thrusting both arms upwards. "Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

A truly ridiculous amount of snakes emerged from under Orochimaru's sleeves, and lunged at Jiraiya, hissing incessantly and showing their sharp fangs. Jiraiya smirked, and made the same hand seals as before.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya once again let out a fire projectile at the incoming snakes. However, they moved to the sides the last second, successfully avoiding the fiery attack, and leaving Jiraiya vulnerable to attack from the sides. However, Jiraiya did something that neither the snakes nor their evil master were expecting.

The white haired man jumped backwards, and used the fire that was coming from his mouth to propel himself far from the snakes, which failed their attack.

"You can't escape from neither me nor my eyes, Jiraiya!" Orochimaru's voice said from behind. "These eyes can see everything!"

Turning around while in mid air, Jiraiya saw the surreal image of Orochimaru riding a massive amorphous mass formed by hundreds of snakes. Upon seeing their prey, many of the reptiles lunged at him. Unfortunately for them, Jiraiya wasn't Hokage because of his –in his opinion– unbelievably handsome face. He made more hand seals.

"Needle Jizo!"

Jiriaya's hair grew in both length and volume, and became sharp and spiky, while it wrapped itself around the Toad Sage. The snakes were unable to stop in time, and their jaws bit nothing but sharp and hard needles. And unfortunately for them, Jiraiya wasn't done yet.

"Did you see that? And I'm not done yet! Needle Hell!"

This time, Jiraiya shot his hardened needle-like hair in every direction, piercing Orochimaru's snakes, as well as the Snake Sannin himself. However, the pale skinned man was undeterred. Many of his snakes opened their mouths, releasing more snakes, which at the same time vomited even more snakes.

"Do you always need to make fighting you so damn disgusting?" Jiraiya protested, as he grimaced.

To answer that question, Orochimaru opened his mouth, and his really long tongue wrapped around Jiraiya's neck. Orochimaru's own neck then started to stretch as if it was made of rubber, as the black haired Sannin –or better said, his head– lunged at Jiraiya, his mouth wide open, revealing his sharp teeth.

"Oh hell no!" the Toad Sanin decked Orochimaru right in the nose before he could sink his teeth into Jiraiya's neck. Fortunately, it also made Orochimaru remove his tongue from Jiraiya.

"If you reject my kisses, then I hope you prefer my fangs," Orochimaru stated as he pulled the Sword of Kusanagi out of his throat once again.

Orochimaru charged at Jiraiya once again, who did his best to avoid the Snake Sannin's swipes. Jiraiya would have never pegged his ex-teammate as somebody skilled with a sword, but Orochimaru's display was nothing short of impressive. Jiraiya jumped backwards, and made his godson's favorite hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A Jiraiya clone popped besides the original, which was reading a new jutsu.

"Toad Oil Bullet!"

The clone puffed his cheeks, and expelled a stream of dense oil which hit Orochimaru and his many snakes. Meanwhile, the real Jiraiya finished the hand seals of another technique.

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya breathed a stream of fire at the oil covered foes, making a flash when the oil ignited. While he could see the snakes writhing in agony as they burned to death, there was an empty husk which barely looked like Orochimaru in his place.

"I know that's it takes more than that to take you down. Come on, where are you...?" Jiraiya wondered as he looked around, waiting for Orochimaru's attack.

A huge snake emerged from behind Jiraiya. The snake opened its mouth, revealing Orochimaru, a sadistic grin on his face and the Kusanagi on his hands. He lunged at Jiraiya, who tried to grab the sword by the blade, but couldn't stop the weapon's momentum, and the blade was embedded into his chest.

"ACK!"

"It's over, Jiraiya. I win," Orochimaru declared.

Jiraiya, however, grinned in return, and he disappeared in a poof of smoke, revealing a large toad in his place, which was firmly gripping Kusanagi.

"Big Ball Rasengan!"

The toad disappeared at the same time its summoner appeared from behind, and the Toad Sage slammed his enhanced Rasengan into Orochimaru's back. When the contained chakra was released, it created such an explosion that send the Snake Sannin spiraling forward, until he crashed against a building.

The attack had left Orochimaru badly wounded and bloodied, with many nasty looking bruises and even some missing body parts. Unfortunately, the damage done didn't mean much as the Snake Sannin regurgitated a new, completely healed body in no time.

"You can't defeat me, Jiraiya. The sooner you accept that, the sooner can this nonsense end," Orochimaru taunted.

"Keep believing that, you traitor. You'll only make my victory all the sweeter," Jiraiya retorted.

Orochimaru chuckled, amused. "Still thinking that you can do anything you want if you just work very hard for it? Always the idealist," Orochimaru shook his head in disapproval. "Just like the old times. You never changed, Jiraiya. Guess that old saying rings true, once a buffoon, always a buffoon."

"A buffoon that has become Hokage, something that you wanted to be so badly," Jiraiya fired back. Orochimaru's smile disappeared. "Oh, did I hit a nerve?"

"Being Hokage was just a means to get my hands on the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing, something that's already in my power as you probably know now," Orochimaru countered, recovering his cool. "So what if you became Hokage? All accomplishments are meaningless in the face of death, which will come for everybody, except for me. And while you may be remembered as a Hokage, I will live forever to see all my ambitions realized."

"Maybe your accomplishments will die with you, but not mine. Do you know why? Because I live for somebody else other than myself," Jiraiya told him.

"So, seeking solace in altruism. Unsurprising, given that's the lie of the weak. Those who live their lives for others is because their own lives are not worth living. Or maybe you couldn't stand the memories of being surrounded by your betters, so you seek the company of those weak enough to need your help and pity?" Orochimaru taunted him, as he licked his lips.

"Oh, I am surrounded by my betters," Jiraiya replied. "It would have taken very little for Minato to surpass me had his life not been cut short. And his son will probably take even less time than him to do so, to say nothing of his little silbings. Yet look at you Orochimaru. No apprentices to call your own, just minions and test subjects. You had apprentices once, but you ended up betraying them. Afraid that they would surpass the oh so mighty genius?"

"And today, one of those apprentices will claim her revenge!" an angry, female voice shouted.

Both Sannin watched Anko landing besides Jiraiya. Her face had a murderous expression, as her hands gripped two kunai tightly.

"Anko-chan? Kukuku, this is surely a surprise," Orochimaru chuckled.

"Let's see if you keep laughing when I flay you alive!" the Snake Mistress threatened.

"Still want a round three? Didn't you learn anything from our fight a few months ago? Even without the Sharingan, you won't stand a chance against me," Orochimaru told her.

"Anko, you need to leave right now! He's right, he's too powerful for you!" Jiraiya agreed, urging the kunoichi to leave.

Orochimaru chuckled. "For once, you said something sensible, Jiraiya."

"No! He needs to die by my hand! I know that he's too much for me alone, but together we can defeat him! Nobody knows him better than me! He taught me almost everything I know!" Anko protested.

"I taught you everything _you_ know, Anko. Not everything _I_ know," Orochimaru pointed out.

"Anko, please! I can't fight and keep you alive at the same time! You'd only get in the way!" Jiraiya pleaded, but to no avail. "Anko, leave now, this is an order from your Hokage!"

"Sorry, Hokage-sama. You can court-martial me later, but there's nothing you can tell me to make me walk out of this fight," Anko firmly declared.

Jiraiya sighed. He knew there was no way to win this argument. He decided to cut loses. "Alright, you can stay. But you'll act as my support. Stay behind me, provide me some cover, and attack only when Orochimaru shows an opening. Understood?"

Anko nodded, and took a couple steps back. "Crystal clear, Hokage-sama."

Orochimaru chuckled upon seeing Jiraiya and Anko ready to attack in tandem. "Kukuku...so, who wants to die first?"

…

 _Konoha Hospital_

It didn't take long before dozens of ninjas started carrying their injured companions to the hospital in order to be healed, bringing the news of Orochimaru's attack. Tsunade immediately ordered all the hospital to be guarded. No doubt it would be one of the first places the invading forces would try to occupy or destroy.

"Somebody help us!" a young Konoha Chunin cried as he and his wounded partner dragged themselves into the hospital.

"Bring the wounded to one of the free beds! A medic-nin will treat him when possible!" Tsunade shouted while she healed another ninja.

"We've run out of antibiotics here!" Shizune called.

"Dammit, somebody go fetch more!" the Slug Sannin roared. However, despite all the chaos going around her, her concentration never wavered, and managed to stabilize the wounded ninja, keeping him out of danger. Once she was done, she moved onto another one who, for some reason, had a tree branch impaling his sides. "What the hell? How did you get hurt with a tree branch?"

"It's no normal branch, Tsunade-sama, it was Wood Release," the wounded ninja's partner replied.

Tsunade sighed in frustration. "So Orochimaru finally managed to infuse his troops with Wood Release. This is very bad news." Tsunade gravely stated as she removed the tree branch and started to heal the wound.

"Actually, it wasn't some random minion...it was the First Hokage himself," the second ninja stated.

Tsunade looked at him as if he grew a second head. Then, her face formed a snarl of fury. "I'm not in the mood for these kind of jokes!"

"He...isn't joking..." the ninja Tsunade was healing managed to say, coughing some blood in the process.

"Don't speak!" Tsunade ordered.

"We are not lying, Tsunade-sama, it was him, your grandfather! Hashirama Senju! Orochimaru somehow brought him back to life and made him his puppet!" the first ninja continued.

"Tsunade-sama, we're getting reports about the First and Second Hokage in the battleground!" Shizune called. "Some people think that they're impersonators, but they have abilities that should be impossible to emulate!"

Tsunade remained silent as she worked on closing the wound of her current patient. While she did so, she pondered what to do next. Ideas and possibilities raced through her mind, some of them being considered, others being tossed aside. The moment she managed to stabilize her current patient, she took a decision.

"Shizune, you're now in charge of taking care of the wounded. I need to go," Tsunade solemnly stated.

"WHAT!? Tsunade-sama, you can't be serious!" the black haired woman screamed.

"I am. If my grandfather and granduncle are out there, I need to see it with my own eyes," Tsunade replied.

"But...but...what about the wounded? This is where you can help the most! We need you here!" Shizune pleaded.

"You'll do fine without me, Shizune. Besides, there's an old saying that says that the best way to heal a wound is to make sure it never happens to begin with. Konoha has very few ninja who can deal with the likes of the First and the Second. I'll make sure they won't wound nor kill more of our comrades," Tsunade explained.

Shizune remained silent for a bit, She looked down, and sighed, seemingly accepting her master's decision. "Fine, but be careful, okay? I want you to live so you can see my kid."

Tsunade smiled. "Don't worry, Shizune. Many people tried to kill me, and none of them succeeded. This time won't be different."

Tsunade stepped out of the hospital, and looked around. It didn't take her to see the massive forest that wasn't there an hour ago. That's where she should go. She had to shut down her inner medic who asked her to tend the many wounded across Konoha, but she had a new duty to fulfill.

A family reunion with her long deceased grandfather.

…

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Release: Great Water Wall!"

Itachi breathed a massive fireball at Tobirama, at the same time the Second Hokage created a massive circular wall of water around himself that safely put out Itachi's fire attack. The fact that he made out without using an existing source of water made the act even more impressive.

 _"I heard about the Second's prowess with water jutsu, but this..."_ the Uchiha thought, trying to push distressing thoughts out of his mind. _"My experience fighting Shizune will be of little help here."_

"You'll have to do better if you hope to defeat me, Uchiha," Tobirama stated in his nerve-grating neutral and stoic tone. He then made a hand seal, releasing a burst of chakra through his body that undid a genjutsu Itachi had quietly placed upon him before. "And drop the genjutsu. You caught me off guard before, but that won't work a second time."

"Can't blame me for trying," Itachi replied.

"I fought plenty of your kin during the Warring States Era. I seriously hope your clan developed something new," Tobirama stated. Then he started doing hand seals again. "Watch out! Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"

This time, Tobirama didn't need to create more water literally out of thin air, and using the water of the previous attack, he made a dragon-shaped water construct that lunged at Itachi with a fiery roar. The Uchiha made a single hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A single clone appeared alongside Itachi, and pushed the original high into the air, avoiding the dragon-shaped torrent (albeit the clone wasn't so lucky). While in mid air, Itachi's Sharingan caught Tobirama leaping at him like a rocket, kunai in hand. Itachi barely had time to parry the attack with his own katana. Itachi pushed the albino Senju back, and returned to the ground.

"You're fast. Even with my Sharingan, I could barely keep track of your movements," Itachi observed.

"My lifetime of experience fighting Uchiha taught me that no matter what your clan says, even the Sharigan has its limits," Tobirama told him. "Relying on a Bloodline Limit too much, no matter how powerful, will lead to doom."

"And while I agree with that, I believe my eyes will be a necessary tool not only if I want to win, but if I want to come out of this alive," Itachi replied.

Tobirama remained silent for a moment, and stared at Itachi quizzically. "You know, you don't look like most of the Uchiha I met in my time. Your eyes..."

"What about them?" Itachi asked.

"The eyes of the Uchiha often reflect pride and hatred, but yours..." Tobirama narrowed his own eyes. "I can only see...regret."

"Don't we all have things we regret?" Itachi retorted.

"True, but not all of them are of the same magnitude," Tobirama replied. Then he suddenly grew concerned. "Watch out!"

Itachi prepared to defend as Tobirama once again started to make hand seals.

"I'm afraid you're not going to like this. Yin Release: Bringer of Darkness!"

The entire battlefield was engulfed by shadows, leaving Itachi completely blinded.

"I will keep talking so you can pinpoint my position through my voice. I believe you can do that?" Tobirama asked.

"Don't worry. While powerful, I learned how to fight without relying on my eyes," Itachi answered as he tried to locate the Hokage.

"You're one of a kind, Uchiha," Tobirama praised, as he dashed Itachi from behind, in a diagonal angle.

Itachi managed to turn around, and raise his katana. The sound of metal clashing revealed that Tobirama's attack was successfully blocked, but when he tried to counterattack, his sword only stabbed thin air.

"To your right!" Tobirama warned him.

Itachi moved to his left, and could feel the air displaced by the Second's dash, indicating that he dodged the attack. But once again, he found himself unable to retaliate.

 _"I just can't fight defensively all the time. If I don't attack, I'll end up losing. Come on, calm down and focus on the sound of his steps..."_ Itachi told himself. His breath slowed down, and he sharpened his ears.

For a few moments, there was silence. Itachi's ears managed to grasp the sound of Tobirama's light steps, but they moved in random directions, clearly in an attempt to disorient him. Then, the attack came...

"Watch out!"

...albeit it didn't came from Tobirama, but from Itachi. The Uchiha managed to locate his foe just when he was going to attack, and Itachi moved faster. In a clean cut, he sliced the Second's right arm, and part of his chest. The darkness was dispelled. But only a very confusing sight awaited the red-eyed man.

Tobirama's wound wasn't bleeding. Not blood, at least. The innards of his body weren't made of flesh and blood, but of ash and dust. But that wasn't as bad as what it came next.

"What the...?" Itachi mumbled.

His Sharingan saw how dust and ashes started to whirl around Tobirama's wound, slowly regenerating it. In a few seconds, Tobirama regenerated the whole arm.

"Those brought back with Impure World Resurrection are immortal. Even if you destroy my body completely, it will be rebuild," the Second Hokage explained.

Itachi's stoic façade didn't break. "Then how I am supposed to defeat you?"

"You need to tear my soul out of this body. Or seal my body so it can't endanger more people. Or find the summoner and make him undo the jutsu," Tobirama explained.

"How if I kill him instead?" Itachi suggested, as he started to pant.

"I wouldn't recommend to do that. Killing the summoner wouldn't send those brought back to the place they belong, and they would keep trying to fulfill their master's last will until they succeed," Tobirama continued explaining, but stopped when he noticed something odd about Itachi. "Are you out of breath already? I swear you aren't older than twenty. If your physical condition is so poor, then you won't last long against me."

Itachi wanted to ask him what was he talking about, but he realized that his opponent was right. His breathing had become much heavier, as if his lungs were burning.

 _"He's right. It shouldn't feel this tired so soon. What's wrong with me...? I need to end this fast..."_ The Uchiha thought, now more distressed. "Sealing your body, you said? I have something I believe it may work..."

…

Meanwhile, in another part of the town, two of Konoha's newest Chunin were fighting a group of Oto ninja. Despite being outnumbered, the rookie Chunin had no intention of losing to the invading hordes.

"Earth Release: Earth Sharp Spear!" an Oto officer shot a spike-shaped projectile from his hands at his target.

The missile hit its mark, a blond wearing an orange tracksuit under a green flak jacket, impaling him. However, the blond disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a log behind. The masked ninja opened his eyes wide in shock, and turned around to see where his foe went, but it was too late.

"Too slow!" Naruto mocked as he formed a chakra sphere on his right hand. "Rasengan!"

Upon expanding, the exploding chakra blasted the Oto officer against a nearby building, knocking him out of commission. And with his enemy vanquished, Naruto could now help Hinata deal with the rank-and-file Oto ninja, but as she was about to demonstrate, she didn't need any help.

"Eight Trigrams: Thirty-Two Palms! Two Palms! Four Palms!" the Oto ninja were unable to block Hinata's skilled strikes, and the Hyuga heiress continued her combo. "Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty Two Palms!"

Her attack completed, all her enemies were now in no condition to fight.

"Hinata-hime, are you okay?" Naruto asked, as he landed beside her.

Hinata smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. They weren't as threatening as they look at first sight."

"Then maybe you'll welcome a greater challenge?" a familiar voice asked above them.

They turned around, and saw a glasses-wearing, silver haired ninja with an Oto headband landing in front of them. "You certainly did a number on my men. But then again, no amount of body modifications can replace genuine skill."

"Kabuto..." Naruto growled upon seeing Orochimaru's right hand man.

"Naruto-kun...do you want to fight him?" Hinata asked, her previous confidence now gone. This man proved to be a challenging opponent when they had the support of Team Asuma. While now, not even their own team was complete.

"Of course! We've gotten much stronger since the last time we fought him! We're Chunin now!" Naruto proudly stated.

Kabuto shook his head disapprovingly. "Such a hothead. Even if you grew stronger, you assumed that I stayed the same. I'll be more than happy to remind you how outclassed you are."

"Less talking, more smacking! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto created a dozen clones that didn't need any verbal command to charge at Kabuto.

"This is going to be fun," Kabuto smiled as he activated his Chakra Scalpels on both hands and engaged the clones in close quarter combat, skillfully cutting them down, and avoiding being hit. Unfortunately for Kabuto, the clones were just a distraction. Unfortunately for his enemies, he was well aware of that.

Hinata dashed at the seemingly distracted Kabuto as stealthy as she could, as she made several hand seals, and leaped at him.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Kabuto smirked and grabbed an attacking Naruto clone by the arm, using it as a human shield against Hinata's attack. The clone instantly poofed, but it wasn't enough to stop Hinata's momentum, and her attack connected with the intended target. Unfortunately for the Hyuga, the moment she touched the silver haired medic-nin, he disappeared, leaving behind the very same log Naruto used before.

Hinata's Byakugan immediately pinpointed the Oto ninja's position.

"Naruto-kun! He's below you, underground!" the Hyuga cried.

Naruto jumped just in time before Kabuto could grab –and potentially damage– Naruto's ankles. The blond then pulled out a kunai carved with seals.

"Alright, I've been looking forward an opportunity to use this in a real combat!" Naruto channeled his chakra through the special kunai, and it projected a blue blade of pure chakra.

"Oh?.. I must admit, that's an ingenious weapon," Kabuto praised as he dug himself out. "But I'm afraid that it won't be of much help against such a superior opponent."

"We'll see that!" Naruto replied as he charged, chakra sword in hand.

Both ninja engaged in melee combat once again, Naruto dealing powerful blows with his new weapon, and Kabuto parrying them without much effort with his Chakra Scalpels. Once he grew bored, he kicked the blond in the gut, pushing him back.

"You can't defeat me, kids. Even if you somehow managed to overpower me, in the end you'd still lose," Kabuto taunted them.

"Why, because of this poor attempt at an invasion? Konoha has gone through worse in the past," Naruto replied.

Kabuto shook his head. "You're so unaware of what's going on, it's almost laughable. No, what I'm talking about is the real reason for me fighting you here. While you're wasting your time with me, an squad of Orochimaru-sama's elite ninjas is attacking the Academy. They will kidnap your little siblings, and kill the rest. Yes, we know about their Bloodline Limits. Wood Release, huh? Who would have guessed."

Both Naruto and Hinata paled upon hearing those words, fearing the worst for their respective little siblings.

"You...you lie!" Hinata accused, her voice trembling.

"Yeah! Why would you need to distract me! You said it yourself, I'm not that strong, I'm shouldn't be a threat for those so-called 'elite ninjas'! Besides, what about mom and dad?" Naruto countered, his words coated in rage.

"Orochimaru-sama has been watching you, among others, and has come to the conclusion that you are not to be underestimated. As for the other two Sannin...don't worry, they're distracted for a long time," Kabuto smiled wickedly. "In fact, I believe their mission has already been completed. So, to show you that I'm not lying, I will stop attacking you, and allow you to go to the Academy, so you can see it yourself."

Naruto's eyes turned red, their pupils becoming slitted like a feral beast. "If you did something to them, I swear..."

 _"Hanabi-chan..."_ Hinata thought.

"Tick tock, Naruto-kun. The more time you waste with me, the less time you have to rescue your little siblings," Kabuto mocked him.

The jinchuriki decided that Kabuto was right and dashed towards the Academy, followed by Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, even if I'm worried for Hanabi...what if he's lying? What if we're heading to a trap?" Hinata asked.

"I took that into account, but I just can't ignore the possibility," Naruto replied. "Besides, he knew about their Bloodline Limits. I wouldn't put past somebody like Orochimaru to invade Konoha just to get his slimy hands on my siblings and their power."

"Alright then...but let's be careful!"

Kabuto watched the two Chunin disappear into the distance. He shook his head once again, and laughed.

"Hook, line, and sinker," Kabuto told to no one in particular. "Children. You're so naive..."

Even if Kabuto's words were true, Naruto was heading straight to a trap after all.

…

 _Konoha Academy_

The moment they took notice of the attack on the village, the teachers, lead by Ebisu, immediately began the evacuation of the Academy.

"Get out in orderly fashion, but don't lag behind!" Ebisu commanded.

"Come on, the bunker is pretty close. Don't panic, you'll be in a safe place in no time," Iruka tried to calm down the frightened children.

Little did they know that, perched on a nearby tree, the Sound Five were watching them.

"Yes, there they are," Kidomaru, the six armed man, stated, while looking through a spyglass. "The white hair is impossible to miss."

"Alright then, you know Orochimaru-sama's orders. Get the kids, but make sure there is an adult left to warn Naruto when he comes," Kimimaro instructed.

The rest nodded, and jumped from the tree, ready to attack.

…

"Fire Release: Flame Bullet!"

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Jiraiya breathed yet another fireball at his former friend, who stopped it by creating a large wall of water. The clash of elements produced a cloud of steam. Between the cloud blocking Orochimaru's Sharingan and the fact that he just defended from an attack, it was Anko's moment to strike.

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

A dragon-shaped fire projectile fired at Orochimaru just after we was done casting the Water Wall. The Sannin merely smirked, and sunk underground.

"Did I get him?" Anko impatiently asked.

When the steam dispelled, there was nothing left.

"I doubt it," Jiraiya warily replied as he looked around. "Stay alert! I can still feel his killing intent..."

"Feel THIS Jiraiya!" Orochimaru shouted as he emerged underground just behind the Toad Sage, as he was about to sink his Sword of Kusanagi into Jiraiya's back.

Jiraiya turned around, but it was too late. There was no way he could move in time to avoid the Snake Sannin's mostly fatal attack.

Fortunately, he didn't need to.

"What!?"

Orochimaru saw shocked how his sword had been parried by a black, metallic staff, being held by the person he hated the most in the whole world.

Even then, Orochimaru couldn't help but smile. "Sarutobi-sensei...you came. Did you come here to die alongside your student?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi, wearing his battle gear and wielding the Adamantine Staff, pushed Orochimaru away from Jiraiya, and adopted a fighting stance.

"No, my former student. I came here to undo the mistake I made a decade ago by letting you go," Hiruzen defiantly replied.

Orochimaru's Sharingan scanned his enemies, as his brain began to formulate possible strategies. But against these odds, he would be forced to use his ace in the hole.

"Look at this. My former sensei, former teammate and former apprentice, fighting together against a common foe," Orochimaru noted. "Too bad not even with your combined forces stand a chance against me."

"You overestimate your Sharingan, Orochimaru. It won't be of much help against the three of us," Jiraiya retorted.

"True. Even with these eyes, the odds are against me. Thankfully, the Sharingan is far from being the only resource I possess to turn the tables in my favor," Orochimaru replied, and started making hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!"

"NO!"

Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock and dashed in order to stop Orochimaru from completing the jutsu, but it was too late. The yellow-eyed man slammed his hand into the ground, summoning two wooden coffins. One of the coffin had the kanji of "Fire" above the kanji of "Fourth". The second one had a swirl, the emblem of the long nonexistent Uzushiogakure.

The coffins opened, and their occupants stepped out of them, revealing their identities. A blond man wearing a white and red robe over the standard Konoha Jonin uniform, and a woman with long red hair, wearing a green dress over a short sleeved white shirt.

"Look at this, Jiraiya. Do you remember them?" Orochimaru cruelly taunted, as the coffins' occupants stepped out of them.

"Minato...Kushina..." Jiraiya whispered in shock.

"Why the long face, Jiraiya? Aren't you happy to see your former apprentice and his wife? I thought your reaction would be happier one," the Snake Sannin continued his taunt.

"You...how dare you!?" Hiruzen was seething in anger. "How you dare to use that abominable jutsu on the two people who sacrificed the most for this village! Does your evil know no limit, Orochimaru!? I'm ashamed to think that I used to call you my apprentice!"

While Orochimaru enjoyed his sensei's rage-filled reaction, he paid it no mind.

"Now, I believe that the odds are once again in my favor. Minato Namikaze was so powerful, he used to be feared by the rest of the villages in a way no other ninja has been feared. Now it's Konoha's turn to feel that very same dread!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, the invasion of Konoha begins. And as you can see, Minato is back. Like I said to many of you in the review replies, Orochimaru was simply waiting for the right time to summon him. And before you guys point out that he didn't need the mask to summon Kushina, I already know that. he summoned her for added psychological effect, and because, even if we never saw her fight, it's kind of implied that Kushina is pretty strong.**

 **Also, a bit of warning: as you can see, the story is now focusing mostly on the adult characters, with Naruto and his friends getting little screentime. But don't worry, after a couple chapters, the focus will go back to the Konoha 15, leading to the flash forward we saw at the beginning of the previous chapter. In the meantime, enjoy the high-level fights of the Sanin, Hiruzen, Itachi, Shisui, and the resurrected Kages.**

 **Speaking of which...I just realized that Jiraiya never fought anybody until this chapter. Man, I didn't realize it took me this long to have the Toad Sage display some of his legendary badasstitude. Hopefully both this chapter and the ones to come will make up for such lateness.**

 **Alright, let's see if this story can break the 1000 reviews mark! If you make it true with your reviews, you would make me really, really, really happy!**


	34. Battle of the Hokage

**Author's note: Wohoo! Thanks to the phenomenal reception of the latest chapter, we passed the 1000 reviews mark! Thanks to everybody who helped this story be part of the fourth digit reviews club! Shout out to rbear1231, who submitted the review #1000.**

 **Speaking of reviews, I got a lot of reviewers asking how minato could be resurrected since he's supposed to be inside the Shinigami stomatch and yadda yadda...well, read the ending of Chapter 31. Orochimaru got his hands on the Shinigami mask, which can be used to release the souls from their imprisonment. I thought that it was clear enough not to merit an explaination. Anyway, now I'm not going to address this issue any further.**

 **Now enjoy the new chapter, and see you at the bottom notes:**

* * *

 **Chapter 34:**

Battle of the Hokage

 _or_

 _When Legends Collide_

…

The three Konoha ninja facing Orochimaru stared in shock as the occupants of the coffins stepped out of them. There was no mistake; those were Minato and Kushina, looking no different from the time the Kyubi escaped, if they ignored the black eyes and the cracked skin that gave them such a creepy and otherworldly appearance.

"Besides Minato, I also have the Senju brothers, working to destroying Konoha at other parts of the village," Orochimaru grinned again as his Sharingan rested on his former sensei and former teammate. "Now I only need you two to have the whole set."

"...where am I?" a disoriented Minato asked, until he saw Jiraiya. "Sensei? Is that you?"

"You look so old!" Kushina added.

Jiraiya wouldn't have left such remark unanswered, but this was no time for jokes, so he decided to give them a brief summary of the situation. "Yes, it's me. Orochimaru used a forbidden jutsu to bring you back to life. And the reason for why I look so old...is that thirteen years have passed since your death."

The Fourth and his wife weighed on Jiraiya's words, trying to find a sense for what was going on.

"But...how is that I don't remember anything after the Kyubi impaled us?" Kushina asked.

"I have no answer for that," Jiraiya solemnly replied.

"How could you resurrect Minato? He used the Reaper Death Seal to seal the Nine Tails away! His soul shouldn't be available for you to defile!" Hiruzen pointed out.

"Ah, I see you're familiar with this jutsu, sensei. Which shouldn't be surprising, given that it was your own very sensei who developed it," Orochimaru delighted in the irony of the situation. "You could say that thanks to the knowledge of the Forbidden Scroll, I was able to find a way to retrieve Minato's soul."

On one side, both Hiruzen and Jiraiya were thankful that Minato was no longer sealed inside the Reaper's stomach. On the other hand, being a slave to Orochimaru wasn't much better. Then again, there could be a way to undo the jutsu and give Minato's soul the peace he deserved so much.

Kushina's arm started to twitch. "I can't control my body. It's like...like if somebody else is manipulating it from the inside!"

"Very sharp, my dear Uzumaki. While you might retain your free will, it's useless since I'm the one in control of your actions. You're nothing but my puppets," Orochimaru stated, and then he looked back at his opposition. "You know, I have an idea. Sensei, why don't you fight against me, while Jiraiya fights against Minato? That way, two masters will die at the hands of their respective students!"

"You certainly have to be too confident for your own good if you think you can take me on," Hiruzen replied.

"With these eyes, nothing is impossible," Orochimaru taunted, before deciding that the time for words was over. "Anyway, I'm growing impatient for your death, sensei, so let's start already! Minato, Kushina, kill Jiraiya and Anko-chan, and then aid the rest of my forces in the destruction of Konoha!"

The orders already issued, Orochimaru jumped away, followed by Hiruzen.

"Where do you think you're going? The only master who will die at his student's hands will be you!" Anko wanted to follow her former sensei and her former Hokage, but a red headed kunoichi got in the way and attacked Anko with a pair of kunai. "Hey!"

"Sorry, but my body moves on her own, ya know!" Kushina stated in an apologetic tone. "I'm afraid you won't be able to kill that bastard until you get rid of us first."

"So be it then," Anko replied as she thrust her arm forward. "Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Several snakes shot from Anko's sleeve and lunged at Kushina. The redhead jumped backwards while she made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Kushina blew a powerful gust of wind that pushed both the snakes and Anko backwards, much to the latter's surprise.

 _"Alright, since neither Orochimaru nor any of his snakes are close, maybe I can call for some help,"_ Anko thought as she bit her finger and made several hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Anko slammed her palm into the ground, summoning a relatively large green hooded snake.

"Another Snake summoner...yet you fight for Konoha. Are you related to Orochimaru?" Kushina asked.

"Unfortunately, yes," Anko sourly replied. "I used to be his apprentice before the bastard turned me into his guinea pig. I won't rest until he pays for what he did."

With a hand command, the giant cobra nodded and lunged at Kushina. The Uzumaki kunoichi jumped in time to avoid the cobra's maws, and proceeded to do more hand seals.

"Wind Release: Air Bullet!"

Kushina shot from her mouth several projectiles of compressed air against the giant snake. The air bullets made noisy explosions upon hitting the target. While it was hit by the first few, the giant snake was agile enough to dodge the rest, and hit Kushina with its tail, slamming her against a small house. The force of the impact was such that it brought the house down, burying Kushina under a pile of debris and rubble.

"Got you!" Anko started to make hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Pouring as much chakra as she could, the Snake Mistress breathed a stream of fire shaped like a dragon at the pile of debris. However, much to her shock, Kushina burst out from the pile of burning rubble with some bruises and burns that took no time to regenerate.

"Watch out for my next attack! It can bind your chakra, ya know!" Kushina warned, while still mid air.

The moment she landed, several chains shot from her back, and as if they had a mind of their own, flew towards Anko and her summoned snake. Anko managed to dodge them with no problem, but the snake wasn't so lucky, and the chains wrapped around it. The giant cobra tried to struggle in vain, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"The hell? How did you cancel my summon?" A shocked Anko asked.

"I already told you! The chains bind chakra, and in case of summoned animals, it severs the link created by the Summoning Jutsu, forcing them to go back to where they come from, ya know!" Kushina told her. Her hands started to make hand seals. "Watch out, I'm going to attack again!"

"You're a wind type, right? Good then," Anko smirked as she made hand seals of her own.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Another fire stream and gust of wind were formed, and clashed against each other. Kushina's wind jutsu increased the power of Anko's fire jutsu, but her wind blew with such force that it stopped the fire from advancing any further, resulting in a stalemate. Stalemate that was about to come to an end when Kushina emerged from the flames, and before Anko had any time to react, she landed a punch at the Snake Mistress' face.

"OW! My nose!" Anko protested, as she grabbed her bleeding nose with one hand.

"Sorry! I'm trying not to hit as hard as I can, but it's kind of difficult, ya know!" Kushina apologized.

As she stood up and readjusted her nose, Anko was tempted to take a look at the other combat happening not far from them, but he knew the moment she took her eyes from Kushina, she would be dead.

"I hope Hokage-sama is having an easier time with your husband," Anko commented.

...

Needless to say, given that Jiraiya was facing one of the most powerful and feared ninjas who ever lived, he wasn't having an easier time.

"SENSEI, WATCH OUT!" Minato shouted, drawing Jiraiya's attention.

The Sannin paled upon seeing six three-pronged kunai on his late student's hands. "SHIT!"

Minato threw the kunai in multiple directions, all of them near Jiraiya, and instantly disappeared. Fortunately, Jiraiya had the perfect counter.

"Needle Jizo!"

Once again, Jiraiya's hair turned into sharp needles, and wrapped around his whole body, just in time to block a punch coming from behind from Minato.

"Nice reflexes, sensei," Minato praised. "Sensei, I notice that Orochimaru's control loosened a bit. I'll try to hold back as much as I can."

Jiraiya nodded. "It seems that Orochimaru want to focus all his attention on Sarutobi-sensei. Good, this might prove a fatal mistake on his part."

"Watch out, here I come again!" Minato warned as he pulled out another three pronged kunai, and vanished again.

Jiraiya pulled out another kunai as well, and managed to successfully parry an incoming slash from Minato after he appeared besides the Sannin. Minato disappeared and reappeared near Jiraiya multiple times in order to attack again. Jiraiya managed to successfully predict and block most of his attacks, but soon he was unable to keep the pace, and Minato was able to land several swipes, before sending him flying with a powerful kick to the chest.

"Urgh..." Jiraiya groaned as he got back on his feet. "And this is you holding back?"

Minato smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, sensei. I'm trying. I really am."

"It's okay. It's not your fault," Jiraiya replied. However, his eyes widened again when he saw Minato quickly retrieving his kunai, and tossing them at Jiraiya again. This time, he made a different approach.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

The white haired Sannin slammed his hand into the ground, erecting a rock wall that successfully stopped the kunai in their tracks, but wouldn't stop Minato in any meaningful way.

 _"Now's my chance!"_ Jiraiya thought as he made a clone. "Camouflage Jutsu!"

The real Jiraiya became invisible just before Minato shattered the wall with a Rasengan.

"You could have jumped above it, you know," the Jiraiya clone pointed out.

"My thoughts exactly," Minato agreed. Then, he pulled out a tri-pronged kunai and tossed it at Jiraiya. "Watch out for my next attack!"

The Jiraiya clone dodged the kunai. However, Minato teleported to the kunai the moment it passed the white haired man, and slammed a Rasengan on his back.

"I'm sorry, sensei..." Minato sorrowfully said as he was forced to end his sensei's life...

...only for "Jiraiya" to burst in oil, dunking Minato completely.

"What?"

Jiraiya decloaked behind the confused Minato. There were five small blue flames at the tip of each of his fingertips.

"Sealing Art: Five Elemental Seals!"

The Toad Sage successfully slammed his hand on Minato's back, placing the seal. Minato took no time to notice the seal messing with his chakra completely. He tried to teleport, only to find out he was unable to.

"Well done, sensei," Minato praised. "But I'm afraid that'll only buy you a few seconds before I undo it."

"That's all what I need," Jiraiya replied while making hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Flame Bullet!"

Minato was engulfed by a massive fire projectile, which set on fire the oil drenching his clothes. When the attack receded, only a burning body remained. Jiraiya sighed heavily, and looked at his defiled student with sad eyes.

"Sorry, Minato. I swear that I'll make-"

However, Jiraiya's words were interrupted by something he wasn't expecting. The flames burning Minato's body started to shrink until they disappeared. Ash and dirt began to swirl around his body, restoring it to normal. After a few seconds, Minato looked no worse for the wear, and stood up.

 _"Damn! This jutsu is way worse than I had expected. Plus with our power, we're causing too much collateral damage. I better do something about it...'"_ Jiraiya thought, before seeing Anko dealing with Kushina. "Anko, get over here!"

Anko said nothing. She tossed a kunai with an explosive note at Kushina before dashing towards the Hokage. Kushina came out of the explosion with only a few wounds that took no time to heal, and landed besides Minato.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The ground below Minato and Kushina's feet turned into a muddy swamp, trapping both of them, as they slowly began to sink.

"Anko, follow me!" Jiraiya shouted as he fled the scene.

"Do you think that will be enough to stop them?" Anko asked.

"Not even close. But it will buy us some time to have a head start," Jiraiya explained as he jumped from one roof to another, heading out of the village.

Minato pulled put one of his tri-pronged kunai and tossed it at Kushina, who grabbed it. Minato teleported to the kunai the moment his wife grabbed it, who then tossed it outside the muddy area, and Minato teleported both of them out of the swamp. As soon as their feet touched solid ground, both of them gave chase to the Hokage and the Snake mistress.

"What is Jiraiya-sama planning?" Kushina asked.

"I don't know. I think that for the time being, he wants to bring the fight out of the village so he can cut loose," Minato guessed.

"But these bodies are immortal. No matter how powerful his jutsu are, he doesn't have the means to permanently kill us, ya know!" Kushina pointed out.

"I'm sure he'll think something. Jiraiya-sensei is a smart and resourceful ninja," Minato replied. Some might call his optimism unrealistic.

"What about you? Can't you think in anything to undo this jutsu?" Kushina asked.

"I'm thinking, but this is way out of my expertise. While I'm no stranger to jutsu that dabbles with life and death, this is something completely new," Minato stated.

"Then let's hope Jiraiya-sama can come up with something. Orochimaru was his pal, after all," Kushina said.

…

 _Konoha Academy_

Iruka was thankful that the fights hadn't reached the Academy yet. Hopefully they would have enough time to evacuate the children to the nearest bunker with no incidents. And events would have developed in such way if the perpetrator of the invasion didn't have the Academy as one of his targets.

"Come on, don't panic, and keep going in orderly fashion. In no time, you all will be safe," Iruka reassured the distressed children, while the other two teachers present, Ebisu and Daikoku, also tried to quell the ensuing panic.

Too bad panic was about to become much higher.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

As those words were uttered, a massive stone wall was erected, cutting the path the group of children was following. A fat man with red hair styled in a mohawk landed on the wall. His face showed a smug smirk.

"Sorry, I'm afraid this path is closed right now," the ninja stated.

Four other ninja, wearing similar clothes to the first one, landed behind the group. One of them, who had light blue hair, blue lips, and what appeared to be a hunchback, took a step forward.

"Okay, let's make this short and sweet. We want those two kids with the white hair," the Oto ninja stated, pointing at Hagane and Kaida, who squirmed upon being identified. "Surrender them to us, and nobody gets hurt."

"Do you think we're going to hand you the children of the Hokage like that?" Ebisu replied. There was no point in keeping their heritage hidden, given that there could be no other reason for them being targeted.

"Indeed. These children are under our care, and if you want either of them, you'll have to go through us first," Iruka stated. Despite his bold words, his brain was struggling to come up with as way to repel the attackers. They had blocked all possible escape routes, and having to fight with so many children around would make the task immensely more difficult.

All of the Oto ninja minus the tall one who lacked a shirt smiled wickedly.

"I was hoping you would say that. It makes our job much more fun," the blue haired teen stated as he charged forwards.

"Alright, let the game begin!" a tan teen with six arms stated as he pulled what appeared to be a bow made of some hardened golden sticky substance from his mouth.

"You pieces of shit have no idea what you're going up against!" the lone girl, a redhead, stated.

"Come on Tayuya, there are kids here," the fat teen protested.

"Shut your fucking mouth, fatass!" Tayuya angrily replied.

"This isn't good!" Iruka panicked as his hands went through hand seals."Worldly Protective Barrier!"

Multiple circles of seals expanded from Iruka's feet, forming an invisible barrier his enemies crashed against.

"Iruka-sensei, we can help you!" Hagane shouted as he walked towards him.

"Don't move! Stay where you are! This is too dangerous for you!" Iruka chided him.

"But-"

"No buts! I can't fight and protect you at the same time!" Iruka stated.

While the teacher and the Hokage's son continued arguing, the fat teen started to make hand seals of his own.

"Earth Release: Rising Pillar!"

Like the name implied, a pillar of stone emerged from under Iruka's feet, making him lose balance and fall on his back, making him unable to keep his barrier. It was followed by a whistle, and suddenly a golden arrow impaled Iruka, pinning him to the ground.

"Woohoo! One hit kill!" the teen with the six arms cheered.

"IRUKA!" both Ebisu and Daikoku yelled at the same time.

His fear evaporated, Ebisu angrily looked at the attackers, and made a hand seal. "You will pay for that! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones appeared at Ebisu's sides.

"You think that impresses us, you fucker?" Tayuya asked.

The two clones charged at the foul-mouthed redhead, pulling a kunai each. On her part, Tayuya pulled a flute, and surprisingly, used it to successfully parry the blows. With a couple of well placed punches, the clones were no more.

However, Tayuya had left herself wide open while fighting the clones, something the shades-wearing teacher was about to capitalize. He made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Bullet!"

Ebisu breathed a massive stream of fire that caught Tayuya completely off guard. The redhead cursed a profanity as the flames engulfed her.

 _"Alright, one less enemy to care about..."_ Ebisu thought as he directed his sight towards the remaining enemies before he was brutally kicked in the face, hurling him backwards.

"Don't count me out so soon, you piece of shit!" Tayuya yelled.

"How...?" a disoriented Ebisu mumbled, and he realized that there was a white thread stuck on Tayuya's back, grabbed at the other end by the six armed teen.

 _"He pulled her out? How can they be so fast?"_ Ebisu thought in shock.

"Sweet dreams, you fucker!" was the last thing Ebisu heard before Tayuya kicked his head again.

"Did you guys finish already?" the tall, shirtless teen asked.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from somebody who didn't lift a finger to help us!" the guy with the blue hair stated as he tossed the corpse of Daikoku to the ground.

"You didn't look like you needed my help. However, I must remind you that I'm the leader of this operation, and you should address me as such. Your tone won't be tolerated anymore, Sakon," the white haired man stated.

"Whatever you say, Kimimaro- _sama_ ," Sakon said the suffix in a mocking tone.

"So, shall we grab the brats, or what?" Tayuya asked as she headed towards the children.

Suddenly, there was a white blur, an impact sound, and Tayuya was knocked backwards with an impressive force. Everybody had their mouths agape when they realized what just happened.

"The hell?" the six armed teen asked in shock.

"MY EYE! THAT FUCKING MIDGET GAVE ME A BLACK EYE!" Tayuya yelled as she held her hurt eye with one hand.

"If you touch me or my sister, you're going to regret it!" Hagane defiantly claimed. His body started to glow with a white aura.

"You can't be serious kid; you can't hope to defeat us. Be a good brat and come with us peacefully," Sakon told him as he walked towards him.

Hagane lunged at Sakon, ready to punch him like he did to Tayuya. However, Sakon saw it coming and caught the boy's fist in his hand before twisting it, and wrapped his other arm around the boy's neck, immobilizing him.

'Shit! This guy is much stronger than he looks! And what's with the weird-ass aura?' the blue haired teen thought.

"Let me go, you freak!" Hagane protested as he squirmed.

"Don't worry brother, I'll save you!" Kaida replied as she made several hand seals at a rather slow speed, but she wasn't interrupted. "Wood Release: Wood Binding Jutsu!"

Multiple wooden branches emerged from below the oto ninja, wrapping around them.

"The hell? And that girl can use Wood Release?" Kidomaru asked. "No wonder Orochimaru-sama is so interested in these brats..."

While the others tried to futilely break from the tree branches, Kimimaro remained calm, and grew multiple bone spikes around his body, shattering the wood branches into splinters. Then, fast as lightning, he moved behind Kaida and knocked her out cold with a precise strike to the neck. He repeated the process with Hagane.

"Pathetic. To think you needed my help to deal with these children..." Kimimaro stated. "Come on, we need to get moving."

"Should we finish them off?" Jirobo asked while he pointed to Ebisu and Iruka.

Kimimaro shook his head. "That won't be necessary. Let's continue with the plan."

And thus, the Sound Five left the scene.

…

Not far from there, Orochimaru and his former sensei landed on a clear expanse, surrounded by debris and some corpses of both Konoha and Oto ninja.

"You know, sensei, I'm kind of glad that you managed to survive the Uchiha Insurrection," Orochimaru grinned sadistically. He pointed the Kusanagi blade at him. "That way, I'll get to kill you myself. The icing of the cake of Konoha's destruction!"

"Then I see hunger in your future," Hiruzen replied, as his grip on the Adamantine Staff tightened.

"Said the prey to the predator. But enough talking, your death is long overdue," Orochimaru thrust both arms forward. "Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Multiple snakes emerged from Orochimaru's sleeves and lunged at Hiruzen like they did with Jiraiya not long ago. Hirzuen merely smirked, and with a deceptively high accuracy and speed, the former Hokage smacked all of the snakes with multiple quick strikes the moment they were any close to him. After he was done, he tossed the staff at Orochimaru.

Orochimaru's Sharingan spun, and the Snake Sannin easily dodged the thrown weapon. However, the moment it passed him, the staff turned back into Enma, the Monkey King, who tried to crush Orochimaru with a double fist slam, which the pale skinned man dodged as well, albeit with a bit more effort.

"You'll need more than a primitive creature to tip the scale in your favor, sensei," Orochimaru taunted.

Angry, Enma bared his fangs. "I'll show you how 'primitive' I can be, you traitor!"

The white ape dashed at Orochimaru, and launched a flurry of punches and kicks the Sannin had little trouble dodging or blocking them, albeit he was forced to admit that the creature had a fair share of physical strength. Tired of dodging, Orochimaru went on the offensive and tried to impale Enma, who gracefully dodged every blow.

"You apes are starting to get on my nerves," Orochimaru darkly stated as he delivered another stabbing swing.

"Look how much I care," the monkey replied ad he used one of his feet to grab the Sannin's wrist and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around his neck, leaving him immobilized. "Hiruzen, now!"

Calling Sarutobi was unnecessary as the former Hokage was already rushing towards the temporary helpless Orochimaru, ready to sink a kunai into his flesh. However, much to his surprise, four white snakes emerged from his back, tearing his clothes, as they tried to bite Hiruzen, forcing the old man to pull back.

Their initial target out of reach, the snakes attacked Enma, who was forced to release the Snake Sannin, and jumped behind Hiruzen. The Sannin then discarded his ruined clothes, leaving him shirtless. Hiruzen could see that the snakes were seamlessly attached to Orochimaru's back, as if they were additional limbs. He turned around and grinned at his former master.

"Admiring my body modifications, sensei?" Orochimaru asked him. "They're truly a work of art. You can thank the Forbidden Scroll for that. Then again, my current coworkers have very diverse opinions on what constitutes true art."

"'Admire' isn't the word I use, my former apprentice," Hiruzen replied in disgust. "I don't know what would bring somebody to mutilate his own body for the sake of power like you just did."

"Mutilate? Oh, now you're being rude, sensei," Orochimaru shook his head in fake disappointment. "Are you angry to see that there are more ways to become a ninja other than what you preached?"

"Despite the raw talent you possess, you were always prone to take shortcuts," Hiruzen chastised him.

"Aren't shortcuts meant to be taken? If there are two or more possible paths to the intended destination, why is wrong to choose the shorter one?" Orochimaru asked. "Our lives are finite, and wasting time that you could use doing something else is simply stupid. Even somebody like me, who has transcended death, can still see the futility of taking the longest road just for the sake of a moral high ground."

"Not that you cared about morals in any way, Orochimaru. Otherwise, so many innocent people wouldn't have lost their lives in your mad experiments," Hiruzen retorted.

"As any ninja can attest, there's no such thing as innocent people, just people who never had the chance to sin yet. Regardless of what you might want to say, you're no better than me, sensei. After all, how many people have you killed in your long ninja career?" Orochimaru replied.

"I did kill, yes. War is never easy, nor glorious. But the difference between you and me is that I killed enemy ninja who could fight and knew what they were going against when they started their careers, not children or civilians who were unable to defend themselves!" Hiruzen spat back.

"Lacking power doesn't make people more worthy of having their lives spared. Pretty muchthe opposite. Anyway, enough chit chat, we already delayed your death enough," Orochimaru then started making hand seals. "Five Elemental Release: Massive Elemental Barrage!"

Orochimaru blew a large gust of wind from his mouth, while each of his snakes fired a stream of fire, lightning, water and rocks from their mouths. The five attacks combined into a single blast that encompassed the five elements. Hiruzen's eyes opened wide in shock, but was able to react in time.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth Dome Jutsu!"

Several layers of domes formed around Hiruzen and Enma just before the multi-elemental blast could hit its intended target. The force of five elements was enough to plow through all the barriers Hiruzen had erected, but in the end, it missed the target. However, Orochimaru didn't look deterred in the slightest.

"You can't escape from my eyes, sensei," Orochimaru mentioned as two of his snakes detached from the main body and dug underground.

Seconds later, Hiruzen, holding Enma back in staff form, was forced to return back into the surface. The snakes also returned, and merged again with Orochimaru.

"How the hell did he spot us...?" Sarutobi mused.

"Hiruzen, the snake to the left! It has different eyes than the others!" Enma pointed out.

Sarutobi realized that his summon was right. While all the snakes had yellow eyes with slitted pupils, like Orochimaru when his Sharingan wasn't active, one of the snakes had pure white eyes. And most distressing, there were multiple tiny veins around them, which would have been almost impossible to see unless you were looking for them.

"Not only the Sharingan...but also the Byakugan?" Sarutobi asked in shock.

"The human skull only has space for two eyes. But then again, I've always been known for my inventiveness," Orochimaru mocked, as he shrugged. "Don't weep sensei. The previous owner of these Byakugan doesn't need them anymore. Now sensei, the wise thing to do would be to accept defeat, and at least you'd keep your dignity intact. You can't defeat me. You have no idea what I have become."

"On the contrary. I'm very aware of what you've become. I did a long time ago," Sarutobi then adopted a fighting stance.

"So you think you can pose a threat against somebody who wields two of the three greatest doujutsu? And you call me prideful," Orochimaru chuckled as he shook his head.

"I fought against both the Sharingan and Byakugan in the past, and I do know how to deal with them," Sarutobi started to make hand seals. "Yin Release: Bringer of Darkness!"

The whole battleground was covered by shadows, leaving both combatants in the dark. However, since Sarutobi was a sensor, he had some advantage.

"Very ingenious, sensei, but I'm afraid this will be insufficient," Orochimaru taunted, expecting an answer that never came. _"Of course he's not answering. He doesn't want to reveal his position. Too bad for him I have my ways to find sneaky rats who want to play hide and seek,"_ Orochimaru thought as his four snakes detached from his back and began to scout the darkened area, using their bodies to sense the ground's vibrations.

After a few seconds, they located their prey.

"You're mine, sensei!" Orochimaru shouted as he dashed at where he thought Sarutobi was, and sunk the Kusanagi blade on his gut, followed by a pained grunt.

The darkness receded, and as the light returned, Orochimaru saw in delight his sword embedded into his sensei's innards, and Hiruzen looking with his eyes open in disbelief. However, Orochimaru realized that there was something wrong: there was no blood leaking from the wound. In fact, upon further inspection, he noticed that the inside of his body wasn't filled with flesh and blood, but paper.

In horror, the Sannin realized that they were explosive tags. He wanted to pull the sword out, but Sarutobi –or better said, a clone made of explosive tags– quickly grabbed Orochimaru before smirking and detonating.

To say that what followed was a massive explosion that sent a tremor several kilometers around would have been an equally massive understatement.

A lesser man would have died instantly. Even Orochimaru's heavily modified body was barely able to come out alive. And Hiruzen would have been able to terminate his treacherous ex-apprentice there and then if it wasn't for his conveniently insidious body replacement technique, which once again generated a completely new and healthy body, even if it came at a heavy chakra cost.

Sarutobi emerged from underground, amused that he had caught Orochimaru off guard with such a trick, even if it failed to kill him.

"So that's the power of the wielder of two of the three greatest doujutsu?" the former Hokage asked in a mocking tone. "If that's the case, then I'm disappointed."

Orochimaru got up and bared his teeth in a menacing snarl. "You will pay for that," he hissed, his voice dripping even more hate than usual.

Sarutobi adopted a fighting stance. "Here is your chance, Orochimaru. Come and get me if you can."

…

Meanwhile, in a part of Konoha that used to be a residential area, but that was now covered in a deep forest, two of Konoha's best Jonin were about to face one of Orochimaru's aces in the hole, the resurrected First Hokage, perched on a tree branch.

"So it's true. Orochimaru did somehow brought the Hokage back to life," Kakashi said in amazement, upon seeing the First himself from below.

"To fight one of the strongest ninja who ever lived...if the situation wasn't so dire, I would be giddy!" Gai exclaimed.

"You are giddy," Kakashi pointed out.

"So, two new ninja want to face me?" Hashirama asked as he jumped from one branch to another in order to meet his new opponents. "Not to sound arrogant, but I'd recommend you to flee. I don't want to be responsible for any more dead Konoha ninja."

"And I don't think we could be called ourselves Konoha ninja if we abandoned the village in its hour of need," Kakashi retorted.

"Very well! I'm glad to see that you don't lack courage! Now..." Hashirama then looked at Gai, and his eyes were wide open in shock. "YOU!"

Gai was taken aback. "Me...?"

"Yes, you!" Hashirama repeated. "Your haircut! I LIKE IT!"

Gai's face went from confusion to sheer, unadulterated joy. His mouth curved into the widest smile ever seen. It wasn't a cocky or confident smile which was part of his trademark "nice guy" pose, but a smile of pure happiness.

"This has to be a joke..." Kakashi muttered.

"YOU THINK SO!?" Gai loudly replied.

"Of course! It reminds me of my youth!" Hashirama replied as he gave Gai a thumbs up.

"The First Hokage thinks...that my hair is youthful..." Gai repeated in a whisper, as his emotions were too much to handle, and fainted.

A deafening silence followed as both Kakashi and Hashirama tried to process what happened.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I did NOT intend for that to happen?" Hashirama sheepishly said.

"This HAS to be a joke..." Kakashi repeated again, watching incredulously at Gai's unconscious form.

"Watch out!" Hashirama called as he began making hand seals. "Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

A serpentine dragon made of wood emerged from the ground and lunged at Kakashi. The copy ninja jumped back as he made hand seals of his own. "Fire Release: Great Fireball jutsu!"

Kakashi breathed a large fireball through his mask, which burned the wood dragon enough to stop it on its tracks. However, the dragon was merely a distraction to get close to the white haired ninja. Fortunately, Kakashi's Sharingan caught Hashirama trying to sneak from behind, and parried a sword blow with a kunai just in time.

"Nice reflexes," Hashirama mentioned, as he delivered more swipes. "Albeit I suppose that you should thank your Sharingan for them, am I right?"

"While true, I like to think that there's more to me than my Sharingan, Hokage-sama," Kakashi replied as he managed to kick Hashirama in the chest, pushing him backwards.

"You're clearly not an Uchiha. How did you get that Sharingan?" Hashirama asked as he charged once again.

"It was the parting gift of a good friend of mine. One of the best friends I ever had," Kakashi replied, trying to stop Obito's memory from making him lose his cool.

"I see. I used to have an Uchiha friend as well. Things didn't work out so well," Hashirama sorrowfully replied.

"We know about Madara. It's taught at history class at the Academy," Kakashi replied before throwing a smoke bomb, engulfing the area in smoke.

"Wow, I feel so honored to see that I'm mentioned in a history book!" Hashirama genuinely gushed. "And what do those books say about-"

"Lightning Blade!"

The First Hokage saw Kakashi's lightning coated arm bursting through his chest. However, when Kakashi pulled out his arm, he realized that his hand wasn't covered in blood, but wood splinters.

"What the...a Wood Clone?" Kakashi asked.

"Be careful!" the real Hashirama warned from behind. "Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!"

More thick wooden roots emerged from below and lunged at Kakashi. The copy nin was barely able to dodge all of them, pick Gai's unconscious body, and find a place to hide.

"Dammit Gai, snap out of it!" Kakashi angrily whispered as he slapped his green clad friend awake.

"Huh...what happened?" Gai mumbled.

"Good, you're awake. We're fighting against a revived Hashirama Senju. He complimented your hair, and you fainted. Care to help me deal with him?" Kakashi said in rapid motion.

Gai immediately was snapped awake, and quickly stood up. "Y-Yes! Sorry about that. It's that...well, a compliment from the First isn't something you expect to get any day."

"I'll be happy if you don't do that again," Kakashi replied. "Here he comes!"

And just as Kakashi said, Hashirama was upon them. "Oh, I see your friend with the nice hair is awake. Hope he's strong, you're going to need all the possible help."

"You bet he is," Kakashi replied then turned to Gai.

"Given the quality of our opponent, I guess that I should skip the warm up," Gai declared, as he crossed his arms in front of his face, before moving both arms back. "Gate of Opening, open! Gate of Healing, open! Gate of Life, open! Gate of Pain, open! Gate of Limit, open! Gate of View, open!"

As the Gates were released, Gai's body started to emit powerful bursts of chakra, and an intense green aura glowed around his body. His skin turned maroon and his eyes were pure white.

"Watch out Gai, you already used the Gates when fighting Manda, you don't want to push your body beyond its limits," Kakashi warned.

"My body is still far from its limit, my rival, don't worry about that! Let's focus on the enemy at hand instead!" Gai stated as he faced Hashirama.

"Very well then!" an excited Hashirama replied as he began making hand seals. "Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

More wooden roots emerged both from the ground and from the existing trees, aiming at both Konoha ninja. Gai, however, had the perfect answer to that. He dashed at the incoming trees and reared both fists back.

"Morning Peacock!"

Gai began to throw punches at the tree branches at such speed that even Kakashi's Sharingan was having a hard time seeing them. The flurry of punches released multiple fireballs in every direction, setting the forest ablaze. Kakashi knew how to capitalize on that.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Kakashi blew a powerful gust of wind which increased the existing flames, consuming the improvised forest even faster. Hashirama watched the display intently.

 _"Not bad. Not bad. I wonder if you-"_ Hashirama's thoughts were interrupted when Gai suddenly appeared in front of him and kicked him upwards.

And somehow, Gai was already waiting for Hashirama up in the sky.

"Morning Peacock!"

This time, the storm of blazing punches landed squarely on Hashirama. The last punch sent Hashirama crashing back to the ground, making a crater upon impact. However, that wasn't the end of the beating.

The sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air as Kakashi dashed towards the downed Hashirama, his hand crackling with electricity.

'Please let this be the real one and not a clone,' Kakashi thought, still a bit bitter for wasting one of his four Lightning Blades on a mere clone.

Upon seeing Hashirama, he canceled his jutsu in time. The wounds caused by Gai's attacks showed some of the First Hokage's innards, and they weren't made of flesh and blood, but dirt and ashes, much to Kakashi's puzzlement.

"What kind of clone are you?" the copy ninja asked, tilting his head.

"As hard as it is to believe, I'm not a clone," Hashirama replied as he stood up. Ash and dirt began to swirl around his wounds, quickly healing them until he was good as new. "This jutsu will restore my body to full health, no matter the power of the attacks you use to harm me."

"And you're telling us now?" Kakashi asked in disbelief.

"Sorry, I kinda forgot!" Hashirama sheepishly apologized.

 _"Definitely not how I imagined the God of Ninja,"_ Kakashi thought as he sweat dropped.

"Kakashi, what are we going to do? Should I open more Gates?" Gai asked, panting a bit. The backlash of the Gates was starting to become evident.

"No. You heard him; the power of our jutsu is irrelevant. Let's try to fight him smart and save our chakra until we find a way to permanently kill him," Kakashi suggested.

"The best course of action would be to find Orochimaru and force him to undo the jutsu," Hashirama suggested. "But I'm afraid that I won't let you go like that."

"In that case, then maybe I can be of assistance," a female voice said as somebody else landed besides Kakashi and Gai.

"Tsunade-sama!" Gai said in surprise.

"Tsunade?" the First repeated in shock. "Tsuna, is that you?"

Tsunade looked at the resurrected form of her beloved grandfather with sad eyes. "Yes. It's me, grandfather. Pity that we won't be able to enjoy this re-encounter as much as we could."

"You grew a lot, Tsuna," Hashirama's eyes then rested on her breasts. "In some ways, much more than I would have preferred."

Tsunade frowned, but decided to ignore that comment. "Unless Orochimaru explicitly ordered you to kill these two in particular, I'm the biggest threat now, so you'll have to fight me," Tsunade stated as she took a step forward, then looked at Kakashi and Gai. "You two, go help somewhere else. Find Orochimaru if you can."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" both men said at the same time before leaping away.

"You were barely a Genin when I died," Hashirama mentioned, his voice full of excitement. "I want to know how strong you've gotten over the years, Tsuna."

Tsunade smirked. "I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

…

"First the Nine Tails attack, then my clan's uprising, and now this!" Shisui shouted in frustration as he dispatched an Oto ninja. "Do all villages go through this crap on a regular basis, or is it just us?"

"Look at that, Shisui the Teleporter. Orochimaru-sama will be very happy if I bring him your remaining eye," an Oto ninja stated. Judging by his uniform, he appeared to be an officer.

"Look at that, a random, nameless Oto ninja that's destined to die by my blade just like the fourteen others who tried to pull the same stunt on me," Shisui sarcastically replied. "Can we make this quick? I promised my girlfriend we'd go looking for cribs this afternoon."

"You want it quick? Then so be it," the Oto ninja stated. He then started to grow in size, as well as becoming more muscular. As his clothes ripped apart, Shisui could see that his skin was becoming a brownish gray. An additional pair of arms grew under the first ones. "Now you're going to feel the power of Orochimaru's cursed seal!"

"YOU feel the power of my tanto!" Shisui retorted, suddenly appeared from behind as he slashed the mutated ninja's back, but it didn't produce any wound. In fact, it felt like trying to slash very hard leather. "The hell...?"

The four armed ninja capitalized on Shisui's surprise by giving him a backhanded smack with such force that send the oldest Uchiha flying several meters, until he crashed against a wall.

"Ugghh..." Shisui groaned as he painfully got up, but had no time to wallow in pain as the mutated ninja leaped at him, his upper arms raised ready to deliver a double axe handle. "SHIT!"

Making a hand seal, Shisui Body Flickered away a couple seconds before the four armed Oto ninja smashed the spot, making a loud noise and raising a cloud of dust. When the dust dispelled, the Oto ninja was there, giving Shisui a sharp-toothed evil grin.

"What's up, Uchiha? Can't keep up with me?" the mutated ninja taunted.

Shisui crossed his arms confidently. "Actually, I already won."

The four armed man snarled. "You certainly are confident, one-eyed scum. Let's see what do you say after- hey, what the hell?" Much to the cursed seal ninja's shock, a pit of tar formed at his feet, and he quickly started to sink. He tried to get out, but the more he moved, the faster he sank. "No, NO! Don't let me die! Please, I beg you, save me!" the Oto ninja pleaded as he sank completely before everything turned into darkness.

Little did he know that Shisui had placed him in a genjutsu, and everything that happened did so in his mind. However, the shock was enough to knock him unconscious, and his cursed seal receded.

"Your skin might be impenetrable, but your mind… not so much," Shisui declared, even if his enemy could never hear him.

At that moment, a small crow came down from the sky, and the oldest Uchiha extended an arm so the bird could land on it.

"Shisui-san, my clones are watching over all of Konoha, and I've identified several spots where you could help the most," the crow informed.

Shisui nodded. "Thank you, Kurokaze-sama. Tell me which one is the closest."

"Actually, I believe that there's something else you should do first, Itachi-san is fighting against an enemy that might be too much for him," the crow boss clone told him.

Shisui was taken aback. "WHAT? What kind of enemy is too much for Itachi? Orochimaru himself?"

"This may be hard to believe, but it seems to be Tobirama Senju," Kurokaze replied.

Shisui's confusion grew by the minute. "The Second Hokage? That can't be right."

"But it is," the bird insisted. "And he's not the only one. His brother, Hashirama, is fighting against Konoha as well. Both Hokage are displaying the unique skills they're well known for, albeit at a smaller scale, so I believe they have been brought back to life somehow."

"Damn...this complicates things even further...anyway, take me to Itachi, I can't let him die," Shisui told him.

Kurokaze nodded, and took off again, with Shisui following him from below.

…

Jiraiya and Anko, already out of Konoha, were leaping from one tree branch to another while fleeing from their immortal pursuers. Jiraiya's hands were clapped together, and according to him he was preparing a jutsu that would at the very least, balance the fight a bit more in their favor.

"Hokage-sama, the last of our decoy Shadow Clones have been destroyed," Anko informed the Sannin. "Minato-sama won't take much longer to catch up with us."

"I know, but try not to panic, we have to keep going," Jiraiya replied.

"How much longer until that jutsu of yours is complete?" Anko asked again.

"Not much longer. Stop asking questions and focus. Let's keep going for a little longer, and I'll be able to do it," Jiraiya replied.

They continued moving forwards, with Anko looking backwards from time to time, each time growing more and more antsy. He was now regretting not listening to Jiraiya when he told her to leave. Not only was she away from the fight with Orochimaru, but now she was trapped in a fight against one of Konoha's most powerful ninja who on top of that was immortal as well.

Anko's eyes grew in horror as she caught sight of a yellow blur moving through the trees, following a red blur not too late afterwards.

"Hokage-sama, is that jutsu ready? They're already here!" Anko called in panic.

"Just a little longer!" Jiraiya replied, as beads of sweat appeared on his temples.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

"SHIT!" Jiraiya cursed.

A multitude of chains emerged from the forest. Jiraiya and Anko managed to dodge all of them, albeit it took Jiraiya more effort since he couldn't use his arms to properly keep the balance. In a blur, Minato appeared in front of him, his hand holding a chakra sphere.

"Sorry, sensei," Minato sorrowfully said before slamming the chakra sphere into Jiraiya "Rasengan!"

However, Jiraiya managed to kick Minato's hand in the last second before the sphere of destruction could touch him. Anko tossed several kunai at him, forcing the Fourth to use his famed Flying Thunder God Jutsu to avoid it. But that action bought Jiraiya the last seconds he needed to complete what he was preparing.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Jiraiya slammed both hands into the ground, creating a huge cloud of smoke. Minato teleported back to the battlefield, appearing besides his wife, and looking at the vanishing cloud of smoke. Minato already knew what his sensei was planning.

"So, you called them, sensei?" Minato asked.

"Yes. Summoning the toad sages take way more time than summoning other toads, hence I had to stall the fight for some time. But now we're ready!" Jiraiya enthusiastically declared.

"Wait a minute, that voice...no, it can't be Minato-chan," a high pitched female voice stated.

When the smoke dispelled, Jiraiya had changed. His nose was bigger and had warts on it, had now a goatee on his chin, and red markings at each side of his face. There were also two small, cloak-wearing toads perched on each of his shoulders.

"So my old eyes aren't deceiving me," the toad on Jiraiya's right shoulder, a green toad with bushy white eyebrows and a white goatee stated in disbelief.

"But...how can this be possible?" the one to the left, a purple and yellow toad with a bulbous head, screeched incredulous.

"Fukasaku-sama, Shima-sama, is good to see you again, even if it's under such circumstances," Minato said in an apologetic tone.

"And I think that's his wife, Kushina-chan too!" Fukasaku pointed out. "But I thought that both of them died the night the Nine Tails attacked!"

"Impure Word Resurrection," was Jiraiya's answer, and both toads understood.

"I hoped that abominable jutsu had died with its creator," Shima screeched.

"We all thought so, but Orochimaru found a way to learn it," Jiraiya replied. "You seem familiar with the jutsu, so you'll probably know that Minato and Kushina are immortal and have unlimited chakra. We need to find some way to incapacitate them."

"You can count on us, Jiraiya-chan," Fukasaku replied.

Jiraiya then looked at Anko. "Anko, same strategy as before. I'll take the brunt of their attacks. You stay back, cover me, and capitalize every opening you see."

Anko nodded. "Understood, Hokage-sama."

All present slipped into battle stances. The real duel of the Hokage was about to begin.

…

 _Konoha Academy_

When Naruto and Hinata arrived to the Academy, their hearts skipped a beat. The image was disheartening: many academy students gathered around the wounded –or even dead– teachers, some of them crying, others trying to comfort each other, while a few discussing what to do.

"Neechan!" Hanabi called upon seeing her sister arrive, and rushed to hug her.

"Hanabi-chan, are you okay?" Hinata asked her sister. Hanabi nodded, but was clearly shaken.

"Please, help Iruka-sensei!" Hanabi asked.

Both Chunin looked at the downed instructor, and saw that there was an arrow impaling him that also pinned him to the ground. Hinata activated her Byakugan, and inspected the wound.

"Alright, the arrow didn't hit any vital spot," Hinata said aloud. "Naruto-kun, I need you to remove the arrow very slowly. I'll stop the hemorrhage and close the wound."

"Alright," Naruto agreed, and broke in half the arrow so it would be easier to pull Iruka off. "Iruka-sensei, I'm afraid that this is going to hurt a lot."

"I-It's okay...Naruto..." Iruka replied, before coughing blood.

"Don't talk! You'll waste your energy," Hinata chided him. "Are you ready, Naruto-kun? Okay...start pulling now!"

Naruto followed Hinata's instructions, and in a few minutes, they managed to remove the arrow from Iruka's body, as well as healing his wounds. Naruto also healed the unconscious Ebisu. Sadly, there was nothing they could do for Daikoku.

"Thank you, you two," Iruka stated, as he tried to stand up. "Boy, I'm so glad Tsunade-sama started that medic-nin program, or else I'd be a goner."

"Careful! You're still too weak," Hinata advised, as she helped him stand up.

"Iruka-sensei, where are Kaida and Hagane?" Naruto asked, surprisingly calm.

Iruka looked down, and sighed. "They took them away, Naruto. The ninja who kidnapped them knew about their heritage, and possibly their Bloodline Limits as well. It seems that they were two of Orochimaru's targets."

"I see," Naruto gravely replied. "Do you know what direction they took?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, they headed north," Iruka replied, but he regretted doing so upon realizing why Naruto asked that. "Wait a minute, you're not thinking in going after them, are you!?"

"What the hell am I supposed to do then!?" Naruto snapped at his former teacher. "Let that traitorous bastard turn my siblings into his guinea pigs? I'd die before letting that happen!"

"Naruto, those ninja are very strong. I don't think you'll have a chance against them," Iruka said.

"Maybe not, but I don't have to do it alone," Naruto then made his most used hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Twenty clones appeared besides Naruto. "You three, escort the children to the bunkers, and take Iruka-sensei and Ebisu-sensei to the hospital. Everybody else...gather the rest."

The clones nodded, and left to carry their tasks. Iruka, however, wasn't done.

"Naruto, I can't let you do this! What happened was tragic, but what you want to do is suicide! I forbid you to go after them!" Iruka shouted, before coughing.

"You _forbid_ me?" Naruto mockingly asked. "In case you didn't notice, you're no longer my superior. We're both Chunin now. Now you should let my clones carry you to the hospital before your wounds reopen."

Iruka sighed in defeat. "Very well then. There's nothing I can do to convince you to drop this madness. However...be careful out there, Naruto."

"I will," Naruto then looked at Hinata. "Hinata-hime, come on! We have to rescue my siblings!"

"Yes!" Hinata replied.

And both Naruto and Hinata headed north, in pursuit of the Senju twins' kidnappers.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus the invasion continues.  
**

 **The fight between Hiruzen and Orochimaru was my way to make up to all the people who (justifiably) complained that I made the Third into too much of a wimp during the Uchiha Coup D'etat arc. Hopehe's now as badass as he should be.**

 **Now, this is going to disappoint a lot of people, but better say it now before their hopes grow too much: No, Naruto isn't going to meet Minato and Kushina. The reason for this is that Naruto will be the focus of another plot (you can see what is going to be about) and because I wanted to focus more on Jiraiya's interactions with Minato and Kushina. Naruto did get to meet his parents in canon (in case of Minato, more than once), while Jiraiya never get to meet them again.**

 **However, this doesn't mean that Naruto will never get to meet his parents. I just prefer to leave such event for the future. Remember that he still has their chakra sealed within him alongside the Kyubi ;)**

 **Once again, thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Guess that's all. I hope you're enjoying how the current arc is developing, and while you wait for the next chapter, don't forget to review! Reviews makes me really, really, really happy!**


	35. The Hokage's Swan Song

**Author's Note: Last wednesday marked a year since I published this story. Time surely flies, doesn't it? I never expected that, when I published this story, it would get such a great reception, or that it would break the 300K word mark as well. I mean, my longest story back then failed to reach such number and took me almost five years to write.  
**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and see you at the bottom notes:**

* * *

 **Chapter 35:**

The Hokage's Swan Song

 _or_

 _Don't think this is over already_

…

In the middle of the forest clearing, the four Konoha ninja stared at each other, waiting for their respective enemies to make the first movement. Eventually, the one to attack first was Minato, who in a display of superhuman speed, dashed towards Jiraiya, ready to gut him open with one of his custom kunai.

Fortunately, besides giving him impressive sensory abilities, Sage Mode also enhanced Jiraiya's reflexes, allowing him to welcome Minato with a well placed kick to the face, which sent the former Hokage rolling backwards. His wife decided to take the initiative.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Multiple chains shot from Kushina's back, and flew at the Toad Sage. Jiraiya smirked, jumped at the chains, and started grabbing all of them. When the last chain was within his grasp, he pulled with his enhanced strength, sending Kushina flying.

"Anko, now!" Jiraiya called.

Anko nodded, and leaped as well to meet Kushina mid air. She then cast her arms forward.

"Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Many snakes emerged from both her sleeves, and wrapped tightly around Kushina's body, pinning her arms against her body, as well as immobilizing her legs. The Uzumaki woman fell to the ground with a thud, and struggled to break free from the snake's bind, but it was too great.

"Good, it seems that you found a way to restrain me," Kushina praised Anko. "But I'm afraid such trick won't work on my husband, ya know."

"We'll think something," it was Jiraiya who answered. "No ninja is invincible, and Minato is not an exception."

"I wish I could have your confidence, Hokage-sama," Anko replied, a bit panicky as Minato prepared to attack again.

Once again, Minato pulled out one of his customized kunai –Jiraiya wondered if the Impure World Resurrection provided him an infinite stock– and tossed it high into the air, just above the Hokage and the Special Jonin. Minato then teleported to the flying kunai, grabbed it with one hand while making a hand seal with the other.

"Shadow Clone Kunai Jutsu!"

Minato tossed the kunai downwards, which instantly turned into a dozen.

"Pa!" Jiraiya called.

"On it!" the small ancient toad replied. He took a deep breath, and blew a powerful gust of wind at the incoming kunai, dispersing them in every direction.

Anko decided that it was a good time to take advantage of Fukasaku's jutsu. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Anko breathed a stream of fire into Fukasaku's wind attack, which turned it into a fiery wave of fire. Unfortunately, Minato vanished before the flames could engulf him.

"Anko, to your right!" Jiraiya warned.

Anko pulled out a kunai and took a defensive swipe, just in time to stop a couple of incoming shuriken. Minato repeated the process multiple times, teleporting to one his marked kunai, pelting Anko and Jiraiya with shuriken, and disappear before they could counterattack. Sometimes, he tossed another of his marked kunai. The two Konoha ninja decided to fight back to back in order to have a better chance blocking his projectiles.

"Dammit! We can't stay like this! If all we do is just defend, he'll end up killing us!" Anko protested.

"Sensei, my marked kunai! Try to take them and toss them away!" Minato advised, while he continued his onslaught.

"I'd like to try, but you won't let me!" Jiraiya replied in frustration.

"Oh, sorry..." Minato sheepishly said.

"Leave that to us, boy!" Shima interjected. She opened her mouth, and used her long tongue to catch one of the kunai in the ground and passed it to Jiraiya who sealed it inside a scroll. Both Fukasaku and Shima repeated the process until there were no kunai left. Jiraiya then burned the scroll to make sure Minato couldn't retrieve them.

"I believe that's the last one, good job!" Minato praised them. "However, you should be careful now. Since I'm out of kunai, I'll more than likely try to leave a mark in your bodies, and once I do that, the mark won't be able to be removed, so make sure I don't get near you."

"I'll try," Jiraiya dourly replied, as he prepared for Minato's next attack, which didn't take any time to arrive, as he made a single hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Minato created a single clone, and the two of them made a single hand seal each.

"Fire Release: Majestic Hurricane!"

Minato's clone blew a massive tornado, while the original breathed a stream of fire into it, creating a tornado of flames which advanced menacingly towards Jiraiya and Anko. Luckily, Jiraiya was on his way to counter it.

"Earth Release: Multiple Earth Style Walls!"

Several tall and thick stone walls emerged from the ground, getting in the way between the fire storm and the two Konoha ninja.

Jiraiya tried to guess what Minato was going to do "I know Minato. Even if he's out of kunai, he only uses attacks of this scale as a distraction. He'll use it to get close to us and mark us. But thanks to Sage Mode I can sense where he is."

The tornado was enough to plow through the walls, but with each wall it destroyed lost some power, until it was completely dispelled.

"Wait, he's still far from us, where he could be...OH SHIT!" Jiraiya inwardly cursed in realization.

"Sensei, I'm over here!" Minato called, albeit it was too late.

Jiraiya and Anko saw that Minato had teleported where they had left Kushina, and dispelled the summoned snakes, releasing her.

 _"Of course he would try to save Kushina first,"_ Jiraiya thought, berating himself for not realizing of that. _"Even if it's not for love, being supported by an ally is the most logical tactic. Boy, this is going to be a tough fight..."_

…

Meanwhile, back at Konoha, Itachi and Tobirama were continuing their duel. Some people saw the fight and wanted to help, but like Jiraiya before him, Itachi told them to go away, since the younger Senju brother was way too powerful for them.

"I think you shouldn't reject their help," Tobirama pointed out as he attacked Itachi with a flurry of kunai swipes.

"I don't do it out of arrogance. Very few ninja here are capable of fighting a Hokage on equal grounds," Itachi replied, as he parried the swipes with his katana, taking a step back each time.

"And you are?" Tobirama asked again. "There's a difference between compassion and condescension. Besides, your breathing is getting worse, and your movements are becoming slower and sloppier as a result, you won't last long against me."

"We'll see about that," Itachi defiantly replied, as he managed to expertly swipe the kunai from Tobirama's hand and kicked him backwards. He dashed towards the Second ready to slice him, but his blade ended up hitting an afterimage.

"Told you not to get overconfident," Tobirama's voice said from behind, as the reanimated Hokage sank a kunai in Itachi's back. But much to the Senju's shock, it shattered when it hit an invisible barrier. "...what?"

A red ghostly ribcage appeared around Itachi, followed by a giant skeletal arm made of pure chakra which tried to grab Tobirama. However, the Hokage reacted in time and dodged the ghostly fingers. A second arm and a skull appeared as well, creating a skeleton, or at least, the upper part of one.

When Tobirama noticed Itachi's eyes, he saw that the tomoes of his sharingan had merged with the pupils creating a pattern of a three-bladed shuriken.

"Mangekyo Sharingan," Tobirama mused aloud. His face frowned in disgust. "Tell me, whom did you have to kill in order to awaken it?"

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, that's none of your business," Itachi politely but firmly replied, before coughing a bit. "I don't like to resort to this, but I believe I have no other options."

"If you have mastered the Mangekyo Sharingan, combined with your skill in other areas, you weren't boasting when you claimed to be among the few who could fight a Kage on equal grounds," Tobirama admitted. "But make no mistake, yours is far from the first Susanoo I face, and with this body I possess it will be of little help."

"Let's see who's right then," Itachi declared, as flesh started to cover the skeletal chakra construct, giving it a more humanoid appearance.

Tobirama started to make hand seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!

The Second Hokage expelled a massive wall of water from his mouth, ready to crush Itachi and his Susanoo like a Tsunami, but the Uchiha already had a way to counter it.

"Amaterasu!"

A wall of black flames appeared between Itachi and Tobirama, stopping the incoming torrent, since the flames not only couldn't be doused by water, but they could consume them as if they were fuel, raising a cloud of steam.

 _"Come, take the bait..."_ Itachi pleaded as he clutched his chest. His eyes were starting to bleed as well.

Thankfully, as Itachi had hoped, Tobirama used the steam as a cover and leaped above the wall of black flames, heading towards Itachi.

"Valiant effort, but like I told you, in the end, useless," Tobirama said.

"Don't be so soon at claiming victory!" Itachi declared as he was about to play his last card. "Sword of Totsuka!"

A sword made of yellow flames appeared on the right hand of Itachi's Susanoo, and used it to impale Tobirama, who was in mid air, and thus he was unable to dodge the stab.

"Nice hit, but this body can withstand any form of harm, including complete disintegration," Tobirama repeated. Then, he grew confused when the Susanoo grew a second right arm, whose hand was holding a jar. Soon the Second was starting to get pulled into the jar. "What the...what kind of jutsu is this?"

"The Sword of Totsuka will seal inside the jar anything it pierces, no matter how powerful," Itachi explained. "I won't be able to destroy your body, but I can make sure you won't be in a position to do more damage."

"I see," Tobirama smiled as he was being sealed. "Good job defeating me today, Itachi Uchiha. You did Konoha a great service you could feel proud of."

Once Tobirama was completely sealed, Itachi allowed himself to relax. His Susanoo instantly vanished, as his body was completely drained of energy, being replaced by extreme exhaustion and pain. His legs failed to support him, and the Uchiha collapsed into the ground face first. He could barely move any muscle of his body, and doing so caused him no small amount of pain.

The sound of the nearby battles reminded Itachi that there was still a battle going on around him, and he couldn't take time to rest. But once again, nothing came out of moving. Even if his body deigned to move, his eyes were also hurting like hell, and breathing was nearly impossible. He remained still for several minutes, waiting until somebody found him. Hopefully that somebody would be a Konoha ninja.

"Itachi!"

Itachi tried to turn around to see who called his name. He feared it would be an enemy, but if that was the case he wouldn't have been addressed by his name. Besides, the voice sounded familiar.

The fallen Uchiha felt a pair of hands turning him around, and saw his cousin Shisui staring at him with worried eyes.

"Oh, damn! Look at you! What happened here?" A concerned Shisui asked. With blood pouring from both his mouth and eyes, Itachi didn't look good at all. "Kurokaze-sama told me you were fighting a revived Second Hokage. Where is he?"

"I...I...defeated him..." Itachi managed to reply.

"What? How?" Shisui asked, before shaking his head. "You know what? Forget about it, you can tell me later," Shisui helped Itachi stand up, and had one of Itachi's arms surround his shoulders. "Let's take you to the hospital so Shizune-chan can patch you up."

Shisui made a single hand seal, and the two Uchiha disappeared from there.

…

Orochimaru was grinning widely as he traded blows with his former sensei. The idea that Sarutobi's staff was a living being that felt pain whenever it parried a blow from Kusanagi brought joy to the pale long haired man. However, he suddenly felt something that erased the smile from his lips, and was replaced by shock and incredulity.

 _"What!? I can no longer feel Tobirama...!"_ Orochimaru thought, mildly distressed. _"How? There's no way they could have find a way to permanently kill a reanimated body..."_

Of course, this change of attitude didn't go unnoticed by Sarutobi.

"What's wrong, Orochimaru? Something's not going as you planned?" The formed Hokage sardonically asked.

 _"No need to panic. Tobirama was the weakest of the reanimated Hokage. As long as Hashirama and Minato are still standing, the invasion can succeed,"_ Orochimaru thought, mostly to calm himself down.

Just in case, the Snake Sannin decided to check how the others were doing. Hashirama was fighting Tsunade – oh, that was too good. Orochimaru wished he could spend more than a second watching his former teammate fighting her beloved grandfather–, and as expected, Minato and Kushina were still fighting Jiraiya and Anko.

However, he realized that, if somebody was able to nullify the Impure World Resurrection once, they could do it again. Better finish this as soon as possible.

"Everything's going just as planned," Orochimaru lied, then he went back to grinning. "Now, to keep going with the plan, let's send you to your grave, okay? Your place in the Memorial Stone is long overdue."

…

Meanwhile, just like how Orochimaru had witnessed, Tsunade was fighting alone against her grandfather. Hashirama summoned several wooden vines that lunged at the Slug Sannin, but they were shattered by a devastating punch.

"Come on grandfather, I know you can do better than this!" Tsunade taunted as she dashed towards the First and tried to kick him.

"I know. However, Orochimaru limited our power, so it's easier for him to keep us under his control," Hashirama explained as she dodged his granddaughter's kick.

Her face didn't reflect it, but Tsunade was grateful for such thing. She was aware of the power of her grandfather, and at full power, he could easily destroy Konoha, or any ninja village, no matter how big or how many ninja they had in their ranks.

"So that's why you haven't entered Sage Mode yet," Tsunade guessed.

"I usually save Sage Mode for the strongest opponents, but I believe that Orochimaru would have wanted me to go all out against Konoha," Hashirama replied. "So don't worry, what you see is what you're going to get."

"Good then," Tsunade bit her thumb and started making hand seals. "Then I should try to use everything I have. Summoning Jutsu!"

Tsunade slammed her hand into the ground, creating a huge cloud of smoke. When the smoke dispelled, Katsuyu the Slug Boss was under Tsunade. She took no time to notice their common enemy.

"Tsunade-sama...is that Hashirama-sama?" Katsuyu asked.

"I'm afraid he is, old friend," Tsunade replied.

"But...but how? Hashirama-sama died during the First Ninja War!" Katsuyu replied, shocked.

"It's too long to explain. Let's say that Orochimaru used his dark arts to bring my grandfather back to life as a puppet of his evil will, and is using him to help his forces destroy Konoha. We have to find a way to send him back where he belongs," Tsunade instructed.

"You can count on me, Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu stated as she charged towards Hashirama. "Acid Spray!"

The giant slug released a wave of yellow corrosive liquid at the reanimated Hokage. Hashirama jumped out of the way, but the acid managed to instantly dissolve all the wood he had summoned prior. Of course, that wasn't nowhere near enough to deter the undead Senju.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon jutsu!"

A serpentine dragon made of wood emerged from underground, and quickly wrapped itself around the giant slug. Katsuyu struggled a bit, before dividing into multiple smaller clones, which all scattered in multiple directions, with one of the smaller ones attached herself to Tsunade's shoulder.

"I'll heal you from any wound you might get," the small clone replied. "Do you want me to help you, or do you prefer if I help the rest of the Konoha ninja?"

"As much as it pains me to leave my fellow comrades to their own, grandfather is way more dangerous that whatever rabble Orochimaru had gathered, no matter their numbers, so I need you here so we can ensure he doesn't do any more harm to Konoha."

"As you wish, Tsunade-sama," Katsuyu agreed.

Hashirama made a hand seal. "Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu!"

Several brown stumps started to grow around Hashirama, and as they grew bigger, they started to take an humanoid form until they became perfect replicas of the first Hokage, who dashed towards Tsunade.

The Sannin, on her part, started to gather chakra into her right fist, which started to glow with a flaming blue aura, before dashing to meet the wooden clones. She threw her fist against the clone she was the closest.

"Heavenly Fist of Destruction!"

The clone tried to catch Tsunade's punch, but came with such force that it immediately shattered into splinters. The other clones smartly tried to move aside, but Tsunade's attack creating a huge shockwave that also destroyed the ones which were closer, and hurled aside those which were the furthest.

Unopposed, Tsunade charged towards her grandfather, who waited for her in a fighting pose.

"You've become a very powerful kunoichi, Tsuna. I'm really proud of you," Hashirama warmly praised her as he dodged Tsunade's destructive blows.

"Thanks. I tried my best to live up to both you and granduncle. Though my ninja path wasn't as great or glorious as I had imagined," Tsunade sorrowfully replied, not ceasing to deliver blows.

"Every legend has its dark side, Tsuna. The important thing is never let said darkness to consume us. I know what happens when somebody let such thing happen," Hashirama stated in a grave tone. " You lost somebody precious to you, didn't you?"

"Yes," Tsunade replied. "My former fiancé, Dan, and Nawaki-chan...I lost both of them during the Second Ninja War..."

"Nawaki-chan is dead!?" Hashirama asked in shock. The fact that there was a Second Ninja War –and unbeknown to him, even a Third– was just an afterthought. "I'm...I'm very sorry to hear that. I wish I could have been there to comfort you."

The remaining Hashirama clones tried to ambush Tsunade, but they were body slammed by the reformed Katsuyu.

"It's okay, grandfather. There was a time in which I thought that there was no more in life for me, and I gave up to despair..." Tsunade's sight darkened for a second, before lightening up again, and gave a hint of a sincere smile. "But I was able to move on. I learned to love again...and let others love me."

"Does that mean that you're married?" Hashirama tentatively asked, while making hand seals. "Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!"

Hashirama's left arm turned into multiple thick tree branches which tried to wrap themselves around Tsunade. Tsunade repelled the attack with a roundhouse kick, shattering the tree branches.

"Yes," Tsunade replied. "There was this man who always tried to hit on me since we were kids. A huge pervert, but also wonderful man. We have four children. Two biological, and two adopted."

Tsunade surprised herself when she realized that she was thinking of Shizune like a daughter. But given that she raised her since Shizune was just a kid, it wouldn't be that surprising.

"Really? That's wonderful! I'm so happy to see that you have such a wonderful life, Tsuna," Hashirama smiled at her. "That's why you need to try your hardest to stop me. You can't let that snake destroy what me and so many others worked so hard to build and preserve!"

"I will try my hardest. I still can't believe that Orochimaru went so far in his vendetta against Konoha," Tsunade mentioned. "To think that we used to be teammates..."

Hashirama was a bit taken aback by the revelation, but his surprise diminished when he remembered that he went through something similar in his life.

"Betrayal hurts the most when it comes from somebody we thought as a friend, doesn't it?" Hashirama sadly replied.

"We stopped being friends long time ago, but I was hoping Orochimaru wouldn't think of his former home with such disregard," Tsunade replied.

"From what I heard, many tried to destroy the village, and as I can see, they failed so far. Let's make sure Orochimaru becomes the latest in a long line of failures, shall we?" Hashirama asked.

Tsunade smiled, and nodded. "You can count on that."

…

In another part of the village, Asuma and Kurenai were holding off a group of Oto ninja while a group of civilians were being escorted to a nearby bunker.

"Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!"

The enemy ninja close to Kurenai soon saw trees growing around them, their branches wrapping around their bodies, leaving them completely immobilized. Taking advantage of the state of their enemies, Asuma dashed towards them, while channeling his chakra through his trench knives. Unfortunately, two other enemies stood in his way, parrying his attacks with their kunai before the Sarutobi Jonin could reach their prey.

"Come on, give up, you're outnumbered!" one of the Oto ninja called them.

At that moment, several cloaked figures wearing ANBU masks descended from the roofs of nearby building, landing behind the two Konoha Jonin, which smirked at the attackers.

"What do you say now?" Kurenai taunted them.

However, much to her and Asuma's confusion, the Oto ninja started to chuckle, and looked even more confident than before. The two Jonin grew uncomfortable.

"You're still outnumbered," the same Oto nin haughtily replied.

In that moment, Kurenai turned around to see several of the ANBU tossing kunai and shuriken at the unsuspecting couple.

"WATCH OUT!" Kurenai yelled as two kunai appeared on her hands, and deflected some of the tossed weapons. Unfortunately, some find their mark on her partner's back. "ASUMA!"

"Argh!" the bearded man groaned in pain. "It's okay, it's just a flesh wound!"

"But you have..."

"No time to argue!" Asuma started making hand seals. "Wind Release: Dust Cloud Jutsu!"

Asuma exhaled a powerful stream of dust at the Oto ninja. Some of them were also making hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

Several Oto ninja answered Asuma's wind attack with a combined fire jutsu of their own, which even if it was weaker individually, together it managed to overpower the Sarutobi's attack. At the same time, the ANBU charged forward.

"Damn!" Asuma cursed.

Fortunately, his girlfriend had him covered. "Earth Release: Double Earth Style Wall!"

Two walls emerged at each side of the street, cutting both the Oto ninja and the traitorous ANBU from them, blocking both the fire attack, as well as stopping the ANBU from reaching them.

The duo's enemies merely jumped above the walls, but they saw, much to their shock, that Asuma and Kurenai had been replaced by multiple raging beasts, such as monstrous hounds, lions and wolves, making them instinctively step back.

"You idiots! That's just a genjutsu!" an Oto officer chastised upon seeing the trap, and dispelled it. Much to their shock, Asuma and Kurenai were nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, sir...do you want us to look for them?" an Oto grunt asked.

The officer shook his head. "They'll come out sooner or later. Let's continue with the invasion as planned."

Meanwhile, in a dark alley not too far away from there, Kurenai had just removed the kunai and shuriken embedded on Asuma's back, and was patching the wounds with her supplies of her portable med kit.

"What the hell just happened?" Asuma asked in frustration. "Those ANBU..."

"They clearly weren't ANBU. Orochimaru was smart enough to disguise some of his troops as our black ops units in order to ambush unsuspecting Konoha ninja, just like it happened to us," Kurenai reasoned.

"We need to warn others not to trust ANBU, or any masked ninja for that matter," Asuma added.

"I'll check if the area is safe," Kurenai suggested. "Can you move on your own?"

To prove his point, Asuma stood on his feet. "It hurts a little, but like I told you, it's just a flesh wound. I can still going on."

"Alright. But don't force your body too much," Kurenai replied.

Asuma nodded. And as soon as Kurenai left the safety of her spot, an orange blur appeared before her.

"Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto yelled, startled the Jonin a bit. "Thank Kami I found you!"

"Naruto, what are you doing here? And don't shout, enemy ninja are everywhere!" Kurenai replied.

"I'm not the real Naruto, but a clone," the clone explained. "Listen, something really awful happened..."

...

Thanks to Shisui's mastery of the Body Flicker, they managed to not only arrive to the hospital in a few seconds, but also bypass all the fights that were going on all around Konoha. Fortunately, the street where the hospital was in was tightly defended. Obviously, Konoha couldn't left such a vital spot unprotected.

"Hold on a bit, in no time you'll feel like new," Shisui reassured his cousin as they both crossed the hospital doors.

"Somehow...I doubt that..." Itachi replied, coughing more blood.

"I told you not to speak, dammit!" Shisui snapped. "I need a medic right now! Can somebody help us!?"

A pair of medic-nin quickly carried Itachi and placed him on a blanket on the floor, near all the recent wounded ninjas.

"Can you tell us what happened to him?" one of the medic nin, a woman in her late thirties with spiky red hair, asked.

"I think that chakra exhaustion, due using multiple high level jutsu, as well as the Mangekyo Sharingan. I think he might have something respiratory, since he has a hard time breathing," Shisui explained.

"Don't worry, I know what to do," the medic nin replied, and much to Shisui's confusion, she rolled up her sleeve, and placed her forearm near Itachi's mouth. "Bite."

Too tired to protest, Itachi did as he was told. His whole body was covered by a green aura, and all the superficial wounds started to heal. His pain and exhaustion vanished as well, as renovated energy coursed through his body. After a few seconds, Itachi felt much better, albeit he still wasn't in any condition to fight.

"Thank you, medic-san," Itachi said to the woman. "You have an interested ability right there. Are you by any chance related to a Genin named Karin Uzumaki?"

The woman smiled. "Indeed. Karin is my daughter. My name's Mariko Uzumaki. Pleased to finally meet the family of one of my daughter's teammates."

"I'm Shisui Uchiha, and the daredevil here is Itachi," Shisui replied. "Do you believe that this guy went and fought the resurrected second Hokage all on his own?"

"So it's true what they say..." Mariko replied, intrigued. "To think that a man managed to bring somebody back from the death..."

"Shisui!" a female voice he knew too well called his name.

"Hey, Shizune-chan!" Shisui greeted her back.

"What are you two doing here? Are you wounded?" the black haired medic-nin asked, worried.

"I'm fine, Itachi.. not so much. Dumbass went and fought the Second Hokage on his own. How he managed to win is beyond me. Fortunately Mariko here helped him," Shisui explained.

"The Second was also resurrected?" Shizune asked.

"What do you mean 'also'? They brought more people besides Tobirama?" Itachi asked, concerned.

"Yes. From what I heard, Hashirama has been resurrected as well. Tsunade-sama went to fight him. And apparently, Jiraiya-sama is fighting the Fourth and his wife, Kushina," Shizune told them.

"Then I need to go there," Itachi said as he tried to stand up, but Shizune and Shisui pushed him down.

"And where the hell do you think you're going?" Shisui chided his cousin. "You already risked your life once. You're not moving from here."

"Not that he looks like he can move too far," Shizune commented.

"Anyway, Shizune-chan, Mariko-san, Itachi isn't fully healed yet. I believe there's something affecting his lungs, so a medic should check that," Shisui instructed the two medics.

"Y-You don't understand..." Itachi insisted. "Those reanimations are also immortal. I'm the only one who can stop them..."

"That, dear cousin, is where you're wrong," Shisui replied, as he gave a confident smirk. "You already did your part, Itachi, now it's my turn. Shizune-chan, do you know where Tsunade-sama and the First are fighting?"

…

Back in the forest, Jiraiya and Anko continued fighting Minato and Kushina. Despite getting rid of the marked kunai, Minato proved to be quite resourceful by marking random spots in the ground, allowing him to freely teleport to those areas. The two Konoha ninja made sure that the Yellow Flash did not mark any part of their body, and so far, they had been successful.

With Kushina back in action, Jiraiya ordered Anko to deal with her so he could fight his deceased student without distractions.

"Rasengan!"

The two spheres of pure chakra clashed against each other, resulting in a massive explosion that pushed both the Toad Sage and the Yellow Flash backwards.

"My Rasengan should have overpowered his. Why it didn't it?" the Sannin asked in frustration.

"You were unable to infuse enough nature chakra to your attack, Jiraiya-chan, that's why," Fukasaku explained.

"See? This is why we told you to complete your sage training!" Shima protested.

"Dammit, Ma! I was busy raising children, okay? And I'm now Hokage! I don't have a lot of spare time!" Jiraiya snapped back.

"Excuses!" Shima scoffed.

"Can we save the lectures for later!?" Jiraiya shouted while dodging Minato's punches and kicks. "I swear I'll complete my sage training if we get out of here alive!"

"Do you have a plan?" Fukasaku asked.

"Think so. But first I need Minato to stop moving for a bit," Jiraiya replied. "Then I'll bury him with my Swamp of the Underworld. Once buried, the swamp will numb his senses to a point of near unconsciousness."

"Good luck, boy. Minato-chan wasn't known as 'The Yellow Flash' for nothing," Shima replied.

"Again, I have that part covered. Fortunately, Naruto helped me develop a new jutsu that will help me overpower his Rasengan," Jiraiya confidently said.

"Sensei, watch out! I'm going after you again!" Minato warned as his hand started to form another Rasengan.

"Don't worry kid, you won't catch me off guard," Jiraiya made a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Jiraiya started to form a Rasengan as well, while the clone infused it with elemental chakra, starting to grow in size, and its color changed from white and blue to orange and yellow. Minato watched the display with his eyes wide open.

"Is that...?" the former Hokage asked before vanishing.

Thanks to his sage-acquired sensory abilities, Jiraiya sensed Minato reappearing to his left, and dashing at him.

"Rasengan!"

"Fire Release: Rasengan!"

Both attacks clashed, exploding unto each other upon touching. However, Jiraiya's Rasengan quickly overpowered Minato's. Unfortunately for the white haired man, Minato managed to teleport back to his starting position before the explosion could ever touch him. His face was overjoyed.

"You...you completed the Rasengan! How?" the Fourth cheered in joy.

Jiraiya smirked. "The solution was surprisingly easy: use a Shadow Clone to stabilize the elemental chakra. The fact that neither of us could come up with such simple thing..."

"Yeah, that's-" Minato's expression went from happy to grave in a second. "Sensei...you shouldn't have told me that."

"Huh?" Jiraiya's confusion turned into horror when he saw Minato forming a Shadow Clone, then starting a Rasengan on one hand while the clone infused it with lightning chakra. "Shit!" Jiraiya quickly proceeded to do the same.

"I'm sorry, sensei, but I'm forced to use every bit of knowledge I possess to fulfill Orochimaru's will," Minato sorrowfully stated, as he dispelled his clone, and held the electric Rasengan in one hand.

"And of course, he gets it right the first time," Jiraiya groaned as he rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's go! Ma, Pa, make sure he doesn't teleport before I can hit him!"

"We'll try our best, boy," Shima replied.

Once again, master and student dashed towards each other, meeting in the middle, with both elemental Rasengan about to clash with each other.

"Fire Release: Rasengan!"

"Lightning Release: Spiraling Thunder Blast Type Zero!"

Once again, when the two attacks met, they exploded in fire and lightning, trying to overcome the other, but none of them appeared to give up. That's it, until the two toads aiding Jiraiya sprung into action.

"Sage Art: Frog Call!"

Both Fukasaku and Shima started to croak loudly, producing loud, annoying sound waves whose effects became immediate.

"I...I can't move!" Minato realized.

Thanks to the pair of toad sages, Jiraiya's Rasengan managed to once again overpower Minato's, but much to his annoyance, the explosion only managed to destroy Minato's right arm, which quickly started to regenerate.

"You know, even in death, you still suck at choosing names," Jiraiya angrily stated.

"Aw, come on sensei, my names aren't that bad, are they?" Minato replied.

"Sorry, it's just...you're proving to be way harder to defeat than I expected. Either I didn't remember you being this strong, or I grew old," Jiraiya wearily replied. "Maybe both."

"Don't give up, sensei," Minato encouraged the Toad Sage. "If you managed to complete the Rasengan, I'm sure you'll be able to win this."

Jiraiya chuckled. "You know, as much as I'd like to take credit for that, it was Naruto who came up with the idea of using a clone. That kid is sure something."

"Naruto?" Kushina, who was fighting Anko, instinctively turned at Jiraiya. With all the commotion going on, both her and her husband had completely forgot about their son. "Jiraiya-sama, how is Naruto, is he okay?"

"Yes, you don't have to worry, Naruto is fine," though with the invasion going on, he wasn't so sure anymore. The thought was indeed distressing. "He's such a strong and resourceful ninja. He looks like a younger version of you, Minato, but personality wise I'd say he's more like Kushina."

"Even if I'd like to see how our son is doing...I don't want him to see us like this," Minato sorrowfully said.

"It may not be the best time, Jiraiya-sama...but can you tell us more about him?" Kushina asked, as she dodged a fire jutsu from Anko.

"Well, what can I say? He's very strong. And determined. There's nothing that can make him go back on his word or actions. Did you know that he became a Chunin on his first try? And he's just thirteen!" Jiraiya told them.

"That's...hearing that makes me so happy," Minato replied, as he tried to kick Jiraiya, which he easily blocked.

"Hey, Jiraiya-chan, Ma, didn't you notice that Minato-chan's movements are becoming...slower?" Fukasaku noted.

"Whatever you're doing, keep doing it boy!" Shima added, noticing it as well.

"He has lots of friends," Jiraiya continued. "And he's such a caring brother towards his other siblings..."

"What?" Kushina asked in confusion.

"Oh right, you don't know. Tsunade-hime and I married, and have two other children besides Naruto. Three if we count Shizune," Jiraiya told them.

"That's great, sensei. You really deserve her," Minato sincerely congratulated him.

"I always wanted Naruto to have at least a little sibling," Kushina added, as she tried to slowly punch Anko. "What about girls?"

"Ah yes, he recently got a girlfriend too!" Jiraiya remembered. "One of his teammates. Her name is Hinata Hyuga. They make such a cute couple. It may be too soon to say it, but I wouldn't be surprised if they go all the way in the future..."

Then, at that moment, something happened. Minato and Kushina's movements keep getting slower until they stopped completely. Then, two beams of light came from above, illuminating the two reanimated bodies.

"Sensei...thanks a lot for taking care of Naruto in our absence," Minato tearfully said, as his body started to crumble.

"It pained me knowing that we would never be part of his life...or that we could even see him at all," Kushina continued, her body slowly disintegrated as well. "But knowing that he's happy...and that he had people taking care of him...that's all what I needed to know."

Everybody watched stunned how Minato and Kushina slowly vanished. All of them reached the same conclusion, that if a reanimated body found closure, then the jutsu would be unable to keep them attached to the mortal world. Turns out that the Impure World Resurrection wasn't so infallible after all.

"Sensei...now Kushina and I have to go..." Minato continued. "You've made a wonderful job keeping both the village and Naruto safe. Keep up the good work."

"And I hope both you and Tsunade-sama have a long and happy relationship," Kushina added. "I will wait until we can meet the two of you again, but...don't be in a hurry to see us again, ya know!"

And after that, Minato and Kushina's bodies crumbled completely, their souls returning to their rightful place in the pure world, leaving nothing but two piles of dust and ash behind.

"Goodbye, Minato, Kushina," Jiraiya told to no one in particular. A tear fell down his cheek. "You don't need to worry. As long as my heart beats, I will continue protecting both the village and your son."

"We did it! We defeated those reanimations!" Fukasaku cheered.

"Haha, yes! A fitting way to end such an abominable jutsu!" Shima agreed, before noticing Jiraiya's state. "Jiraiya-chan, are you crying?"

Jiraiya wiped out his tears, and chuckled. "Am I? It feels strange...I don't remember the last time these eyes shed tears..."

"Hokage-sama!" Anko's voice drew his attention. The Snake Kunoichi was kneeling besides the piles of ash and dirt that used to make Minato and Kushina's body. "Take a look at this!"

Jiraiya got closer, and noticed that there were a couple corpses, which appeared to be from random civilians, half buried between the dirt. Their expressions were horrified, as if they saw something unspeakable as they died.

"The Impure World Resurrection requires a sacrifice for each reanimated body," Fukasaku said out loud. "Guess that these poor souls were the victims Orochimaru used to bring Minato-chan and Kushina-chan back to life."

Jiraiya stood up. "Anyway, there's nothing more we can do here. Let's return to Konoha, and make Orochimaru pay for sullying the memory of my student and his wife...among many, many other transgressions."

Anko grinned sadistically. This time, Orochimaru wouldn't escape her wrath.

…

Tsunade was growing desperate. All her attempts to beat her grandfather had been fruitless. No matter how hard she hit, what kind of jutsu she used, the force that brought Hashirama back to life completely restored his body as if nothing happened to him.

"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

More tree branches emerged from the ground, and lunged at Tsunade, either to wrap around her, or to impale her. The blond Sannin tore apart a huge chunk on the ground, and used it as a shield. Then, while holding the chunk, she ran towards Hashirama at a neck-breaking speed until she slammed her grandfather. She repeated the process multiple times, sinking Hashirama a bit with each hit.

"Maybe if I bury you, you will stay down!?" Tsunade shouted.

"Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!"

Hashirama's arms turned into a mass of wooden vines that tried to wrap themselves around Tsunade, but the Slug Princess managed to jump back in time. Hashirama then unearthed himself, returned his arms back to normal, and dusted his armor off.

Tsunade stared in frustration, breathing heavily. She wondered how long she could keep going. She was strong and resistant, but unlike her grandfather before her, her energy and chakra reserves weren't infinite.

"Not bad, Tsuna, not bad. Think in a way of incapacitating me instead of defeating me permanently," Hiashirama advised.

"I'm trying. I really am," Tsunade scornfully said, but she was running out of patience, and most importantly, chakra. She could never image she'd grew to hate her beloved grandfather so much. But deep down, it was Orochimaru she hated, since it was him who started this whole mess to begin with.

"You've been doing fine. You're a strong kunoichi, I'm sure you-" Hashirama was saying before being interrupted.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A rain of fireballs fell upon the first Hokage, who managed to evade them in time. A young man with black hair and a single Sharingan eye landed besides Tsunade.

"Tsunade-sama, are you alright?" Shisui asked.

"Shisui? What are you doing here!?" Tsunade asked, a bit stupefied.

"It isn't obvious? I'm here to help," Shisui replied.

"While I appreciate your thoughts, this enemy is way too powerful for you! You need to leave now!" Tsunade urged him.

"Don't worry, I know exactly what to do to take care of the problem at hand," Shisui replied, as his Sharingan eye took the form of a black shuriken against a red background.

"Mangekyo Sharingan..." Hashirama said to no one in particular.

While Tsunade knew of Shisui's advanced Sharingan, she wasn't aware of the unique power his eye possessed.

"Kotoamatsukami!"

Hashirama stumbled back, as if something smacked him in the head, hard. Except that it felt like he was being smacked from the inside of his skull. Then, he noticed something odd.

"My...my body...I can control it!" Hashirama said in jubilation, as he start to flex his fingers. "I'm free of Orochimaru's control!"

Shisui sighed in relief. "Thank goodness it worked..."

"Shisui...what did you do?" Tsunade asked in confusion.

"My Mangekyo Sharingan isn't like everybody else's. It's special. It has an unique ability called Kotoamatsukami. To explain how it works takes some time, so to simplify it you can say is a very powerful form of mind control. I used it to override Orochimaru's control with my own, but as you can see I decided to give him back his free will," Shisui explained. "It has the downside that it can only be used once every ten years, so I have to be careful when to use it. However, I thought that the situation demanded it."

"You did good, Uchiha-san," Hashirama praised as he walked towards him.

"T-Thank you, Hokage-sama. I do all what's in my power to serve and protect the village," Shisui stammered. It's not every day than a legendary ninja that came from the dead praises you.

"Shisui is one of the best ninja we have," Tsunade added. "Otherwise, I wouldn't allow him to become my future son in law."

"...son in law?" Hashirama asked in shock. Shisui visibly gulped. "Are you telling me that an Uchiha...is going to marry a Senju woman?"

"Uh, listen, grandfather, things have changed a lot since your time and-" Tsunade said before being interrupted.

"No, Tsuna, this has nothing to do with being a different time," Hashirama said as he menacingly walked towards Shisui. "There's one thing I must do..."

Shisui braced himself for what the Hokage was going to do. He was now regretting giving him back his free will.

"Welcome to the family!" Hashirama warmly said as he pulled a terrified Shisui into a bear hug. "Boy, if two people from our respective clans fell in love...maybe it would have helped to diffuse the tensions between the Senju and the Uchiha much faster."

"Actually, such thing would had happened, both of them would have been executed by their respective clans for treason," Tsunade pointed out. "I mean, you yourself told me how your friendship with Madara Uchiha went."

"Come on Tsuna… don't be so negative," Hashirama replied. "This is a historical event worthy of the biggest celebrations!"

"Uh, Hokage-sama," Shisui shyly said. "While I'm glad that you approve of my marriage with a Senju woman –even if Shizune-chan isn't a Senju by blood– I think that there are more pressing matters to attend now, like the ongoing invasion."

"You speak the truth, Shisui-san! Let's find that traitor of a snake, and give him what he deserves!" Hashirama declared, before Tsunade, Shisui and himself leaped away.

…

Orochimaru couldn't believe what was happening. First, his connection to Minato and Kushina was severed. Even if the thought was distressing, at least he was still in control of Hashirama, his most powerful reanimation. Of course, that didn't last, as the connection to Hashirama was cut as well. All of his reanimations had been defeated. How was that even possible?

And to make matters worse, Sarutobi smelled Orochimaru's fear and distress, which in turn made him more confident, and thus became more aggressive in his attack.

"Something wrong, Orochimaru? No more grinning?" Sarutobi taunted. "You looked so confident when we started the fight. Where did that confidence go?"

"I'll show you right now!" an angry Orochimaru replied as he cast his arms forward. "Mass Shadow Hidden Snake Hands!"

Many snakes emerged from under Orochimaru's sleeves, and just like it happened with Jiraiya, more snakes emerged from the mouths of the first snakes, and so on, until Orochimaru had summoned a truly ridiculous amount of snakes. The mass of snakes then took the form of a massive snake, with Orochimaru on its mouth, and lunged at the former Hokage.

"DIE, YOU FOSSIL!" Orochimaru shouted from the top of his snake-shaped snake construct.

"Fossil? I was expecting a more creative insult, coming from a man of your intellect," Sarutobi stated as he jumped back while making hand seals. "Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

The former Hokage breathed a massive wave of fire at the incoming snakes, which crashed against it, filling the air with loud hisses of pain. Sarutobi then noticed that the ground beneath his feet started to shake, and jumped back again just in time to avoid the mass of snakes, with Orochimaru lodged between them, violently emerging from below.

As Hiruzen kept moving, more and more snakes emerged from below, forcing the former Hokage on the defensive.

 _"There has to be more snakes here than in the forests of the Land of Fire..."_ Sarutobi thought. _"Something didn't go according to the plan. Orochimaru is growing desperate, and that makes him even more dangerous."_

Realizing he couldn't run forever, Sarutobi stabbed the Adamantine Staff into the ground, and commanded it to grow larger and thicker, until it became a really tall post Hiruzen could stand on top of. He looked at the ravenous mass of snakes, trying to climb the staff. He then got an idea.

Hiruzen pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, and tossed it up, while making several hand seals.

"Exploding Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Upon falling down, the single kunai with the explosive multiplied by several dozen. Upon landing on the ground, Hiruzen activated all the explosive tags simultaneously, creating a chain of explosions that destroyed most of the snakes. Seeing that it was safe to get down, he commanded Enma to turn into its usual size and length.

"Is that all, Orochimaru?" Sarutobi taunted.

The Snake Sannin emerged from underground, casting a murderous glare on his former sensei.

"You talk as if this was nothing, when the truth is you're out of breath already. You can't keep my pace, old man," Orochimaru grinned again. "While I admit you put up a formidable fight, all what you did is rush towards your demise."

"Wood Release: Wood Binding Jutsu!"

That moment, multiple wooden roots emerged from below, and wrapped themselves around Orochimaru. It happened so fast and so suddenly that not even his Sharingan was able to foresee it and allow him to react in time.

"It is you whose near his demise, traitor!" Hashirama's voice said as he, Tsunade, and an Uchiha Orochimaru didn't know landed near the Third Hokage.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Orochimaru screamed in shock. "You can't do this! You are supposed to be bound to my will!"

"Not anymore, villain," Hashirama replied, as he crossed his arms, and shot Orochimaru and chilling glare. "I told you I'd find a way to make you pay for this, and I never go back on my word."

Orochimaru tried to break free, but the vines' grip was too hard. He found himself unable to gather and mold chakra properly.

"Don't bother. Those vines have an special poison that it's absorbed through the skin and greatly difficult the use of chakra," Hashirama explained, as he smiled confidently at his prisoner.

"Hashirama-sensei? Is that you? Orochimaru brought you too as well?" Sarutobi asked in shock.

Hashirama narrowed his eyes at the former Hokage, before he opened wide in shock upon realizing who was talking to him. "Saru? Is that you?"

"Yes, sensei, it's me. Despite the situation, it's good to see you again," Sarutobi sincerely said, as his stance relaxed.

"What happened to you? You look so old!" Hashirama exclaimed.

"Well, that's what happens when you get to live as much as I did," Sarutobi chuckled, as he shrugged a bit.

"Wait a minute..." Hashirama said in confusion as his gaze switched back and forth between Tsunade and Sarutobi. "How long have I been dead?"

"I'd say a little less than four decades," Hiruzen replied.

Hashirama looked at Tsunade again. "Wow Tsuna, it's amazing how young you look! Time seems to have no effect on you! What's your secret?"

Shisui cleared his throat. "Um, I believe we should deal with Orochimaru first. There's an invasion going on."

"Plus there are more reanimations as well. Jiraiya and Anko are fighting Minato and Kushina," Hiruzen informed them. "Stopping this accursed jutsu should be the first course of action."

"Ah, yes, very true, you two!" Hashirama replied, before his stare rested on Orochimaru once again. "I know that the caster of the jutsu can cancel it, so do it already!"

"I'd love to, but to do so I need to do several hand seals, and as you can see," Orochimaru struggled again against the vines to make his point. "I can't do it as long as I'm restrained."

Hashirama frowned, and his eyes narrowed in anger at the pale skinned man. "Okay then. But watch your movements carefully. I won't hesitate to end your life if you do something suspicious."

The First Hokage made a hand seal, and the vines released the Snake Sannin

"That's far from my intention," Orochimaru replied as he started making hand seals. "Impure World Resurrection: Release!"

Like it happened before with Minato and Kushina, and beam of light fell upon Hashirama from the sky, and his body started to crumble.

"Well, it's my time to go," Hashirama stated. "Tsuna, Hiruzen, I'm grateful to have the chance of seeing both of you again one last time."

"The feeling is mutual, sensei," Hiruzen replied.

"Say hello to grandmother when you see her on the other side...and tell her that everything's going fine," Tsunade said, as she wiped a falling tear from her cheek.

"I will," Hashirama then turned at the Uchiha. "Shisui-san, you're a great ninja, and will make a fine addition to the Senju Clan. Make my great granddaughter happy, okay?"

"I was planning to, Hokage-sama," Shisui replied with a sincere smile. "Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you but...Tsunade is going to be a grandma."

"Really? That's great!" Hashirama exclaimed, his body almost completely vanished. "I can't wait...to tell Mito-chan..."

And thus, Hashirama, the last standing reanimation, was gone, and his spirit returned to the place it rightfully belongs.

"Alright, now Orochimaru, let's rectify that mistake that I made so long ago," Hiruzen said as he turned at his traitorous student.

But much to his shock, Orochimaru was making more hand seals. He started the moment Hashirama vanished completely, and nobody realized until it was too late.

"Yin Release: Bringer of Darkness!"

In less than two seconds, the whole area was covered by a veil of shadows that blinded all present there. The darkness dispelled shortly afterwards, but Orochimaru was nowhere to be seen.

"Dammit, we let him escape again!" Tsunade shouted in frustration as she stomped her foot on the ground, making a small crater.

"Orochimaru has perfected retreating into an art form," Hiruzen said as he shook his head. "Anyway, a good chunk of his troops are still here. The moment they see their leader has abandoned them, they will flee. Let's make sure that happens as soon as possible."

"Actually, now that the threat of the reanimations has been dealt with, I believe I should return to the hospital. I'll be more useful there than fighting some mooks," Tsunade replied.

"Very well then. Are you with me, Shisui-kun?" Hiruzen asked the Uchiha.

Shisui nodded. "Lead the way, Hokage-sama."

…

Meanwhile, in the forests north of Konoha, the Sound Five were resting under a tree, keeping an eye on their valuable hostages. They've been waiting for quite some time now, and they were starting to grow antsy and bored. Kimimaro, however, remained as cool as ever.

"I think I see him!" Kidomaro, perched at the top of a tree, while looking through a spyglass, shouted to their teammates below. "Yeah, it's him!"

"About fucking time," Tayuya groaned as she started to stretch her limbs.

"Oh shit! He didn't come alone!" Kidomaru added, a bit distressed.

"How many people did he bring?" Sakon asked.

"Ten...twelve...fourteen! Fifteen if we count the Jinchuriki!" Kidomaru asked, as he descended down.

"Boy, I knew we should have tell him to come alone," Jirobo stated, as he crossed his arms.

"If we did that, he'd knew we're leading him to a trap," Sakon countered.

"As if the shithead didn't figure already that this is a trap," Tayuya scoffed as she rolled her eyes.

"Enough," Kimimaro quietly but firmly reassessed his authority. "We will proceed with the plan as Orochimaru-sama ordered, regardless of our personal opinion on it, understood?"

"What are we going to do now, then? I wasn't expecting that he'd be able to bring so many people with him," Kidomaro asked.

"How strong do you think they are?" Kimimaro asked.

"Given their age, I'd say they're Genin. A couple of them were wearing those flak jackets, so they have to be Chunin. But given that there was a Chunin Exam here some days ago, I guess that they have to be rookie Chunin," Kidomaru informed.

"It doesn't seem to be something we can't handle. Okay, for the time being, let's carry on with the plan. I'll think of something if something unexpected happesn. Jirobo, grab the kids," Kimimaro ordered.

The fattest of the Sound Five did so, and the Oto ninja headed back to their lair.

…

Not far from there, Naruto and his group were getting close. Naruto knew better than to ask an adult for help, given that they'd be busy protecting Konoha,. His friends, however, being either Genin or newly minted Chunin, wouldn't be that necessary in the village. Still, he had enough common sense to leave some clones to warn the adults about what was going on.

"They're moving!" Karin warned. The redhead was holding Hashirama's necklace, and used it as a way to track the twins.

"How strong do you think they are, neechan?" Naruto asked.

"I'd say...mid Chunin level, so I think -HOLY SHIT!" Karin cursed out loud.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked.

"One of those guys is easily as strong as any of our Jonin-sensei," Karin fearfully stammered. "It's clear that Orochimaru really wants your siblings, niisan."

"But...we triple them in number!" Kiba pointed out. "That has to count for something, right?"

"When the gap of skill and power reaches a certain point, numbers lose their relevancy," Shino countered. "Or you think a hundred ants could defeat you?"

"So that's what we are to them? Ants?" Kiba sourly asked.

"Come on guys, we're strong! Keep the mood up. I'm sure we'll be able to beat them," Tenten said, trying to lift the morale.

"Besides, didn't you hear what Hokage-sama said about us? We're one of the strongest generations of Genin ever born!" Lee stated.

"That doesn't change the fact that most of us are still Genin, and the strongest of the Genin is still no match for the weakest of the Jonin," Neji countered.

"Then again, we can't go back. The children of the Hokage possess some pretty powerful Bloodline Limits. If Orchimaru got his hands on them..." Sakura shuddered as she rubbed her arms. "I don't even want to imagine."

"Listen guys, if you're afraid, you can leave. Despite being your commanding officer, I would never force you to go on a mission like this," Naruto gravely said. "Feel free to go back to the village and help there if you think this is too much for you."

"Who said anything about being afraid?" Sasuke replied, as if taking offense to Naruto's comment. "Even if I was afraid, I couldn't leave. Most of my clan fell prey to the machinations of the Akatsuki, and I won't let such thing to happen again to any other clan or family. And I'm a Chunin too, don't think you're the only one who can issue orders."

For the first time since the invasion began, Naruto smiled. "Thank you, Sasuke. That...means a lot."

"Naruto-kun" Hinata called him, her Byakugan activated. "We're getting close to them!"

Naruto's smile vanished as his body tensed. "Alright, everybody, prepare to battle! Fight like you never did before!"

* * *

 **OMAKE: Jiraiya's Daring Escape**

 **OR: Chapter 32, What Could Have Been**

Jiraiya and Orochimaru were about to fight, when the latter snapped his fingers. Four of his ninjas appeared around the two of them, standing in a square formation.,

"You know what to do," Orochimaru crytptically said.

The Sound Four nodded, and formed the Snake seal before clapping their hands together.

"Four Violet Flames Formation!"

With the four ninjas as its corners, a square-shaped force field was erected, trapping the two Sannin inside. The barrier was double layered, protecting the casters from attacks coming from both the inside and the outside.

"Now, Jiraiya, you're trapped here with me," Orochimaru stated, grinning widely. "There's no way for you or anybody else to break this barrier, other than defeating me and wait for the Sound Four to grow tired. But that obviously isn't going to happen."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure," Jiraiya confidently replied, as he bit his finger. "I'm sure there's a way to escape this place that you didn't think of."

"And that would be?" Orochimaru asked, amused.

Jiraiya made five hand seals, and slammed his hand into the ground. "THIS! Summoning Jutsu!"

Orochimaru got ready to fight whatever toad Jiraiya had summoned, but much to his bemusement and amusement, the toad was positively tiny.

"Ah Jiraiya, you never fail to make a fool of yourself," Orochimaru chuckled cruelly. "How is that puny toad going to help you?"

Jiraiya whispered something to the small toad, who disappeared on a cloud of smoke.

"You'll see shortly," Jiraiya replied, his confidence unwavering. "As a a fellow summoner, I'm sure you're aware of the concept of Reverse Summoning, right?"

The smile disappeared from Orochimaru's face as the implications of Jiraiya's words dawned upon him.

"Who's the fool now?" Jiraiya laughed before disappearing as well, leaving a befuddled Orochimar behind.

"Uh...boss? Do you still need us to keep the barrier up?" Jirobo uneasily asked.

* * *

 **Author's Note: As you can see, this arc was split in two parts, the first one focused mostly on Jiraiya, Tsunade and the other adults dealing with the invasion, while quietly building up to the second part, starring Naruto and his friends. With the Edo tensei zombies dealt with, Orochimaru defeated, and his army retreating, the first part is now over and thus we now focus back on Naruto and his friends as they try to rescue Hagane and Kaida from the Sound Five.  
**

 **As you can see, this second half is pretty much going to be the Sasuke Retrieval Arc with Hagane and Kaida replacing Sasuke, and the whole Konoha 15 taking part in the retrieval, instead of just five (then six) people. Including Sasuke. Which is weird, since I don't think there has been a Sasuke Retrieval arc in which Sasuke remains loyal to Konoha.**

 **I'm looking forward this second half of the arc because I will be able to do something Kishimoto failed to d:. Give Naruto's friends some much needed spotlight in order to flesh out both their personalities, abilities and growth. So no matter which one of the secondary characters you like, you're for a treat since ALL OF THEM, no exceptions, will get their time to shine.**

 **Meanwhile, I look forward to hear your opinion on the first half of the arc. Especially the fight between Minato, Jiraiya and Kushina (and Anko, I guess). I hope you liked how I ended it.**

 **And thus, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	36. Senju Twins Retrieval, Part I

**Author's Note: If you missed Naruto and co. in the previous chapter, fear not, dearest reader, for both he and his friends will return in full force during the second half of the arc, which starts right now!**

 **I was so glad how many reviews the previous chapter got. Let's see if this chapter's reception is just as good. See you at the bottom notes, and enjoy the beginning of the end of Part I:**

* * *

 **Chapter 36:**

The Senju Twins' Retrieval, Part I

 _or_

 _Kidnapping a child isn't child's play_

…

The fifteen Konoha ninja relentlessly pursued the invaders who had kidnapped Naruto's siblings through the forests of the Land of Fire, heading north. It was obvious that they were heading towards the Land of Sound, where Orochimaru had his main base. For one reason or another, everybody was tense. Not only were they going against ninja much stronger them, but unlike any other mission they took before, they wouldn't have their Jonin-sensei to protect them.

"We're getting close," Neji informed. For some reason, their pace seemed oddly...relaxed. Maybe they weren't aware that they were being followed. Better for the Konoha ninja, then.

"Hinata-hime, while Neji keeps track of them, you should watch out for traps," Naruto told her.

"I am. Oddly enough, they didn't leave any," Hinata replied.

"Man, those guys are surely confident nobody is following them," Ino commented.

"Abducting them during the invasion was a really clever move. With all the chaos going, it's the perfect cover. If it wasn't for Naruto-kun finding out..." Haku commented.

"Hmm…" Shikamaru interceded.

"What's up Shikamaru?" Ino asked.

"Something doesn't feel right. While kidnapping Naruto's siblings for their Bloodlines is something Orochimaru would do, some things don't make sense," Shikamaru replied. "For starters, Naruto told us that he fought against Kabuto alongside Hinata. Kabuto shouldn't have any trouble dispatching both of them, but not only he did he not do such a thing, but even told Naruto of the twins' kidnapping. And while Naruto arrived too late, the kidnappers left at least an adult ninja alive so he could tell Naruto about it."

"Are you suggesting we're bring led to a trap?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru nodded. "I'm afraid so. Remember that Naruto is a Jinchuriki, and Orochimaru is part of the Akatsuki. With this move, he's killing two birds with one stone."

"Then they probably know we're after them," Shino stated. "However, if they wanted to lure Naruto out of the village, a better alternative would have been to use the kids as hostages and force Naruto to come with them peacefully."

"Maybe. Or maybe they guessed that we wouldn't buy their bluff. The twins are too important for Orochimaru, he wouldn't risk harming them," Shikamaru replied.

"Trap or not, given that the alternative is to let him get away with my siblings, we're not going back," Naruto firmly stated. "At least, I'm not going back."

"Still, maybe we should have brought an adult with us..." Tamaki mentioned.

"There's no time! Most of the adults are needed in the village," Naruto replied. "However, some of my clones did warn a couple adults. Our Jonin-sensei should come to help us soon."

"I doubt it will be soon enough..." Tamaki whimpered.

"Oh come on, don't be such a wimp! See, that's why you were passed over for promotion!" Kiba told her.

"Shut up! Remember I made it longer than you did, mutt!" Tamaki retorted. "And it's due to that overconfidence of yours that Karin kicked your ass!"

"Enough," Shino calmly, but firmly, interjected. "This isn't the place nor the moment for petty squabble. If you can't stay focused on the matter at hand, then I recommend you to go back to the village, since you will only be a burden to the rest of us."

"Sorry..." Both Tamaki and Kiba said at the same time.

…

"Did you hear that?" Tayuya asked her teammates. "Those shitheads are getting close. Too close if you ask me."

"Come on, we can beat them! Let's kill them and bring the Jinchuriki to the base alongside these two," Sakon suggested.

"No. We have a plan, and we're going to follow it. Improvisation only leads to disaster," Kimimaro stated.

"Well we're going to have to fight them sooner or later. They will catch us at any moment. I think our head start was too short," Kidomaru stated.

"That has a simple solution. Kidomaru, take Jirobo and try to delay them," Kimimaro ordered.

"Wait, just the two of us?" Kidomaru asked, shocked.

"What's wrong, fucker? Afraid of a bunch of Genin?" Tayuya mocked.

"Kidomaru is right. Even if they're just Genin, they greatly outnumber us," Jirobo added.

"They're focused on rescuing these kids, and thus they won't try to fight you, just try and get past you. As long as you manage to make several of them stay and fight, you will make our job much easier," Kimimaro explained.

"What if the Jinchuriki decides to fight us?" Jirobo asked.

"He won't. If his relationship with his siblings is as close as we think, he will be among the last ones wanting to fight an obvious diversion. Now go," Kimimaro ordered.

"Alright then. Guess that games aren't fun if there isn't a little challenge. Let's go, Jirobo! Meet them headfirst, while I cover you from afar," Kidomaru said.

"Alright," Jirobo replied, before both he and his six-armed teammate headed in the opposite direction, ready to meet the Konoha party.

…

"Two of them left the main group and are heading towards us!" Neji warned.

"Everybody get ready!" Tenten told the rest.

"Karin, how strong are these two? Is the guy with Jonin level strength among them?" Sasuke asked the redhead.

The bespectacled girl shook her head. "Actually, they dispatched the two weakest members."

"If that's the case, they will try to delay us in order to give their teammates a chance to get away," Naruto reasoned. "But like hell that's going to happen."

"Still, you guys shouldn't underestimate them. They might be the weakest members, but each of them is way stronger than any of us. Besides, there's something about their chakra..." Karin shivered a bit. "...that I don't like one bit."

"We should make wise use of our numerical superiority. The least amount of people should stay and deal with them while the rest continue the pursuit," Shikamaru suggested.

"Agreed, but first we should see their abilities first and see which ones are the most appropriate for the task," Hinata added, before tensing up. "Here comes the first one!"

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

A huge wall emerged from the ground, forcing the Konoha ninja to abruptly stop. A man landed on top of the wall. The enemy in question was a tall and bulky man with brown eyes and his orange hair styled in a mohawk, wearing a sleeveless light brown tunic, black pants, and a rope-like purple belt. The hem of the tunic was adorned by an all white Yin-Yang symbol –which technically would make it a Yang-Yang symbol.

"It seems that we have a few rats following us, and we can't have that, can we?" the man asked, shaking his head. "My name is Jirobo, and I shall be your executioner. Pleased to meet you."

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Naruto roared as he leaped at the man, chakra blade in hand.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted as she tackled her boyfriend mid air.

"What the-?"

Naruto could hear two loud whistles as two golden projectiles passed near him at high speed, almost piercing the blond, before landing on the ground, instinctively making the others stand back.

"Sorry for being so rough, Naruto-kun, but the second one stayed behind and is acting a sniper and I had to act fast," Hinata quickly said.

"I know what's at a stake, but please calm down Naruto-kun, or else you'll end up dead," Haku added as well.

"You'll end up dead nevertheless!" Jirobo stated as he landed on the ground with a loud thud, and started making hand seals before slamming both hands into the ground. "Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome of Magnificent Nothingness!"

Before anybody had time to react, a huge dome made of rocks formed around the Konoha ninja, trapping them inside.

"There, that's it," Jirobo said in satisfaction. "End of the problem. Now I'll drain their chakra dry, and leave the Jinchruiki within an inch of his life. Although...wonder if I should spare the ones with the Bloodline Limits, like the Uchiha or the Hyuga?"

…

"Okay, stand back, I have this!" Tenten warned as she unfurled a scroll, facing the dome. The weapon mistress unsealed several kunai with explosive tags attached to them, which flew at the dome, making several explosions.

But much to the brown haired Chunin's shock, the walls began to reform, negating the damage her explosions had made.

"The hell? This thing has a healing factor?" Kiba asked in shock.

"So it seems," Shikamaru replied, as he came close to the still reforming wall, in order to get a better look.

"This dome is draining our chakra, and using it to repair itself," Neji mentioned. "We need to get out of here as soon as possible, or else this man will kill us by depleting our chakra pools."

"But if the dome repairs itself..." Ino stated.

"Then we'll need to damage it faster than it repairs itself, YOSH!" Lee replied.

"I believe Lee-san is right," Sakura stated. Like Shikamaru, the pinkette walked close to the walls and began to study them. "Okay, this is an Earth jutsu, right? So a powerful Lightning jutsu should do the trick. Sasuke-kun?"

"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked as well.

Both the Uchiha and the Hyuga nodded.

"I believe a Thunderbolt should suffice," Sasuke suggested. "Let's aim at the same spot."

Hinata nodded, and both she and Sasuke started to make the same hand seals, albeit Sasuke was a bit faster.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Hinata and Sasuke thrust their hands forward, releasing multiple lightning bolts from their fingertips that quickly started to obliterate the earth dome faster than it could repair itself. In no time, they created a hole large enough for everybody else to get out.

"The hell?" Jirobo asked in shock as the Konoha ninja escaped his dome. "Guess that hoping that there were no Lightning Release users among such a large group was too much to ask."

"Guys, we can't waste any more time! We need to reach Hagane and Kaida NOW!" Naruto urged.

"Indeed. This guy uses Earth Release jutsu, so either Sasuke-san or myself should stay and face him, while everybody else leaves" Hinata suggested.

"Like hell I'm going to let you leave!" Jirobo angrily shouted.

Then, much to everybody's shock, Jirobo lifted a massive, almost building sized chunk of rock from the ground, and chucked it at the Konoha 15.

"Earth Release: Earth Mausoleum Dumpling!"

"Everybody, scatter! Sasuke, let's do it together!" Naruto commanded while he started to prepare a Rasengan.

"I'm way ahead of you," Sasuke replied as he made several hand seals and unsheathed his katana.

The Uzumaki and the Uchiha leaped at the gigantic boulder coming at them and slammed it with their jutsu the moment they met.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

"Rasengan!"

Like it did before, Sasuke's lightning jutsu started to obliterate the large rock, and combined with the Rasengan shattering it as well, the massive boulder was quickly reduced to a multitude of much smaller rocks and dust.

"Impressive," Jirobo conceded. "But you're going to need something more than...than...what the-?"

Jirobo suddenly found himself paralyzed. He looked down and saw that his shadow looked unnaturally dark. And more distressing, a dark tendril connected his shadow with one of the Konoha brats which, judging by his hairstyle, appeared to be a Nara.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu, success," Shikamaru smugly stated, but his expression suddenly grew serious. "Everybody, keep going! I'll deal with this guy!"

"What? Shikamaru, stop playing hero! There's no way you can deal with that guy alone!" Ino protested.

"Yeah, he's too much for you!" Choji agreed.

"Listen, according to Karin, this guy is the weakest, and let's face it, I'm far from being the strongest here. You'd need both numbers and our strongest members to deal with them. I'll make sure he doesn't get in the way. Now go!" Shikamaru said before running away in the opposite direction, forcing Jirobo to follow him.

Naruto made a hand seal, and four clones popped into existence. "You don't have to do this alone, Shikamaru. I'll provide you with all the help I can muster," Naruto said before ordering the clones to trail Shikamaru. "Everybody else, let's go!"

Without wasting a single second, the rest of the Konoha ninja followed Naruto's lead. As they started to advance, golden arrows started to fly towards them.

'Dammit, I forgot about the sniper!' Naruto cursed inwardly as he saw a whistling arrow passing over his shoulder. "Hinata-hime, Neji, can either of you track him?"

"I already got him in my sights, Naruto-kun," Hinata replied.

"Well done. Guess that somebody needs to stay and makes sure that guy doesn't delay us anymore."

They continued pushing forward, with both Hyuga keeping their eyes focused on the six armed man firing arrows at them. However, they were so preoccupied of him that they didn't notice other traps he had laid for them.

"Watch out! There are-!" Neji tried to warn, but a bit too late

"What the hell!?" Sakura asked in shock. Everybody saw that she just run into a massive spider web, getting half her body stuck on it.

Like her, many others accidentally got stuck into other spider webs. Everybody tried to struggle.

"The path ahead is full of those spider webs," Neji informed. "Sorry for not seeing them earlier."

Sakura used a free hand to pull out a kunai and tried to cut the spider web, to no avail.

"How hard is this web?" Sakura complained as she continued trying to cut it.

"The webs are infused with chakra, hence why they are so hard," Hinata said.

Tenten, who was also stuck, got an idea. She pulled a kunai, but infused it with her own chakra as well. This time, the spider web was cut as if it was a thread of silk.

"Guys, channel your chakra through your weapons! It works that way!" Tenten told the others, who proceeded to do as she said –those who had mastered chakra flow, at the very least–.

"My chakra blade works just as fine," Naruto stated as he sliced several spider webs.

"And so does the Gentle Fist," Hinata added, doing the same.

"Okay, who gets to fight this guy?" Naruto asked.

"He's a long ranged fighter who attacks us from afar, presumably hidden. I can pinpoint his location with my Byakugan, and I can break his spider webs with the Gentle Fist. I have the best chances against him out of us," Neji stated.

Tamaki shook her head. "No, you can't stay here. You're one of our strongest fighters, and thus you'll be needed to fight the other guys. I should fight this guy. I can break his spider webs too, and I can use my cats to track and blindside him. I'm not among the strongest either, you can afford going on without me."

"Hey, don't say that!" Kiba protested. "Even if what you said is true, that doesn't mean you should throw your life away going alone against this guy!"

"Aw, do you care about me after all," Tamaki purred. "But don't worry. Remember, cats have nine lives, and I'll doubt this guy will be able to kill me that many times."

"I believe I could assist you as well," Shino stated. "I'm also a long ranged fighter, and thus I can cover you, and my beetles can help you track him."

"Okay then, Tamaki and Shino will face the sniper. Good luck you two!" Naruto said.

"Now, everybody, ready to go? I'll distract him," Shino said before spreading his arms, and two massive swarms of kikai beetles emerged from under his sleeves, creating a living wall that covered Naruto and the rest of the Konoha's ninja.

"The sniper is at two o'clock," Karin stated, while pointing with her finger in that direction.

"Be careful you two! If you don't come back alive, I'll bring you back and kill you myself!" Kiba angrily shouted. Tamaki merely giggled, while Shino simply nodded.

While they felt bad for leaving their friends behind to face enemies much stronger than them, they had to in order to maintain their numbers advantage over the remaining, much stronger, enemies. All what they could do is pray to whatever deity above for their friends to return home safe.

"Hinata-hime, can you see them?" Naruto impatiently asked.

Hinata shook her head. "Not yet. But then again, my range of Byakugan is a bit limited, since I never trained it for long distance searches."

"I can't see them either, but they can't be that far away," Neji added.

"They aren't" Karin chimed in. "I can still sense their foul chakra. While they did increase the distance gap a bit, they don't seem to be moving too fast. If we keep this pace, we will reach them in a few minutes."

"You heard nee-chan! Everybody, don't lag behind!" Naruto told the rest of the group.

"You hear that, Choji? This is why Asuma-sensei was so adamant about building your stamina!" Ino told her rotund teammate, only to realize that he was nowhere to be seen. "Choji? Where the hell did you go?"

"He...he isn't among us..." Hinata stated after briefly scanning the whole group.

"What the hell did he...?" Ino asked, before a realization dawned upon her. "Oh crap. I think I have an idea of where he might be..."

…

Not far away from there, Shikamaru was still forcing Jirobo to follow him away from the others. He reached a clearing in the forest at where he found himself out of breath, and had to stop to rest a bit.

"You must think yourself you're so heroic, don't you string bean?" Jirobo mockingly asked. "Sacrificing yourself so the others don't have to deal with me. But all what you will manage to accomplish is dying pointlessly."

The Shadow Jutsu started to waver and a few seconds later, receded completely, releasing Jirobo.

"Ah, much better," the man with the mohawk said as he began to stretch his arms. "So, ready to fight, dead man walking?"

"You look like the kind of guy of who's all strength and no brain, if you underestimate your opponent like that," Shikamaru retorted. But deep inside, he knew that this enemy was way superior to him, and his brain was already working nonstop to figure out an strategy to beat him.

The four Naruto clones landed behind Jirobo. The large man turned his head to see them, but he didn't appear to consider them a threat.

"And look at that, my reinforcements are here," Shikamaru replied.

"You must be even more naive than I thought if you really believe that a bunch of Shadow Clones is going to make any difference," Jirobo told him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, they aren't going to make the fight any harder for me."

"I think I had enough of your blabbering," Jirobo said darkly as he menacingly advanced towards the young Nara. "It shouldn't take me more than a minute to squash you and go back to the others."

 _"Okay, first of all, I should let him attack to see the extent of his abilities, so I can think a counter-strategy,"_ Shikamaru thought. _"The Clones might be good distractions, or human shields if necessary."_

"I'm really hungry. I wonder what your chakra tastes like?" Jirobo asked as he licked his lips. "But then again, such a scrawny kid like you can't have that much."

 _"He can absorb chakra. Just my luck,"_ Shikamaru inwardly groaned as he took a step back. If he wanted to stay in one piece, he better keep his distance from that man with monstrous physical strength. He made a hand seal. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Once again, Shikamaru's shadow stretched into a thread and dashed towards Jirobo. The orange haired ninja was forced to jump back and try to avoid the shadow tendril, which started to branch out into multiple shadows.

"Naruto, now!" Shikamaru called.

The four Naruto clones rushed at the unsuspecting Jirobo and unleashed a barrage of shuriken on him. The shuriken embedded on his back, making him to cry in pain...before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, leaving a large boulder behind.

"Shit, Body Replacement!" A Naruto Clone cursed.

"Quick, look for the real one!" Another stated.

However, before they could even do anything, Jirobo burst from underground, and in a couple of swift punches, two clones were destroyed. The other two managed to jump back in time, landing besides Shikamaru. Jirobo looked at his enemies and smirked.

"See? I already told you that the clones wouldn't change anything," Jirobo then cracked his knuckles.

Still, the burly man had no time to attack as Shikamaru continued to harass him with his clan jutsu. Meanwhile, the Naruto clones decided to take the opportunity to attack once more.

"Hold on, Shikamaru!" one of the clones said as he began to form a Rasengan, while the other started to infuse it with wind chakra. Once they were done, both clones charged at Jirobo, still dodging the shadow attack.

"What the...?" Jirobo asked upon seeing the clones charging again. " _That sphere of chakra looks dangerous. While I doubt it can hurt me in any way, better not to take any chances."_ He thought.

Jirobo made the hand seals of a jutsu he had used once a few hours earlier, before slamming both hands in the ground.

"Earth Release: Rising Pillar!"

A rock pillar emerged from under Jirobo's feet, rising him high into the air. Shikamaru's shadow followed suit, but it stopped midway the stone column.

"Damn! Did I reach the jutsu's limit?" Shikamaru wondered. Due the time of the day, the pillar cast a very small shadow, which would be of little use.

"You won't escape from us!" the Naruto clones shouted as they began to climb the pillar.

Unfortunately for them, that's what Jirobo was expecting, and he jumped back into the ground the moment the clones were halfway there. He then used his incredible strength to lift the pillar from the ground and shake it, sending the two remaining clones back into the ground, before slamming them with the pillar itself.

"And no more clones!" Jirobo stated as he started to lift the pillar as well. "Now you go next, shrimp! Any last words?"

"How about I trapped you again with jutsu'?" Shikamaru retorted. "Albeit then again, I don't think they will be my last."

"What? What do you-" But much to Jirobo's shock, he realized he couldn't move anymore.

"In case you didn't notice," Shikamaru spread his arms, forcing Jirobo to the same, dropping the stone pillar. "When you held that pillar horizontally, it casted a shadow just as long on the ground, which I could use to trap you."

"You asshole!" Jirobo snarled as he struggled from Shikamaru's shadow.

"Now, I know that my jutsu won't keep you in line for long, so let's finish this already," Shikamaru started to make hand seals, which Jirobo was forced to imitate. "Fire Release: Shadow Fire Thread!"

A stream of fire moved through Shikamaru's shadow towards Jirobo, as if it was a trail of oil. However, before the flames were able to engulf the Oto ninja, he was able to break Shikamaru's hold and jump aside.

"What!?" Shikamaru asked in disbelief. The lazy genius then noticed that Jirobo's body was covered in marks shaped like a chain of small triangles.

"I can't believe that a shrimp like you forced me to use the Cursed Seal," Jirobo snarled as he menacingly advanced towards him. "In case you didn't figure it out, I'm much more powerful now, so forget about your ridiculous shadow jutsu having any lasting effect on me now."

"I see," Shikamaru replied as he took a step back. "If that's the case, then I'll have to just crush you with brute force."

Jirobo stopped in his tracks by such outrageous statement. "Brute force? Crush me? YOU!? Bwahahahaha!"

Shikamaru simply smirked. "Who said it was me who was going to crush you?"

"Huh?"

And before Jirobo had any time to react, he was crushed by a gigantic, bandaged hand, producing multiple cracks on the ground, as well as raising a lot of dust.

"Sorry for not coming sooner," Choji stated, panting a bit. "I ran as fast as I could."

Shikamaru felt like chiding Choji for not heeding his advice and returning to help him, but now he was too happy to have one of his teammates back. Jirobo clearly was too much for Shikamaru alone, but between the two of them, maybe they'd have a chance.

"Glad to see you, Choji. Now get ready, this guy is so strong it's not even funny," Shikamaru stated.

Choji's eyebrow arched in confusion. "What do you mean? I just crushed-WHOA!"

Much to Choji's shock, Jirobo managed to lift the Akimichi's enlarged palm with his incredible strength, albeit with some effort, before pushing his hand back, which promptly returned to its normal size.

"So, the shrimp has some fatty reinforcements," Jirobo mentioned as he stared at Choji, who frowned in anger, then back at Shikamaru. "You're only succeeding in delaying the inevitable. And making me mad."

"You aren't exactly the most appropriate to talk about other people's weight, you know," Shikamaru fired back. "Come on Choji, let's go!"

"Right!"

Both Konoha ninja prepared to attack their enemy from two different sides, Shikamaru from afar and Choji in close combat. Of course, Jirobo wasn't going to make things so easy for them. He started to make hand seals, before slamming his hand into the ground.

"Earth Release: Earth Prison Golem!"

A large golem emerged from the ground, making both Choji and Shikamaru to take a step back. Being almost six meters tall, the golem towered menacingly over them. It had long, thick arms that reached all the way to the floor, with its forearms being even larger and thicker. The Oto ninja jumped on the golem's shoulder.

"Let's see what you can do against THIS! You're the first one to be crushed, shrimp!" Jirobo taunted as he commanded his golem to advance.

Shikamaru knew better than to try to use his shadow jutsu on such a massive creature, but thankfully he still had other options. Reaching his ninja tool pouch, Shikamaru grabbed a couple kunai and attached explosive tags on them before tossing them at the golem, embedding themselves into its right arm and right side of the chest. Two explosions shook the ground, almost completely blowing up the golem's right side. Jirobo, however, didn't look any fazed.

"Nice try, but useless," Jirobo stated.

Shikamaru then watched in shock how small pieces of rock and dirt started to fly towards the golem, quickly rebuilding its blown off part until it was completely repaired.

"Good as new! Your pathetic attacks won't do any lasting damage to my golem. Now don't make this any harder than it needs to be, and give up already!" Jirobo angrily snarled.

"There's nothing I'd love more than leave this fight and go home to nap, but sadly, that's not an option," Shikamaru replied.

The stone giant was now upon Shikamaru, and raised one of its arms in order to smash the lazy Nara into pulp. Fortunately, its big size also made it quite slow, and Shikamaru managed to dodge the incoming slam and escape between the golem's legs, running towards Choji.

"I think we'll do better if we stay together instead of attacking from different sides," Shikamaru stated upon reaching his rotund friend, as if to justify that it just wasn't cowardice.

"Do you have a plan?" Choji uneasily asked as he saw the golem stomping its way at them.

"Yeah. Remember what you did against that Kumo girl?" Shikamaru asked. Choji nodded. "It's time for an aerial attack."

Once again, Choji nodded and clapped his hands together. "Reverse Multi-Size Jutsu!"

The world around Choji started to grow as he shrank to the size of a little mouse. Shikamaru carefully picked his friend, and after taking a couple seconds to aim, he tossed Choji in an arc above the golem.

"Whatever you're planning it won't work!" a mildly confused Jirobo stated.

"I wouldn't be so quick to talk down our abilities, you know," Shikamaru stated.

When he was about to pass over Jirobo, he canceled the jutsu, returning to his normal size, and slowed his speed to a halt, falling down like a rock. Of course, Choji wasn't finished yet, and clapped his hands again.

"Multi Size Jutsu!" using his signature jutsu, Choji turned into a giant human sphere. "Human Bullet Tank!"

"Shit!" Jirobo cursed, as he saw the spinning human boulder falling upon him. His golem reacted in time and raised its arms in order to grab the falling Konoha ninja before he could do more damage, but the spinning speed made difficult to keep it contained.

"Get out of the way, you fat ass!" Jirobo was about to punch Choji while he was on his golem's arms, but soon somebody reminded him that there was another opponent there.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!"

Jirobo saw how an expanding stream of fire flew at him. He barely jumped out of his golem's shoulder before he was roasted by Shikamaru's jutsu. The fire attack however, did hit the golem in the head, knocking it a little, which on its own wouldn't have done any lasting damage, but it made its grip on Choji's to falter for a second, and that second was enough for the Akimichi heir to break free and demolish the giant rock construct with his jutsu.

And much to Jirobo's shock, Choji's momentum didn't slow down either, and the human rolling ball continued his attack unimpeded. The Oto ninja wasn't fast enough to dodge Choji's onslaught, and was forced to tackle him head on. Using his own bare hands, he tried to stop the living rolling sphere of destruction as his golem unsuccessfully tried before. Unfortunately, there was also the matter of the other Konoha ninja.

Speaking of which, Shikamaru was running towards Choji and Jirobo as well as his brain determined which jutsu would be the best to use. Jirobo had shown his ability to break through any shadow binding jutsu Shikamaru had by sheer brute force, so that wasn't an option. A fire jutsu it would be, then.

"Choji, keep him there! I'll finish this right now!" Shikamaru shouted as he began to form seals.

However, before the lazy genius was done, Jirobo let out an inhuman roar and punched Choji with such strength that it sent him flying backwards, until he crashed against a tree. The impact made the Akimichi heir return back to normal.

"CHOJI!" Shikamaru shouted in shock. Turning his head at Jirobo, he saw the Oto ninja had changed again, this time in a more drastic manner: his mohawk had grown into a long spiky mane that reached his shoulders, his skin turned into brownish-reddish color, his eyes turned yellow with a black sclera, and he had grown warts all over his body. "What the hell are you...?"

"I can't believe you forced me into the second form of the Cursed Seal," Jirobo angrily groaned. "You know how embarrassing it is to use my trump card against such pathetic foes like yourselves!?"

"Yeah, I would have been pretty mad if I had to become so ugly in order to get stronger," Shikamaru couldn't resist to snark at his opponent.

Jirobo chuckled. "Let's see if you are in the mood for comedy once I'm done with you. In this form, I'm ten times as strong as I was before. You two are already dead."

"...troublesome," Shikamaru managed to say.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Shino and Tamaki jumped from one tree branch to another, avoiding the deadly projectiles of the six armed ninja known as Kidomaro. They were following the general direction Karin had told them, and so far the projectiles were coming from there, but the angle changed a little every few seconds, which suggested that he was constantly moving around.

"Tamaki, keep going. We're almost there," Shino told his teammate in his usual calm voice, albeit with a hint of encouragement.

"How can you know? Did you see him?" the brown haired girl asked.

"No, but one of my kikai beetles managed to find and latch onto him. As long as the beetle stays in position, my hive will be able to track him," Shino explained. Then, he pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it. "And this will make sure he comes out in the open."

Shino then threw a kunai with an explosive tag attached to a seemingly random area. Before the explosion occurred, both Konoha Genin heard a loud "SHIT!" and saw somebody coming out from behind a lush tree branch.

"Got him!" Tamaki shouted as she increased her pace. "I'm charging forward, cover me!"

"I'll be right behind you."

Kidomaru looked in expectation as the two Konoha Genin charged at him, like prey walking directly into their predator's lair. The six armed ninja then expelled a spider web net that increased in width as it was being released. Tamaki, however, was unfazed.

"Useless!" she said as her chakra enhanced metal claws easily cut the spider web before trying to slash Kidomaro, who managed to jump back before the girl's blades could ever touch him.

"Hmm, interesting. So you're the one who destroyed all the spider webs I put before..." Kidomaru wondered aloud. "This game might not be as dull as I had originally feared. Alright let's step up the difficulty!"

Kidomaru started to spit more spider webs in rapid succession, with Tamaki frenetically slashing them all as they were coming, taking a step back to give herself more room to breathe. Shino saw this as the perfect chance to attack and spread his hands, releasing a swarm of insects from under each of his sleeves. The angry swarm flew at Kidomaru, letting out a terrifying buzz.

"The hell? Where did those bugs come from?" the six armed man asked in shock as he interrupted his attack on Tamaki and jumped back. Rearing his head back, Kidomaru expelled a much larger spider web that managed to trap most of Shino's insects. "HA! That's what happens when the prey decides to attack their natural predators!"

Then, much to his shock, Shino appeared besides him, a kunai on each hand, and delivered a swing with his right hand, something the six armed man barely managed to dodge. He wasn't as lucky when Shino swung his left arm in flowing motion, leaving an ugly gash on the Oto ninja's shoulder, before jumping back on a higher tree branch.

 _"The hell? How did he..."_ Kidomaro thought as he quickly looked at the place where Shino was, and saw the first Shino dissolving into a swarm of bugs. _"So, a clone made of insects. Smart, very smart."_

The real Shino continued his attack, and threw a salve of shuriken at the Oto ninja, who dodged them. Upon reaching close quarter combat distance, Kidomaru opened his mouth, spitting a spear-shaped stream of his golden fluid at Shino, who moved in time for not to be impaled, but ended up slashing his side.

"Shino!" Tamaki cried as she dashed at the six armed ninja. Her metal claws started to glow with a blue light before bursting into flames. "Burning Cat Claw Dash!"

Kidomaru used a spider web thread to swing to a nearby branch before Tamaki's attack destroyed the one he was in –and himself as well–. The cat kunoichi then grabbed Shino, and both of them jumped down to the floor.

"Shino, are you okay?" a concerned Tamaki asked.

"I will be shortly," Shino replied. His hand, glowing with a green light, covered his wound. "I'm a medic, remember?"

Tamaki sighed in relief. "Yeah, I know. And all the more reason to make sure he doesn't get you. I can't heal you."

She looked up and saw Kidomaru, carefully studying them.

 _"Coming up with an strategy to deal with these two might not be that easy. Better power up a little,"_ Kidomaro thought as black marks started to spread through his skin.

"The hell is that?" Tamaki wondered aloud. "Whatever it is, it can't be good for us. Better call some reinforcements," the cat kunoichi decided before biting her thumb and making five hand seals and slamming her palm into the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, Tamaki's two cats, Denka and Hina, emerged, ready to aid the young cat kunoichi.

"Denka, Hina, I need your help once more," Tamaki told the ninja cats. "I never faced such a strong enemy in my life, and I can't do it alone."

Hina started to sniff the air. "I smell a foul chakra," the female cat said before locking her eyes onto Kidomaru. "Is he your enemy?"

Tamaki nodded.

"What do you want us to do?" Denka asked.

"Shino and I will take the brunt of the attack. I need you to act as our support. Try to distract him, or attack him when he's busy fighting us," Tamaki told them.

"You can count on us!" both cats said in unison before vanishing.

Tamaki's summoning didn't go unnoticed by Kidomaru, who bit his thumb as well.

"This is a game between the three of us! Calling outside help is cheating! If that's the case then, I'll do the same! Summoning jutsu!" Kidomaru stated before slamming his hand into the tree branch he was standing on.

From a cloud of smoke, a massive spider appeared, with Kidomaru standing on top of it, grinning evilly. Shino involuntarily took a step back.

"If you think you can beat me with numbers, you'll have another thing coming!" Kidomaru stated as his giant spider generated a massive egg sac. The sac then broke, and dozens of spiders the size of small dogs rained upon them.

"THE HELL IS THAT?" Tamaki asked in shock. Still, she wasn't shocked enough to not react. The claws of her gauntlet retracted in order to allow her to do hand seals, which she did as fast as she could. "Fire Release: Blistering Fire cat!"

Pouring as much chakra as she could into the jutsu, Tamaki breathed a massive wave of fire that took the shape of a cat, even letting out a meowing cry, which burned to ashes most of the incoming spiders, with Shino dealing with the few that escaped her fiery attack.

"Good job, Tamaki-san," Shino praised her in his usual cold tone.

"Don't thank me yet, " Tamaki replied, panting. That attacked cost her a lot of chakra, and wasn't sure if she could be able to do it again if another rain of spiders came.

Something Kidomaru had the intention to do.

"Not bad, girl, not bad. You're making this game interesting. But let's see how long can you keep doing th-" Kidomaru said before being interrupted by a red blur who slashed his face. "AAAARGH! GET OFF OF MY FACE, YOU PEST!"

At the same time, another blur, this one blue, attacked the spider's vulnerable spot, its face. The large arachnid cried in pain.

"Your cats bought us some precious time. We should attack now that he's distracted," Shino suggested.

Tamaki nodded. "I'll get the spider, you get the guy."

Making a display of cat-like agility and speed, Tamaki climbed a tree until she was higher than the giant spider, and leaped at it, metal claws forward.

"Drill Claw!"

Tamaki started to spin, turning herself into a living drill that pierced the ten legged –oddly enough– giant beast through its head. The arachnid let out a wail of pain, and disappeared in a cloud of smoke before the cat kunoichi could inflict more damage.

On his part, Shino had managed to reach Kidomaru –still fighting with Hina–, and once again released his swarm of kikai beetles.

"Aburame Secret Art: Insect Tornado!"

As the name suggested, the swarm of insects formed a tornado around the unsuspecting Kidomaru while Hina jumped out of danger in the nick of time, as the beetles started to drain the Oto ninja of his chakra. The fight was over.

Or that's what Shino thought, as he couldn't feel the chakra being drained. Apparently, there was something that was blocking his swarm of insects. Ordering them to retreat, he saw that the six armed ninja was covered in what appeared to be a brownish golden armor.

"I see. Your skin can also secrete that quick-hardening fluid, and you used it to create an improvised armor, didn't you?" Shino guessed.

Kidomaru chuckled. "Your deductive skills are almost as good as mine," the six armed man stated, as his armor started to fall off. "My clan's abilities were truly something, but I didn't become as strong as I am until Orochimaru-sama improved me in every way. And given how you little pests are making this game longer than it should be, you're going to see another one of my enhancements."

The black markings on Kidomaru's body started to glow as they spread and covered his whole skin, which turned grayish red. His hair grew longer, a pair of horns grew on his forehead, and his eyes turned yellow with a black sclera. But the biggest change was a third eye that appeared on his forehead.

"Do you know what this means, brats?" Kidomaru asked with a sadistic glee. "This means it's game over for the both of you!"

…

Meanwhile, further to the north, Naruto and his group were still chasing the Oto ninja who had kidnapped Hagane and Kaida. The mood was a bit gloomier since four of their members were forced to leave in order to fight enemies much stronger than them, and naturally, everybody was worried for them.

But worry for others was soon replaced by worry for themselves when they remembered that the three remaining enemies were also the strongest, including the one who was Jonin level. The thought of having to face such a powerful opponent sent chills down their spines. Well, not in Naruto's case. He was determined to save his little siblings, and nobody, not even Orochimaru himself, would stop him from doing so.

"We're closing the gap," Karin informed. "Soon we- oh?"

"What's wrong, Karin?" Sakura asked, worried. When her bespectacled teammate did that, it was never good.

"I felt a presence close to us, but it disappeared. It was very sudden," the redhead stated.

"Yes, there was something. I caught a small burst of smoke through the corner of my Byakugan," Hinata added.

Worry started to spread among the group.

"A trap?" Haku guessed.

Naruto shook his head. "A Shadow Clone. Upon dispelling, Shadow Clones send the information and knowledge they gathered to the original. They probably left one to watch us. Now they know we're close to them, and they will prepare a trap."

"If that's the case, then everybody, stay alert!" Sasuke warned the others as his Sharingan flared to life. "Hinata, Neji we will need your eyes to make sure we're not blindsided."

"Don't worry, Sasuke-san, I've already been watching for potential traps on the way," Hinata reassured him –as well as the whole group–.

…

A little further to the north of the Konoha group, the rest of the Sound Five, with the unconscious Hagane and Kaida carried by Kimimaro, continued their journey. As Kimimaro's shadow clone dispelled upon seeing the Jinchuriki and his allies, new information flooded the Kaguya clan member's brain.

"The Jinchuriki is close once again," Kimimaro told his teammates.

"How many of his friends are still with him?" Sakon asked.

"If my clone is correct, he counted ten of them," Kimimaro calmly replied.

"Ten of them? Still?" Tayuya indignantly asked. "Why the fuck did those pieces of shit let so many pass?"

"Yeah, you'd think Jirobo and Kidomaru would have an easier time dealing with a bunch of weak Genin," Sakon agreed.

"Maybe those Genin aren't as weak as we thought," Kimimaro stated. "However, that doesn't erase the fact that Jirobo and Kidomaru only managed to get four out of our backs. Sakon, Tayuya, you need to thin them out."

"Fuck yeah, time to crack some skulls," the only female of the Sound Five said in glee as she dashed in the opposite direction, followed by her blue haired teammate.

"Those brats will have a surprise coming," Sakon chuckled.

And thus, Kimimaro was left alone to guard the valuable hostages. While he wasn't afraid of a bunch of young greenhorns, he didn't want to take the chances and risk his hostages being rescued, harmed or fleeing. Orochimaru tasked him with a mission, and he always carried them out to the best of his abilities. Hopefully, Sakon and Tayuya would be able to cut their numbers to a more manageable quantity, one that wouldn't be a threat to the mission.

…

 _Back in Konoha_

The news of Orochimaru's defeat at the hand of the Third Hokage started to slowly spread around Konoha. Many Oto ninja decided that with their leader gone, the best course of action would be to flee. Others were afraid that, if they left based on an unfounded rumor, Orochimaru would have them begging for a merciful death. And others refused to believe such news and continued fighting, despite the fact that Konoha was successfully pushing back the invaders and retaking all the zones the initial assault had taken over.

One of those groups who still want to fight made the mistake of attacking Zabuza, thinking that he wouldn't be much of a threat with a broken sword.

"Come here and see for yourselves if I'm not as dangerous with my sword damaged," the former Kiri ninja taunted them.

What followed was pretty much a massacre. Broken sword or not, Zabuza was one of the deadliest ninja Kiri had produced. Plus thanks to the Executioner's Blade special ability, it wouldn't stay damaged forever.

After slashing two Oto ninja at the same time, Zabuza watched intently how his blade absorbed the spilled blood, and used its iron to slowly rebuild itself. The masked man grinned under his mask.

"So, who wants to volunteer some blood in order to fix my sword?" Zabuza asked the now not so confident Oto ninja. "How about you?"

In less than a second, Zabuza was behind the "volunteer" and impaled him from behind. His sword kept growing as blood was spilled.

Once half the group was killed, the Executioner's Blade was fully repaired. This was enough to shatter the confidence of the remaining ninja, who found their lives more valuable than their loyalty to Orochimaru, and decided to flee.

Zabuza watched in satisfaction as those poor bastards ran away, not even making an attempt to stop them. Not because of pity, but because he liked to leave some people alive to spread word of his bloodshed. And after that humiliation at the hands of Orochimaru, he needed to do something in order to cushion such a hit towards his reputation.

As the former Demon of the Hidden Mist turned around, two ninja landed in front of him, one with gravity defying silver hair, and the other with a ridiculous bowl haircut.

"Zabuza!" Kakashi called upon landing.

"You're late, copycat. This area is clear of pests," Zabuza stated with an air of superiority. "But then again, your assistance will be welcome when I go to face Orochimaru."

"That won't be necessary. I heard news that the Third Hokage defeated him and sent him packing," Gai intervened, in an unusual serious tone. "The resurrected Kage have been dealt with."

"If that's the case, all what's left is to clean the village from the remaining holdovers of Oto ninja," Kakashi suggested.

"Kakashi!" a female voice called him from above.

The three Jonin looked up and saw Kurenai, followed by Asuma, as they jumped from a nearby roof and landed in front of them.

"Kurenai? Everything okay?" Kakashi asked, noticing the red eyed woman's distress.

"Kakashi, I need you right now!" Kurenai stated.

Zabuza snorted. "I didn't imagine that your boyfriend was doing such a lousy job pleasuring you."

Both Kurenai and Asuma shot the former Kiri ninja murderous glares before the genjutsu mistress turned back at Kakashi.

"Kakashi, we need your tracking dogs. Something terrible has happened," Kurenai urged.

"We ran into a clone of Naruto," Asuma continued, not waiting for the rest to ask what was going on. "Turns out Orochimaru used the chaos of the invasion as a cover to sneak in an elite squad to kidnap the Hokage's children."

"WHAT!?" Kakashi and Gai asked in unison.

"That's not the worst part," Kurenai spoke again, making the others wonder what could be even worse. "The clone told us the original Naruto had gathered his friends and went to pursue the kidnappers themselves. Those kids don't know what they're going against! We need to help them!"

"Fortunately, we won't be as needed now, given that a good chunk of the invaders have already been repelled," Asuma continued.

"If that's the case, then there's no time to waste," Kakashi poked his thumb with a kunai and made several hand seals before slamming his hand into the floor. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, eight dogs of different races and sizes appeared. All of them were wearing Konoha forehead protectors, as well as other pieces of cloth.

"What can we do for you, Kakashi?" one of the dogs, a pug, asked his master.

"We are going to need your help in finding out our Genin students. Time is the of essence," Kakashi urged.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Let's start the arc with Shikamaru, Choji, Shino and Tamaki. While Choji fighting Jirobo was done in canon, here I also wanted to showcase his friendship with Shikamaru a bit more. Still, the fight is a bit different from what it was in canon, given that I gave Jirobo a couple more abilities he didn't have before (albeit the Golem one is based on an anime filler episode).**

 **I also liked that this episode not only allowed me to show more stuff of Shino that wasn't related to Fu (I was afraid he was too much of a Satellite Love Interest back then) but also showcase that he is a medic nin, something I'm sure many readers have forgotten (albeit not without reason, given that he didn't do anything medical related so far).**

 **Well, not much more to say anymore, other than the rescue arc will continue in two weeks, showing the resolution of the fights started here, as well as other two members of the Sound Five fighting the Konoha 15.**

 **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	37. Senju Twins Retrieval, Part II

**Author's Note: Well, I'm glad to see that putting the spotlight on some of the less loved secondary characters (and Shikamaru) was better received than I initially feared. This chapter, which is way longer than usual, will continue the trend, and have other secondary characters facing the Sound Four.**

 **Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

 **Chapter 37:**

Senju Twins Retrieval, Part II

 _or_

 _Brawl in the Forest_

…

While Shikamaru guessed that "ten times as strong I was before" was probably an exaggeration to describe Jirobo's physical capabilities in his second Cursed Seal stage, it was more than enough to beat both of them to a pulp.

Choji had tried to engage Jirobo in hand to hand combat, but the older teen easily overpowered the Akimichi ninja. Choji this time decided to use his trusty clan jutsu.

"Multi Size Jutsu!" Choji swelled up into a human boulder and started to spin towards Jirobo, catching fire at the same time. "Fire Release: Flaming Human Bullet Tank!"

Jirobo, on his part, wasn't impressed.

"Pathetic!" the mutated ninja shouted as he kicked Choji, brutally knocking him backwards, forcing him to revert back to normal.

Jirobo turned around and saw that Shikamaru had caught him with his shadow jutsu, but he didn't look fazed in the slightest. Without making any visible effort, he managed to break through the jutsu.

"WHOA!" Shikamaru said in shock, as the Jirobo's breaking his jutsu made him recoil.

"Why are you surprised?" Jirobo asked as he smiled maliciously. "The first stage of the cursed seal already allowed me to overpower that annoying shadow jutsu of yours. In this stage...well, I don't even need to try. As weak as the both of you are, everything you do is completely useless against me."

"Keep underestimating us. It will make our job easier," Shikamaru countered, but deep down, he knew there was some truth to Jirobo's insults. " _Dammit, there's nothing that we can throw at this guy that he doesn't shake off as if it was nothing. Come on Shikamaru, think! There has to be a way to defeat-"_

"Shikamaru," Choji snapped the Nara out of his thoughts. "I'm going to use it."

"It? What do you mean...?" Shikamaru trailed off, before realizing what Choji was planning to do. "What!? No! If you do that, you might die!"

"And if I don't, both of us will die," Choji replied. He took out a soldier pill from ninja tool pouch and swallowed it. "My calorie control improved a lot during the training I did with dad for the Chunin Exam Finals, I can do this!"

Choji started to glow with a blue light as he started to gather chakra.

Jirobo remained amused. "I don't know what you plan to do, but whatever it is, it won't work," he then let out a fake yawn. "Let's see if you can entertain me at least. I'm getting bored."

"You've been saying that non-stop, yet you failed to kill any of us so far," Shikamaru fired back.

Jirobo's smile vanished, and his face frowned. "You know what? I think you're right. Playtime's over! You go first!"

The Oto ninja moved unusually fast for somebody his size, and in less than two seconds he was already in melee range, fist raised ready to beat the Nara into a pulp.

"DIE!"

Shikamaru heard a loud crashing noise. However, the noise wasn't made by Jirobo's fist clashing against his body, but something that punched Jirobo with such force that he was sent flying against a tree.

"...Choji?" Shikamaru asked the boy in front of him.

Choji's most defining feature, his heavyset body, was now much thinner, making him pretty much unrecognizable. Two large chakra wings shaped like the wings of a butterfly had grown on his back.

"Alright, you fat ass, ready for the beating of your life?" Choji taunted Jirobo.

The Oto ninja groaned as he pulled himself up. He then flexed his arms to rid them of any numbness.

"Oh, you're in for it, lard ball," Jirobo angrily snarled as he charged at Choji.

"Come on Shikamaru, let's go!" Choji shouted as he charged.

"Alright, then," the lazy genius replied as he followed him making hand seals. "I'll try to create an opening for you! Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Shikamaru breathed a volley of small fireballs from his mouth at Jirobo, who was also making hand seals.

"Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu!"

Jirobo dug deep underground, and the barrage of fireballs harmlessly passed above him. However, he was soon going to find out that he wouldn't be safe underground. With the help of his chakra wings, Choji leaped high into the air. He raised his right fist, which started to burn with a blue flame, before inevitably coming down.

"Butterfly Bullet Bombing!"

Shikamaru made sure to be at a safe distance from the epicenter of the earthquake Choji created upon landing, shattering the land below him in a multitude of stones and pebbles, and most importantly, throwing Jirobo out of his underground hiding spot.

"WHAT!?" Jirobo asked incredulously as he was sent flying up.

"Now's my chance!" Shikamaru exclaimed as he grabbed a handful of kunai from his tool pouch and tossed them at the airborne Jirobo. While his toss was far from perfect, half of them embedded on the mutated ninja's skin.

"AAARRGH!" Jirobo screamed in pain. "You...you! I will devour both of you!" He screamed as he, blinded by fury, charged at the Konoha duo, not even bothering to remove the kunai from his body.

"Will you stop with the taunts already? It's getting tiresome," Shikamaru groaned.

"I think you're trying to bite more than you chew!" Choji replied, as he charged as well.

Both ninja met in the middle, greeting each other with a brutal punch to the face. However, Choji's punch packed way more power, and sent Jirobo flying back again, and the resulting shockwave raised a gust of wind in every direction.

"How about that!?" Choji taunted. He raised his fist again, which burned with a blue chakra fire once more.

After getting a taste of Choji's superhuman strength in Butterfly Mode, Jirobo knew that not even with the level two Cursed Seal, he could win this fight.

 _"How...how these twerps are so strong? Especially the fat one! How did his punches get so strong so suddenly? Is that state of his…is he stronger than Orochimaru-sama's power? No, that can't be possible!"_ the image of Choji menacingly getting closer made his survival instincts to overcome any rational thought, casting aside the mystery of Choji's power, and was replaced by one thing, to run away. But the moment he tried to run, he found his legs wouldn't move. "What?"

"Sorry, but you're not going anywhere," Shikamaru stated, his hands locked into a hand seal, and his shadow connected with Jirobo's. "While it's true that your previous strength was enough to overpower my jutsu, I'm sure you won't be feeling so hot after that beating."

"No...no!" Jirobo screamed as he futilely tried to break Shikamaru's jutsu, but the Nara's words rang true. Those latest attacks he received did a number on him, and even the cursed seal had its limits.

"Now prepare to experience...the power of the Akimichi Clan!" Choji shouted as he charged at Jirobo with his fist raised.

"No, wait! Can't we just calm down? There's no need to-"

"Butterfly Bullet Bomb!"

Unable to run away, or even try to block the attack, Jirobo saw himself at the receiving end of Choji's strongest punch he ever threw. The force of the impact shot him back like a rocket, crashing against a mighty oak, and the Oto ninja was no more.

Choji heavily panted as his chakra wings faded. Shikamaru walked to him and patted him on the back.

"You did it, Choji. You beat that animal," the Nara congratulated him.

"Well, it was...a team effort..." Choji weakly said before losing consciousness and dropping face first onto the ground.

"Choji!?" CHOJI!"

…

"Congratulations brats, you're now going to play in hardcore difficulty," Kidomaru grinned in a way that accentuated his current inhumanity. "Who wants to die first?"

"How about you?" Tamaki retorted as she dashed towards the six armed mutated ninja, her claws glowing with a blue light. "Cross Flash!"

Kidomaru jumped backwards, even if at a lower speed than Tamaki's. He expelled his golden spider fluid, which took the shape of two long kunai before hardening, and used them to parry the cat kunoichi's attack. He then used his extra arms to hold Tamaki in place, and tried to sink his improvised kunai into her flesh, but the brown haired girl expertly broke the hold with a double kick to the Oto ninja's chest, which also helped to push herself backwards.

As he did before, Shino saw this moment as the perfect chance to make his move. He recalled his kikai beetles around him.

 _"This is going to cost me a lot of chakra, but I don't think I have much choice,"_ Shino thought with some regret, as he made the required hand seals.. "Aburame Secret Art: Giant Beetle Growth!"

The jutsu produced multiple smoke explosions in the swarms of beetles, but when the smoke dispelled, both Kidomaru and Tamaki saw in shock that some of the Aburame's insects suddenly grew to the size of Tamaki's cats. Said kunoichi cringed upon seeing the six legged beasts appear.

"Ew!"

With a mere hand command, Shino directed the squad of ten giant insects towards Kidomaru, who was shocked at first but quickly regained his cool. Jumping backwards, Kidomaru spat once again a rather large spider web to trap Shino's giant insects, but said web was torn apart by several chakra-infused shuriken threw by Tamaki.

"Shit!" the six armed man yelled.

Kidomaru managed to punch and kick back the first few of the insects that came close to him, but did not notice one of them sneaking from below, and sank its pincers into his leg.

"AAAAAAARGGH!" Kidomaru yelled in pain, making his focus waver for a moment, a moment that was more than enough for the rest of the beetles to sink their pincers into his flesh.

Shino jumped in front of the six armed man, overwhelmed by the giant insects.

"It's over. Those beetles will drain your chakra until there's nothing left," Shino calmly announced.

Kidomaru growled in anger, but then his mouth curved into yet another inhuman smirk, one that sent chills to both Konoha ninja. "Oh that's so good, thinking you already defeated me. Well...THINK AGAIN!"

He opened his mouth, releasing more golden spider fluid, shaped like a long spear, taking Shino by surprise. The Aburame Genin tried to move, but he didn't react fast enough and the improvised spear pierced his belly.

"SHINO!" Tamaki yelled upon seeing the scene.

Kidomaru smiled upon seeing Shino's body falling face first to the ground, and at the same time, the beetles loosened his hold on him and stopped sucking his chakra, as if feeling their master's predicament. This allowed Kidomaru to easily get them off of his body. Standing up, he turned back and saw Tamaki shooting him a murderous glare.

"See? This is what happens when you play such a dangerous game like this one. You get hurt. Badly," Kidomaru chuckled. "Don't worry, you're going to join him now."

"Denka, Hina, with me! Let's tear him to shreds!" Tamaki shouted.

Both cats appeared at her mistress' side, and the three of them charged at the Oto ninja. Kidomaru once again expelled more golden spider fluid, this time in the shape of several curved blades, one for each of his hands. The six armed man grinned wildly, and engaged Tamaki and her cats in a brutal melee fight.

Like she usually did, Tamaki was the one openly fighting, while her cats awaited for the chance to attack whenever the enemy showed an opening.

But thanks to his six arms, no such a thing happened. The guy was monster, both in the literal and metaphorical sense, since he could attack and keep a defensive position at the same time, making fighting him incredibly tedious.

"Given your choice of weapons, you're a melee type, aren't you?" Kidomaru asked as he casually blocked all of Tamaki's swipes. "I'm more of a ranged specialist, but as you can see, I'm pretty good at hand to hand combat too."

"Let me guess, three times as good as I am?" Tamaki asked, hinting at the predictable pun.

"Three? Oh boy, you're certainly full of yourself. The number of my arms is irrelevant to the gap between us," Kidomaru retorted. "Now die!"

The six armed ninja opened his mouth, firing multiple spikes made of the hardened golden spider fluid. This time, it was Tamaki's turn to jump back, as she swiped them away with her bladed gauntlets. Kidomaru lunging at her shortly afterwards didn't go unnoticed, and the kunoichi retracted the blades back, and made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Blistering Fire cat!"

Tamaki exhaled a stream of fire that quickly took the shape of a large and ferocious cat that dashed towards Kidomaru, leaving a trail of fire with each step.. Kidomaru, however, easily dodged it by jumping sideways.

"You'll have to do bet-"

"Drill Claw!"

The next thing he saw, Tamaki had turned into a spinning missile that was flying at him. Caught in mid air, Kidomaru couldn't move again to dodge Tamaki's attack, but unfortunately for her, he was a man of resources, and expelled a spider web thread to a tree branch above him to avoid being torn to shreds.

Kidomaru smirked arrogantly. "That was a close one. But like I said, you'll have to do bet-"

"MEOWWW!""

A pair of cats appeared out of nowhere, with one of them biting one of his arms and the other latched itself to his face and started to viciously slash and bite it.

"AAAARRRGGHHH!" Kidomaru yelled as he forcefully removed Hina from his face, and angrily tossed the female cat against a tree, followed by savagely punching Denka in the head, forcing the male cat to stop biting his arm.

"Denka! Hina!" Tamaki cried from below.

"S-Sorry, Tamaki-chan...but I don't think we can keep going..." Denka weakly said as he and her sister disappeared, leaving a cloud of smoke behind.

"It's okay, you did a great job," Tamaki whispered to herself, before looking at Kidomaru with defiant eyes. "You'll pay for all the people and animals you hurt today!"

Kidomaru chuckled once again. He created two swords out of the golden spider fluid. "I'd like to see you try."

Without uttering any more words, Tamaki quickly climbed the tree Kidomaru was perched on, and engaged him once again in melee combat. However, once again she found that Kidomaru was the superior opponent, and in no time he kicked her back into the ground.

"Now die already! This game is no longer fun!"

Kidomaru opened his mouth, once again releasing a barrage of golden blades at the downed cat ninja in a wide angle.

"Death Steel Ring!"

Tamaki started to spin with her bladed hands extended, successfully deflecting most of the raining projectiles, but she was unable to stop all of them, and some ended up embedded in her body, forcing her to stop.

"And game over for you," Kidomaru laughed as he was jumped down, ready to impale Tamaki with his improvised swords. Tamaki closed her eyes and feared for the worst. "DIE!"

"Aburame Secret Art: Giant Beetle Growth!"

"What?"

Kidomaru didn't have time to react before he was swarmed by a dozen of giant beetles, making him unceremoniously drop into the ground face first as the hungry insects began to prey on his chakra.

"Shino!" Tamaki squealed in joy. "You're okay!"

"For the given value of the word 'okay'," he punctualized. "But yes, I'm no longer close to death anymore."

Kidomaru looked at the Aburame with hate and incredulity in his three eyes."W-What? HOW!? I killed you!"

"You thought you killed me," Shino replied. "The wound you inflicted on me would have been fatal unless treated immediately. Fortunately, I've been trained in the medical arts by the greatest medic-nin the world has ever seen, and Tamaki bought me all the time I needed to recover. Now I can return to the battle, and end it once for all. And trust me, you won't catch me off guard a second time."

"No...no! This...aaarrrgghh!"

"I can't look..." Tamaki whined as he averted her gaze as Kidomaru was slowly devoured by Shino's enlarged bugs.

Shino, on the other hand, wasn't going to make the same mistake his opponent did, and wouldn't take his eyes off the Oto ninja until he was one hundred percent sure he would be dead. And that moment didn't take too long to arrive.

"Tamaki, sit down. I need to treat those wounds on your body before they get worse," Shino instructed his teammate.

"Don't. You've lost a lot of chakra. I think I can go a bit longer until we can find some help," Tamaki replied.

Shino shook his head. "I won't allow that by any means. Don't worry about my chakra reserves, my beetles can give me some of theirs if I need them. Now sit down, don't move, and let me work on your wounds."

Not having any energy left to argue, Tamaki sighed and complied. As Shino removed the makeshift kunai from her body and healed the wound, she wondered if the others would have rescued the Hokage's children by now.

She also thought about Kiba, and prayed that he wouldn't do anything stupid given that neither Shino nor she would be there to cover his back.

…

By the time Jiraiya and Anko returned to Konoha, they saw that much to their surprise, the battle had died down considerably, and most of the efforts were focused on capturing or driving away the remaining Oto ninja still attacking.

"You know, I had the feeling that we missed a lot when we were out," Jiraiya mentioned as he looked around.

"Actually, I think it's everybody else who missed on what we did," Anko replied, before her impatience kicked in. "Alright, where is Orochimaru? There's no way he can escape from us now!"

"Hokage-sama!" a new voice said. A small group of ANBU, lead by a cat-masked purple haired woman –whom Jiraiya knew was Yugao Uzuki– landed in front of the white haired man. "Thank Kami you've returned!"

"What is the situation here?" Jiraiya asked her.

"Two of the reanimations have been dealt with," Yugao informed, and Jiraiya visibly sighed upon hearing the news.

"If that's the case, then all of Orochimaru's reanimations have been neutralized, since Anko and myself just dealt with Minato and Kushina," Jiraiya explained. The ANBU remained impassible, but on the inside, they were just as relieved. "Any news on Orochimaru?"

"We've got reports that Sarutobi-sama, helped by Tsunade-sama and Shisui Uchiha managed to defeat the traitor," Yugao explained, eliciting a smile on Jiraiya and a frown on Anko, being deprived of her chance of revenge once again. "Unfortunately, Orochimaru evaded capture. We don't know his location, but it's safe to assume that he's no longer in the village."

Jiraiya's smile disappeared, and let out a heavy sigh. "Despite his ego, Orochimaru was always a sneaky bastard, and wouldn't come here without a escape plan. Undoubtedly, it won't be long until he shows his visage again. What about the rest of his forces?"

"Most of them are withdrawing, albeit a few holdouts in the core of the village remains," Yugao informed him.

"Good to hear. Well, let's help our forces take out the trash, alright?" Jiraiya suggested.

Everybody nodded.

"Lead the way, Hokage-sama."

Jiraiya leapt towards downtown Konoha, followed by Anko and the small squad of ANBU.

…

Meanwhile, further to the north, Naruto and the rest of his friends continued the pursuit of his little siblings' kidnapping.

"Two of them left the group!" Karin warned everybody.

"Which ones?" Sasuke asked.

"The weakest ones. The strongest guy –and presumable the leader– is still carrying Hagane and Kaida. Guess that he wants to personally make sure that they arrive to wherever Orochimaru has his lair."

"Alright, everybody, stay alert! These two are surely even stronger than the other two, who were already way stronger than any of us individually!" Naruto told the others.

Everybody mentally prepared to fight, and some of them, such as Naruto, Tenten and Haku, got some weapons ready. However, they were met by something none of them were expecting.

"Hey are you...hearing that?" Kiba asked. Akamaru barked in agreement.

"I believe so," Sakura replied. "It sounds like...a flute?"

Suddenly, all of them lost all sense of balance, tripping when tried to find a footing on a tree branch, and fell to the grassy ground below. They tried to stand up, and suddenly felt very dizzy.

"Wha...what's going on?" Lee slurred as he tried to get up.

Suddenly, ropes appeared out of nowhere, wrapping around their limbs and pulling them in different directions, leaving them completely immobilized.

"What the hell is this?" Tenten asked, and much to her horror, she saw how her arms started to melt off. "AAAAAAAAAHHHH! MY ARMS!"

"It's...it's a genjutsu!" Sakura told the others. "Quickly, try to break it!"

The knowledge that they have been trapped in a genjutsu was of little help, given that they were pretty much unable to break it.

 _"Dammit...this genjutsu are almost like those from Kurenai-sensei!"_ Haku thought as he tried to break the morbid illusion. _"Come on, you can do it, Kurenai-sensei taught you how..."_

Meanwhile, close to them, perched on a tree branch, Sakon was stalking the helpless Konoha ninja from afar, smiling deviously.

"Look at them, unable to resist Tayuya's music," Sakon chuckled to himself. "We should have gone ourselves from the get go instead of sending the other two idiots first. Anyway," Sakon then pulled a pair of kunai. "Let the culling begin!"

The blue haired teen leaped from his hiding place, and locked onto his first target, Sasuke Uchiha, whom he had deemed the biggest threat. He couldn't help but widely smile in anticipation at the thought of his first kill of the day...

"SHANNARO!"

Suddenly, a pink haired girl appeared in his field of vision, and the next second he found himself at the receiving end of an incredibly powerful punch that sent him flying backwards, forcing him to drop his kunai, until a tree painfully stopped him.

"The...the hell?" Sakon asked in pain, as he got up. "How were you able to break Tayuya's genjutsu, you brat?"

"Turns out, I'm a very proficient in genjutsu myself," Sakura replied as she shook her hand she used to punch him. "Including how to dispel them."

"Oh well, big deal. You won't be able to release the others if you're busy fighting me. And if you fight me, it won't take long until your pitiful life comes to an end," Sakon stated. "Get ready!"

Sakura didn't expect the blue haired teen to be so fast, but nonetheless she was able to react in time and block an incoming punch. However, she had a much harder time blocking the next barrage of rapid fire punches.

 _"Dammit, this guy's taijutsu is as good as Lee's!"_ Sakura distressingly thought as she tried to block the barrage of hits. _"Even if I can surpass his physical strength with Tsunade-sama's chakra enhanced strength, it won't be of any help if I can't land a single hit! Wait a minute… I got it!"_

Sakon continued his onslaught, while Sakura keep parrying and blocking them as well as she could, not making any attempts at attacking.

"See how hopelessly outclassed you're against me?" Sakon taunted. "Now DIE!"

Pouring as much strength as he could into his next punch, he sank his fist into Sakura's stomach. The pinkette bent over forwards as her mouth and eyes opened wide...before exploding into a burst of cherry blossoms.

"What the hell!?" Sakon asked in shock, before he realized. "Dammit, she used a genjutsu!"

Fortunately, the Oto ninja was able to snap out of it pretty easily, however, the seconds he spent entranced gave Sakura more than enough time to counterattack, and after breaking the genjutsu, the first thing he saw was a very angry Sakura charging at him, her first raised and ready to turn him into a bloody pulp.

"Shit!"

Sakon managed to jump in time, and Sakura's fist ended up hitting the ground, instantly creating a rather large crater, and making the ground around a kilometer shake as if there was an earthquake.

 _"Shit, that bitch is way stronger than I am? How? She doesn't have any muscle!"_ Sakon thought in anger upon seeing the power of the pinkette's fists. _"I can't let her-"_

"Passing Fang!"

Sakon's thoughts were interrupted by a living tornado flying at him. Once again, the Oto ninja's agility and speed saved him from a nasty injury by gracefully dodging the sneak attack. The tornado then turned into a Konoha ninja wearing a gray hooded coat.

"Kiba!" Sakura called, happy to have some reinforcements.

"The hell? You're a genjutsu master too or what?" Sakon asked.

Sakura also wanted to know. Kiba wasn't exactly proficient with genjutsu, not even at breaking them.

"If you fall under a genjutsu, you need a partner to disrupt your chakra network in order to snap out of it," he then pulled his hood back revealing a happy looking white furred dog. "Meet my partner, Akamaru!"

"Arf!" Akamaru happily barked.

"Your goddamn dog was able to resist Tayuya's genjutsu!?" Sakon asked in shock.

"Dogs have different chakra networks from humans, and given that most genjutsu are meant for humans, dogs are immune to most of them," Kiba stated. He started to smell the air. "Now, if my nose doesn't fool me –and it never does– she's about one hundred meters to the northwest, am I right?"

"Release!"

Another of the Konoha ninja was also awake.

"Finally. It took me some effort, but Kurenai-sensei's training paid off!" Haku happily said as he regained the control of his body.

"Another one!? You're supposed to be Genin! No Genin should be able to break a genjutsu this complex!" Sakon protested, letting out his frustration.

"Correction, we're Konoha Genin. We're far tougher than the average," Kiba cockily proclaimed.

"Kiba, if you found where the genjutsu caster is, you should go and try to stop her," Sakura told him. Kiba nodded, and leapt away. "Haku, release the others! I'll keep this guy busy while you do it!"

"Understood!" Haku stated as he began to disrupt Tenten's chakra network.

Sakura then started to make hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

Sakura's cheeks puffed, and then exhaled a stream of water at the shocked blue haired Oto ninja, who managed to dodge it by jumping to a nearby tree.

" _These brats are way stronger than they look. No wonder why Jirobo and Kidomaru only managed to delay four between the two of them. Then again, if they used the cursed seal they should be able to kill them easily, and thus come back to help us. Why the hell aren't they here yet?"_ Sakon thought.

"Get over here, you coward!" Sakura shouted, shaking her fist. "Where was that bravado from a few minutes ago?"

In no time, all of the Konoha Genin were already released from the musical genjutsu. In fact, the music had stopped altogether, meaning that Kiba managed to interrupt it.

"Is everybody okay?" Naruto asked.

"Define, 'okay'," Karin groaned as she rubbed her temples.

"I'm good to continue," Sasuke stated.

"The same goes for me," Lee added, followed by everybody else stating the same intention.

"Two more of those guys are here. Sakura is engaging one, while Kiba is fighting the other. Two of us should stay here to help them, while the rest go and face their leader," Naruto stated.

"I think I'll stay and make sure forehead girl doesn't get killed," Ino stated. "Besides...is no secret that I'm not among the strongest of us present. Besides, you still have two medic-nin in the group."

"I'm going to stay as well. Kiba has none of his teammates, and he'll need somebody to cover his back," Neji stated.

Karin walked towards Neji and grabbed his hand. "Be careful, Neji-kun. If you don't come back, I will break up with you!."

Neji gave her a hint of a smile. "Don't worry, I will be fine."

"Very well then. Good luck and stay alive. The rest of us...go!" Naruto called.

Everybody nodded, and they resumed the pursuit, lead by the blond Chunin.

"No!" Sakon screamed as he noticed Naruto and the others slipping away. He disengaged Sakura and tried to stop them, but a rain of shuriken forced him to cut his chase short.

"Sorry, but you aren't leaving so soon, not before playing with us first," Ino stated in a rather smug tone as she adopted a fighting stance. "Ready, billboard brow?"

Sakura smiled. "Whenever you are, Ino-pig."

…

The sound of the flute became much clearer as Kiba advanced towards the genjutsu caster. Akamaru was resting on his head, constantly biting his ear in order to create a source of pain that would prevent the Inuzuka runt from relapsing into the genjutsu.

"I think you're enjoying this too much," Kiba told Akamaru. The dog merely growled as he intensified the pressure of his bite.

A few seconds later, he saw a flicker of red hair, and could see a red haired girl, maybe a couple years older than him, playing the flute. Kiba reached for his tool pouch and pulled a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it.

"Concert's over!" Kiba stated as he tossed the kunai at Tayuya's feet.

The redhead kunoichi was forced to stop playing the flute and jump as far away as possible in order to avoid the incoming explosion.

"Beast Mimicry Art: Four Legs Jutsu!"

Kiba emerged from the cloud of smoke and dust raised by the explosion, running on all fours at an insane speed, and lunged at Tayuya. The Oto kunoichi once again jumped back, but she wasn't fast enough, and Kiba managed to scratch her in the face.

"You son of a bitch!" Tayuya cursed as she covered her wounded cheek with one of her hands.

Kiba ignored her insults, and smirked at her confidently. "Just like I expected. Since you're a genjutsu specialist, you aren't that good in hand to hand combat."

"Why don't you come here and test your theory, you piece of shit!" Tayuya angrily retorted.

"Oh, I plan to," Kiba stated as he took a four legged stance once more.

"How the hell did you brat managed to break my genjutsu?!" Tayuya asked before she noticed Kiba's bloodied ear. "You must think you're so clever, don't you?"

"I'm going to admit that this is the first time somebody called me clever," Kiba replied. "Yeah, I admit that I'm not that bright. But guess what? I don't need brains to be very good at what I do!"

Kiba lunged forwards, ready to tear Tayuya to shreds with his wild and feral taijutsu style. This time, rather than trying to dodge, the Oto kunoichi decided to fight him. She replaced her flute with a couple of kunai and engaged the Inuzuka in melee combat.

Despite her valiant efforts, Kiba was right. Tayuya was a ranged specialist, and hand to hand combat wasn't her forte –in her base form, at least, but her pride didn't allow her to activate her cursed seal so soon against an enemy she deemed unworthy–, and Kiba soon became the superior fighter. And to add salt to the wound, Kiba had still one more asset Tayuya wasn't taking into account.

"Arf!"

Akamaru jumped from Kiba's head, and sank his small but sharp teeth in Tayuya's arm.

"GET THE HELL OFF ME, YOU FUCKING BITCH!"

"Passing Fang!"

Thanks to that moment of distraction, Kiba was able to nail the redhead with his signature jutsu, knocking her from the tree branch she was perched in, and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Looking down, he saw Tayuya getting up.

"By the way, Akamaru is male!" Kiba shouted down, with his dog barking in agreement.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT WHAT YOUR FUCKING PEST OF A PET HAS BETWEEN THE LEGS!" the redhead shouted back.

Then, much to Tayuya's anger, another Konoha ninja appeared, landing besides Kiba. He had long brown hair and clear, light gray eyes. He appeared to be a Hyuga.

"Kiba," the Hyuga stated in his usual calm demeanor. "I came here to help you defeat this foe."

Kiba smirked at the Hyuga prodigy. "Thanks, but I'm almost done here. This chick can barely fight against somebody able to resist genjutsu. Then again, you can watch me how I defeat this very unworthy opponent."

Kiba's words made Tayuya froth with rage. Not only was he tossing her around like a ragdoll, but he even boasted about it for further humiliation. Black marks started to spread around her body, as her desire to make Kiba eat his words burned her from the inside.

"You think you saw the best of me, you piece of shit?" Tayuya angrily shouted. "Well, let me tell you you've seen nothing yet!"

She bit her thumb and made five hand seals before slamming her hand into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, three large ogre like creatures appeared. One had long hair that covered its face, was fully clothed, and was carrying a threatening looking steel club. The second was much bulkier, wore no shirt, and had its eyes and wrists bandaged. Under the wrist bandages there were a pair of claw-like blades. The last one was completely bandaged from head to toe, leaving only its mouth visible, and strangely enough, had no arms. The three of them had the same rope-like purple belt around their waists.

"She may not be much of a fighter, but apparently she can summon somebody who can do the fighting for her," Neji observed.

"… Shit," Kiba cursed, realizing that the tables were about to be turned.

"Stay calm. They're just summons. If we can get past them, beating the woman won't be that hard," Neji reminded him.

"Yeah. I was saving this for later, but better not go half-assed on her," Kiba then pulled out something out of his ninja tool pouch, which appeared to be a soldier pill. "Akamaru!"

Kiba tossed the pill at the little dog, who ate it in one bite. The effect was instant, and the dog's normally white fur started to dye red. While impassible on the outside, Neji was rather surprised.

"I had no idea your dog could do that," Neji commented, as his Byakugan allowed him to see all the changes Akamaru was going through, besides the visible one.

Kiba smiled in pride. "Of course. Inuzuka dogs aren't just pets. They're our partners for a reason."

Meanwhile, back on the ground, black marks started to spread around Tayuya as she pulled out her flute once again.

"Get ready, you pieces of trash, you have no idea what's coming for you!" Tayuya yelled as she started to play the flute once again.

At the sound of the flute, the three summoned giants leaped at the two Konoha Genin.

"Here they come! Get ready!" Kiba shouted as he and Neji prepared for the incoming fight.

…

"Earth Release: Crushing Avalanche!"

Large rocks started rise from the ground around Sakura before being chucked at the Oto ninja, who quickly dodged them, before reaching the pinkette in hand to hand combat.

"Multiple Connected Fists!"

Sakura was about to block the incoming fist, but she swore she saw several afterimages of other fists around it, and indeed, she felt several strong hits despite successfully blocking the attack, which knocked her backwards a few meters.

"What the hell?" Sakon asked, shaking his hand in pain. "It's like your skin is made of metal."

Sakura got up and smiled confidently at the blue haired ninja. Her skin then turned grayish brown, while her pink hair turned metallic silver.

"You're not that far off," Sakura replied. "You're mostly a physical fighter, right? Then you won't be able to cause me much harm."

 _"The Iron Skin jutsu. Good work, forehead,"_ Ino mentally praised her fellow Konoha kunoichi.

 _"Even with the Iron Skin jutsu, those punches hurt. This guy is way stronger than he looks. I'll have to keep him fighting me, or else he'll snap Ino in two,"_ Sakura thought, as she carefully eyed her opponent. "Let's go!"

With her skin-tight armor active, Sakura dashed at Sakon, who welcomed her with a sadistic smile. This time, the Oto ninja played defensively, blocking Sakura's attacks, maybe waiting for an opening to counterattack or even waiting for her to get tired.

 _"That would have been a valid tactic back then, but after training with Gai-sensei, there's no way this punk can hope to exhaust me,"_ Sakura thought in mild satisfaction.

After pushing Sakura back a bit, Sakon started to rapidly spin.

"Multiple Connected Whirlwind!"

Sakon's spinning created a tornado around himself that hurled Sakura backwards, albeit it didn't cause too much damage.

 _"Weird. I swear I saw him sprouting multiple legs,"_ Sakura thought as she pulled herself back.

Meanwhile, Ino had sneaked behind the blue haired ninja and was ready to make her move. She made a single hand seal.

"Mental Scourge Jutsu!"

"AAAAAGGGHH!" Sakon yelled, as he instinctively grabbed his head with his hands, finding himself victim of a brief but powerful migraine. "You bitch!"

"Liked that?" Ino smugly asked. "That jutsu will cause you a huge headache if you try to gather and mold chakra. Even if you're a melee type, I prefer for you not to have a ranged option."

"I see. You're the ranged specialist, while your little friend here is the frontline fighter, am I right?" Sakon asked, looking back and forth between the two girls. "So that means that I should get rid of you first!"

Sakon dashed at Ino, evading Sakura's attempt to block him. On her part, Ino reached on her ninja tool pouch, and pulled something Sakon was unable to see, before tossing it at the ground, creating a cloud of smoke.

"Dammit!" Sakon cursed. ""Multiple Connected Whirlwind!"

The tornado the Oto ninja generated managed to easily dispel the smoke created by the smoke bomb, but much to his chagrin, Ino used that time to keep some distance from him, as well to make several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

Ino shot a stream of water from her mouth at the blue haired ninja, who managed to dodge it. However, in doing so, he was left wide open for Sakura to attack from behind.

 _"Gotcha!"_ the pinkette though, ready to reduce the Oto ninja to pulp.

However, much to her surprise and confusion, a leg protruded from his back, kicking Sakura back with considerable force.

"The hell was that?" Ino asked, just as shocked.

"Good to see that I wasn't the only one who saw that," Sakura added, as she stood up.

"Trying to attack from behind, huh? Smart, but useless against somebody like me, you can say that I have..." Sakon began as, much to Sakura and Ino's horror, a second head grew besides the first one.

"...eyes on my back," the other head finished.

"Girls, meet my twin brother, Ukon," Sakon stated. "As you can see, we're pretty close, hehe."

"EWWWWW!" Both Sakura and Ino squirmed in disgust.

"You're not the first one who react in such a way," Sakon laughed. "Sorry brother, I think they find you too repulsive."

"No double date for us, it seems. Oh well, that's life. Anyway, let's not play around," Ukon stated as black marks started to spread around his body. The marks began to glow as well, spreading through the rest of his body, turning his skin red, his eyes yellow with black sclera, and growing a horn on his forehead.

"Level two already? I wanted to have some fun before finishing them off," Sakon whined.

"We're on an important mission, and I want to go back to sleep. Besides, I doubt we'll get a good fight out of these two bimbos," Ukon replied.

"Who the hell are you calling a bimbo!?" Ino angrily asked.

Ignoring Ino, Sakon did as his brother asked, and activated his cursed seal to its level two stage, undergoing an identical transformation, before finally separating into different bodies.

"Now you won't be able to blindside us," Sakon stated, smiling evilly at the two Konoha Genin, who looked at his newly sharp and inhuman teeth with a mixture of disgust and horror.

"Two versus two. Now this is what you'd call a fair fight, don't you think?" Ukon added

"They may be two, but now that they're separated, they won't be able to use multiple limbs at the same time again," Sakura warned Ino. "Alright, I'll try to have the two of them focused on me. Stay behind and cover me."

"Who died and made you leader?" Ino replied. Upon seeing Sakura's glare, she relented. "Alright, I'll do what you say."

Sakura made a hand seal. "Earth Release: Earth Clone Jutsu!"

Three masses of dirt and rock emerged from the ground and took the shape and color of Sakura Haruno.

 _"Okay, between me and my clones, we should be able to fight them on even grounds. Earth Clones take more than a single hit to destroy, and with all this earth, they don't take much chakra to form. Still, I better not expend much or else I won't be able to keep the Iron Skin active,"_ Sakura thought, as she prepared to fight.

Sakon and Ukon shot like rockets against two of the Sakura clones, which were immediately shattered by two deceptively strong punches. The third clone reacted in time, and delivered a flying kick to Ukon before he could recover, while the original Sakura dashed towards Sakon, fist raised and glowing with Chakra.

"Cherry Blossom Strike!"

Sakon managed to vanish the last second before Sakura's fist hit the ground, creating another crater, and sending multiple rocks and pebbles up into the air. Upon missing, she looked around to see where did he go.

"Where is he?" Sakura impatiently asked.

Ino let out a scream. When Sakura looked at her, the blonde looked absolutely horrified at her, as if she had seen a nightmarish monster.

"Ino? What's wrong? Are you...?" the pinkette asked.

"Oh, that reaction is pretty normal the first time somebody sees this," Sakon stated besides her.

Turning her head, Sakura understood Ino's horror, and saw that Sakon had fused his body to hers. Sakura let out another scream of horror as well.

"Thanks to Orochimaru-sama's cursed seal, Ukon and I can use our Bloodline Limit to fuse with another person, almost in an instant. Now," Sakon proceeded to immobilize Sakura by forcing her to hold one of her arms with the other one. "Ukon, this one's done with, take care of the blonde!"

"Got it!" the other brother replied, having just destroyed Sakura's remaining clone.

Ino managed to snap to her senses and prepared for the incoming attack, slipping into a fighting stance. Ukon pulled out a kunai and dashed at her with a crazed smile.

"NOW DIE!"

Everything happened way too fast for Ino to see, and before she realized, Ukon had already slashed her torso...

"INO!" Sakura screamed in horror...

...as the blonde disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a log behind, which snapped in two a second after appearing.

"The hell?" Ukon asked.

Sakon started to laugh. "Oh boy, I can't believe she got you with such a basic trick, brother..."

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Sakon was suddenly silenced, as a thud was heard from behind the merged ninja. Turning around, Sakura saw Ino's unconscious body in the ground. She then looked at the Oto ninja merged with her.

"Ino?" the pinkette tentatively asked.

As if to answer her question, Sakon slowly began to separate from Sakura, much to the latter's relief.

"Thank you. I owe you one," Sakura told the blond, now possessing the Oto ninja.

"Sakon, what the hell are you doing?" Ukon asked, upon seeing his brother standing side by side with the enemy. He then realized what was going on. "Oh, I see, you're from that clan of psychics and body snatchers, right?"

"Body snatchers? Oh, that's rich, coming from you!" Ino-as-Sakon retorted. "Sakura, pull out a few smoke bombs!"

"Huh? What do you plan to...?" Sakura asked.

"Just do as I say, dammit!" Ino snapped.

Sakon's deep voice made Ino sound way scarier than she thought, which made Sakura to comply her request all the faster.

"I don't know what you plan to do, but you're releasing my brother, NOW!" Ukon shouted as the dashed at the Konoha duo.

"Sakura, now!" Ino shouted.

Sakura nodded and tossed the smoke bombs, creating a huge cloud of smoke in an instant, forcing Ukon to stop in his tracks and giving the two girls enough cover to sneak out, and take cover behind a large tree.

"Sakura, I'm going to undo the jutsu. The instant I return to my original body, punch this creep with all your might. I'll try to help you against the other," Ino whispered to her as she pulled out a kunai from Sakon's pouch.

Sakura was having a bad feeling about that. "What do you mean, 'try'?"

The answer came in the form of Ino stabbing the kunai into Sakon's gut, much to Sakura's shock and horror.

"Ino, what are you doing!? Your body takes the same wounds as the body you possess!" Sakura shouted, visibly shaken.

"I know! That's why I have to return to my own body and heal myself as best as I can! Now give this asshole the whooping he deserves!" Ino weakly protested as she made a hand seal.

"Ino..." Sakura whispered in awe. Her expression became more determined as her fingers curled into a fist. "You can count on me!"

Ino smiled. She meant it to be a genuine smile, but her current body made her look unbelievably creepy. "Release!"

Sakon had no time to process what had happened before a fist smashed against his face, hurling him backwards several meters, until he crashed against a tree, knocking him unconscious. Sakura guessed that given how much blood he was going to lose thanks to the wound inflicted by Ino, the blue haired Oto ninja would never wake up again.

…

Ino woke up within her body. Despite only a few seconds having passed before making that wound and her returning to her body, she had lost quite more blood than she had expected. Still, she wasn't going to let herself being carried away by panic, that wouldn't help. She was trained by one of the Legendary Sannin, and she was going to make her proud. She placed both hands on the wound.

"Mystical Palm Jutsu."

Her hands glowed with a green light as some of the blood returned back to her body, the wound started to slowly close. She wanted to finish it as soon as possible so she could go back and help Sakura, but rushing things wouldn't be of any help.

"I have to trust Sakura is strong enough to keep that creep at bay until I can rejoin her," Ino told herself as she carefully healed her wound. "And even then...in my current state, don't think I'm going to be of much help. Oh well, at least I took one of those guys out. Come on forehead, I'm sure you can match me."

…

Following Sakura's previous shouts, Ukon managed to find where his possessed brother and Sakura had gone. And he managed to find them just when Sakura shattered Sakon's skull with a brutal and well placed punch to the face.

"SAKON!"

Sakura turned around to see the other Oto ninja's face, contorted by rage and hatred.

"YOU! YOU KILLED SAKON!" Ukon screamed at her.

Sakura had the urge to mention that technically Sakon was still alive, but will die of blood loss in a few minutes if he wasn't properly treated, which wasn't going to happen. However, she knew that pointing that out wouldn't be of any help, so she merely slipped into a battle stance yet again.

"Yeah, he's dead. That's what happens when you mess with Konoha. Do you want me to send you to the place he is now?" Sakura asked, trying to sound intimidating, but knew she failed in doing so. In fact, she only succeeded in making her enemy's anger even greater.

"You think you're so clever, right bitch!?" Ukon turned into a blue and red blur as he dashed towards Sakura. "I'LL CUT YOUR TONGUE AND FORCE YOU TO EAT IT!"

The moment Ukon's fist connected with Sakura's face, the pinkette vanished, leaving a trail of cherry petals behind. Despite his anger, Ukon was still sane enough to recognize and dispel the genjutsu, and with a quick burst of chakra, the illusion was broken.

Perched on a tree above him, Sakura pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached and tossed it at Ukon. The Oto ninja noticed and managed to jump in time not only avoiding the explosion, but using it to catapult himself upwards and leap against Sakura.

"DIE ALREADY!" he yelled as he fell upon her.

"Crap!"

Sakura raised her arms in the form of an X to protect herself from the incoming hit. Ukon's punch had so much force behind it that it not only knocked Sakura back into the ground, but it managed to shatter the skin-tight metal layer protecting her body.

 _"Oh dammit! I thought that my Iron Skin jutsu was impenetrable!"_ Sakura thought in horror. Seeing that it wasn't going to be of much help, she deactivated the jutsu in order to avoid needlessly consuming chakra.

Ukon didn't give Sakura any time to breathe, as he was over her in less than two seconds. Sakura hurried to stand up and block the incoming storm of strong and painful kicks and punches, until her defense failed, and Ukon covered her body in nasty bruises before giving her a painful kick to the stomach that knocked her on her back.

"On second thought...I'm not going to kill you just yet, no," Ukon said as he slowly advanced towards Sakura's fallen form. "Sakon's killer deserves more than a quick death. I don't care about the mission anymore. I'll take all the time necessary to drive you mad with pain!"

Ukon angrily pulled Sakura up by her long mane of pink hair, forcing her to meet him eye to eye. He snarled angrily at her. "Something else to say?"

As quickly as she could, Sakura made a hand seal.

"Poison Mist!"

Being so close to her, Ukon couldn't react in time and was enveloped by a purple cloud of toxic fumes, which he naturally inhaled. He stepped out of the cloud, coughing, and fell on his knees.

"You...you bitch!" Ukon cursed between coughs.

"Be happy. With the amount of gas you inhaled, you'll be seeing your brother in a few minutes," Sakura then started to walk towards him, her fist glowing with a blue fire. "But you know what? I'm going to speed things up just to be safe."

Sakura's chakra-enhance fist struck the defenseless Ukon in the torso, shattering multiple bones and reducing many of his internal organs to chunky salsa, ending his life in an instant.

"I...I did it..." Sakura tiredly said to herself, as she fell on her knees.

…

After completely healing herself, Ino went to find Sakura, something that wasn't hard to do thanks to her sensory abilities. Even if they weren't as strong as Karin's, they were quite acute. In no time she pinpointed Sakura's chakra signature, but for some reason, it was the only human chakra she could perceive.

"Can those guys mask their presence from sensors?" Ino asked aloud.

The answer came when she found the pinkette lying near the ravaged body of the ninja once known as Ukon.

"Sakura!" Ino shouted in panic.

She ran to her and quickly began to apply her medical ninjutsu on her former friend. She could tell that besides all those ugly bruises and bloodied wounds, she had a couple broken bones that would need more specialized treatment.

Much to the blonde's relief, Sakura's eyes started to blink.

"Uh...Ino?" Sakura weakly groaned.

"Don't move, forehead. I'm trying to heal you," Ino replied in a cold, neutral tone.

"Are you okay...?" the pinkette asked.

"I'm the one who should ask that, not you!" Ino retorted. "Now stay still while I heal you."

"Ino..."

"What did I just tell you!?" the blonde angrily asked.

"Thank you...if you didn't take that other guy out...I don't think I could have...defeated this one..." Sakura told her, before coughing a bit.

Ino found herself smiling at her former friend. "Somebody had to."

"You could have let me," Sakura replied.

Ino shook her head. "No, it had to be me. I couldn't make you take such a huge risk."

"Don't patronize me...I'm a medic too...and a better one than you are..." Sakura replied.

Ino didn't retort with an acid quip as Sakura expected, and much to her surprise, Ino nodded. "Yes, you're right, but like I told you, I couldn't let you do it. Not after the way I treated you. And I'm very sorry..."

"Ino..."

"No, let me finish," Ino interrupted as a single tear ran through her cheek. "I'm sorry for how harsh I was on you, for still hating Sasuke, as if he was responsible for what happened to my father, as well as being so eager to end our friendship when we had a crush on the same boy. Will you...will you forgive me?"

"Only if you forgive me too," Sakura weakly replied. "I didn't fight for our friendship as much as I should have. But I don't think things can go...the way they were before..."

"Don't say that," Ino replied. "Maybe not now, but in the future...well, this is a start, isn't it? Maybe in due time, we can salvage what we used to have."

"When did you became such an optimist?" Sakura asked.

"People change, Forehead. People change."

…

Meanwhile, not far from there, as Tayuya played the flute once again, Neji, Kiba and Akamaru were fighting Tayuya's summoned ogres, which she called Doki. These new adversaries would prove themselves to be quite stronger than they already looked.

"Passing Fang!"

After turning into a human drill, Kiba flew at the ogre with the metal kanabo, who used it to painfully smack Kiba with it, stopping the attack on his tracks and tossing him into the ground.

"AW!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru whined as he rushed to check his master. "Don't worry buddy, I'm still okay..." the Inuzuka replied as he rubbed his pained skull. His vision was shadowed by another one of the ogres, the one with the wrist places, leaping down at him. "Oh shit!"

"Vacuum Palm!"

A vacuum shell blasted the ogre away, giving the Inuzuka and his dog a chance to get out of harm's way.

"Thanks. I think I owe you one," Kiba told Neji, sounding between thankful and bitter, since he didn't enjoy the idea of having to be saved. Even then, he knew it was no time to indulge into petty pride.

"The girl might not be much of a hand to hand fighter, but these monstrosities more than make up for it," Neji observed. "We should step up our game. Try to distract those things, and I'll see if I can get a good hit on the girl."

Kiba nodded and made a hand seal. "Man Beast Clone!" Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba. "Come on Akamaru, let's go!"

Human and dog-turned-human charged against the Doki that had smacked Kiba the time before. He guessed that if he was able to disarm him, he wouldn't be such a big threat, before he heard Kakashi's voice in his head reminding him not to underestimate his enemies. Especially now, since this wasn't a controlled competition, but a life or death situation.

 _"Man, I didn't realize until now how dire the situation is,"_ Kiba bitterly thought as he recalled the mission to Taki that took a turn for the worst. _"Wonder what would have happened that time if Kakashi-sensei wasn't there for us...well, he won't save us now, that's pretty much for sure. Still, I think we got strong enough not to need any more saving!"_

The Doki also rushed towards Kiba, kanabo raised above his head. He could also smell another one coming at them.

"Passing Fang!"

Once again, Kiba started to spin like a drill as he flew towards the armed giant, who lowered his weapon as he did before. Something Kiba was already counting on.

"Akamaru, now!"

Akamaru used Passing Fang as well, though his was aimed at the giant's hand. The attack connected, and the kanabo smash successfully interrupted just as Kiba's attack hit the ogre in the chest, who let out a roar of pain as he was knocked backwards. Kiba stopped spinning as he landed on a tree branch.

"Akamaru, the other one!" Kiba warned.

Heeding his master's warning, Akamaru joined him and both of them faced the ogre with the blades attached to the wrists. They were about to clash...when the ogre managed to dodge their assault and rush past them.

"What the hell? Oh, crap, Neji!" Kiba cursed as he and Akamaru turned around and chased the monster.

Meanwhile, Neji took the opportunity to dash towards Tayuya, but his Byakugan spotted the third Doki rushing to cut his chase short, and knew he wouldn't be able to reach her in time. However, that would allow him to strike first, and would make sure such hit to be devastating.

"Mountain Crusher!"

The moment the Doki landed in front of Neji, the Hyuga prodigy connected his palm with the monster's chest, and sent a powerful wave of chakra that sent him flying as if Neji just swatted a fly.

"Got you," Neji declared as he moved to attack Tayuya.

But much to the Hyuga's confusion, Tayuya didn't look worried at all. According to his father, if an enemy feels confident, it is for two reasons: they're way over their head, or they know something you don't that gives them a meaningful advantage. Neji had the feeling it was because of the latter reason.

And just as he suspected, his Byakugan caught the remaining two Doki attempting to ambush him from behind, attacking him from different angles. Neji stopped his charge and started to spin on the spot.

"Heavenly Spin!"

The monsters attacked Neji a second after he activated the Hyuga's ultimate defense, which made honor to such name, and violently pushed the Doki backwards. However, while Neji was defending himself from the ambush, Tayuya jumped back several times, placing some distance between her melee-specialized enemies.

"Alright you retards, you're starting to get on my nerves, so get ready for this very special melody of mine!" Tayuya shouted. "Nobody who ever heard it lived to tell the tale!"

Tayuya started to play the flute again, and the Doki's battle stance relaxed. They turned their head upwards, and opened their sewn mouths. And from their mouths, giant spectral worms appeared as if they were beasts leaving their lairs. The spectral worms had multiple mouths full of sharp teeth around their body.

"What the hell is that!?" Kiba asked, rather perplexed.

"I don't know, they seem made of chakra, but it doesn't look like anything I've ever seen," Neji replied as he inspected the spectral worms with his Byakugan. "They appear to be unstable. Either way, we shouldn't let them touch us."

"Very smart, you shithead. Now let's see if you're fast enough not to get caught by them!" Tayuya yelled as she resumed her melody.

The Doki jumped towards the Konoha ninja, and the spectral worms coming from their mouths lunged at them.

"Watch out!" Neji shouted.

Everybody jumped aside, but one of those worms managed to bite Kiba's arm. Kiba could see how part of his chakra was being drained into the monster. Not his whole chakra, just the physical part of it.

"Damn!" Kiba yelled as he instinctively held his arm. It felt numb and tired, as if he used that arm for a long time without rest.

Seeing Neji hiding inside a small cave under a large tree branch, Kiba followed suit, alongside Akamaru, who turned back into a dog. Fortunately, their hiding spot was big enough for the three of them.

"Told you not to let that thing touch you," Neji chided Kiba.

"You don't have to tell me twice," the Inuzuka replied as he nursed his affected arm. "Those things are way more dangerous now than when they used physical attacks. Any plans on what to do?"

"Like I said before, the summoner is the key. If we manage to reach her, her beasts won't be an issue," Neji told Kiba.

Kiba frowned, unconvinced. "Yeah, that sounds so good and all that, but getting to her proved to be nearly impossible before, and now she made it even harder:"

Neji looked pensive, as his brain studied all the facts and possibilities until he found a possible solution. "She uses the music of her flute to control her summons, right?"

"So it seems," Kiba replied.

"So if we manage to nullify the music, those monsters would become inert, and thus no threat to us," Neji continued.

"Yeah, I think that was pretty clear," Kiba agreed, before frowning once again. "What's not clear though, is how are we going to stop that music. Getting near her is pretty much impossible, as we both just saw."

"There's usually more than one way to solve a problem, and I doubt this situation is an exception," Neji cryptically replied. Kiba raised an eyebrow. "If we can't stop her from playing her flute, then maybe we can generate a sound loud enough to counter it."

Kiba pondered the Hyuga prodigy's words, and couldn't find any fault in his reasoning. "Now that's...something that could work. But what can we do to create that much noise?"

Akamaru barked something. Kiba looked at his dog, a bit taken aback.

"That jutsu? Are you sure you're ready?" Kiba asked Akamaru, who barked affirmatively.

"What did he say?" Neji asked.

"Well, we...have something that may work," Kiba began, sounding unsure. "There're three problems. The first one is that we haven't completely mastered that jutsu yet. The second is that we need some time and space to get ready, and lastly, we aren't sure if we'd be able to make enough noise to cancel the music."

Neji took a second to ponder his current partner's words."How much time would you need?"

Kiba had to think the answer for a second. "About five to ten seconds, I'd say."

"Okay. I'll buy you that time," Neji stated as he was about to step out of their hiding place.

"Whoa! Wait a second! What are you going to do?" Kiba asked as he grabbed Neji by his forearm.

"Buy you some time, as I just said right now. You two get ready," Neji stated before shaking Kiba's grip and dashing into the forest.

"Aw man, this nutcase is going to get us killed," Kiba groaned. Akamaru whined something, before the two of them left the relative safety of their hiding spot.

…

Neji didn't shout "over here, bet you can't catch me!", since that would be a dead ringer for their true intentions, but was obvious enough to draw the attention of the monsters, who leaped at him as the spectral worms opened their toothy mouths in anticipation.

 _"Good, the three of them are following me,"_ Neji thought in satisfaction. But said satisfaction was short lived as the summons started to get dangerously close to him. Neji turned back and leaped backwards while thrusting his open palm at his closet enemy.

"Vacuum Palm!"

The vacuum shell successfully damaged one of the spectral worms, however, it only took a couple seconds to reform.

 _"Come on, Kiba, I bought you more than ten seconds, you should be ready by now!"_

…

Fortunately, Neji's risky actions weren't in vain, as they allowed the Inuzuka Genin and his canine partner to prepare their jutsu. Kiba was hunched over, with Akamaru standing on his back.

"Okay buddy, are you ready?" Kiba asked, and Akamaru barked affirmatively. "Alright then, let's go! Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double Headed Wolf!"

The jutsu produced a cloud of smoke, and when it dispelled, instead of Kiba and Akamaru was a huge, white furred two headed wolf.

 _"Alright, so far so good. Now, the second part, the Thundering Roar!"_ Kiba mentally told Akamaru.

The two heads gathered chakra on their respective throats, before releasing a deafening roar each, making birds to fly away and small animals to flee in every direction. And most importantly, during a few seconds, it managed to drown the sound of Tayuya's flute, leaving her Doki immobile and harmless.

…

"Good job, Kiba, you did it," Neji whispered to himself. "Now it's time to finish this!"

Neji jumped at the three immobile ogres and got into the Gentle Fist fighting stance. He only had a few seconds until they started to move again.

"Eight Trigrams: One Hundred Twenty Eight Palms!" Fast as lightning, Neji started to move and hit each of Tayuya's summons before moving onto the next. "Two strikes! Four Strikes! Eight Strikes! Sixteen Strikes! Thirty Two Strikes! Sixty Four Strikes! ONE HUNDRED TWENTY EIGHT STRIKES!"

The attack left Neji exhausted, but it fulfilled its purpose. With little to no chakra left, the Doki were forcefully unsummoned.

"Now that that's out of the way, we should take care of the woman."

…

Tayuya needed to take a moment to understand what just happened. One moment, the forest was shook by an incredibly loud roar, as if coming from a gigantic beast. Then, when the roar died down a few seconds later, her Doki had been unsummoned.

"It's over," Neji said as he landed behind her. Tayuya turned around and growled. "There's no way you can defeat me."

Tayuya's angry mask morphed into a confident smirk. "You think so?"

Then, much to Neji's shock, the black marks on her skin started to glow as if they were on fire and spread all over her body, turning it reddish brown. Her hair grew longer and paler, and her eyes turned yellow with black sclera. But her more prominent change were the twisted horns that grew around her head, giving her a demonic appearance.

Still, the external changes were nothing comparing to how her chakra network changed. Thanks to his Byakugan, Neji could see how a second kind of chakra, which so far remained contained by Tayuya's own, overtook the girl's chakra network.

"Let's see if you're so confident after this, you piece of shit!" Tayuya growled as she lunged at Neji.

It took very few time for the Hyuga to realize that the transformation increased the girl's physical strength quite a lot, and combined with Neji's own exhaustion, made the combat difficult to him. Still, he knew that he could win.

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty Two Palms!" Neji moved to deliver the first two strikes of the Gentle Fist Style's second most basic combo.

"Like hell I'm going to let you do that!" Tayuya exclaimed as she delivered a painful kick at Neji's stomach, knocking him on his back, interrupting the combo. "You think that because you destroyed my summons, you already won? Well, shithead, I have some news for you!"

Tayuya jumped into the air towards Neji, ready to stomp his head into the ground. However, much to her shock, she was attacked by a vicious two headed beast while she was in mid air. With one claw swipe, Tayuya was sent flying backwards.

Neji got back on his feet and took a second to examine the creature that just saved him.

"Kiba?" He asked. The two headed canine just looked at him, but Neji could see that his guess was true.

"Ugh..." Tayuya groaned as she painfully got up. _"Where did that fucking monster come from? Well, it's obvious it's on the same side as the pale eyed brat. There's no way I can defeat those two. Even if Orochimaru-sama might punish me, if I stay here any longer, I'll die for sure."_

The two headed wolf lunged once again at Tayuya. However, the moment he hit her, she disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a long behind.

"The enemy is retreating," Neji informed Kiba, who looked at him, as if asking something. "No, we shouldn't chase her. We better go and help our friends."

The two headed wolf split into Kiba and Akamaru.

"Alright then. Let's see if I can catch the scent of any of them," Kiba replied.

Neji nodded, and the two of them moved to regroup with the others.

…

Meanwhile, further to the north, Kimimaro continued his trip to the Land of Sound alone, carrying his two hostages, still unconscious. One of the Shadow Clones that he left behind had dispelled, providing him with updated intel on his pursuers.

Seven Konoha ninja remained, the four Chunin still among them. Kimimaro pondered if he could take on all of them, knock the Jinchuriki out and complete the mission without the need to use the trap they were leading him to.

However, soon the decision would be out of his hands. Carrying those two children was slowing him down, enabling his pursuers to catch him. Oh well. It's not that the idea of a fight displeased him that much. He never had the chance of going all out since Orochimaru had healed him of his disease.

Soon, those kids would realize that they bit way more than they could chew.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Whew, that was a long and action heavey chapter, wasn't it? Hope it didn't prove too exhausting.  
**

 **Before anyone asks, yes, Tayuya is alive, and she will show up again in the future (I want Orochimaru to have more named lackeys besides Kabuto). I didn't like the other three as much as not to kill them.**

 **I like this chapter in that I finally managed to give some of the Genin a much deserved victory (and before you mention Tamaki, remember that her victory at the Prelims was undeserved, since her opponent pretended to lose). Some characters in canon, such as Hinata or Tenten, went through the whole run of the manga without achieving a single victory. I don't plan to make that mistake here.**

 **I mean, who would have thought of Sakura and Ino fighting AND WINNING against Sakon and Ukon? Hopefully I made it believable, given how much the two of them improved over the course of the story, especially Sakura.**

 **As for Choji, yeah, I removed those three colored pills because, well, I didn't like them because they came out of nowhere, and were never mentioned again after being used that one time.**

 **Anyway, next chapter, Naruto and all six of his remaining friends versus Kimimaro! Will they be enough to defeat Orochimaru's strongest minion at the top of his game? Or are the twins doomed?**

 **Once again, thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Meanwhile, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	38. Senju Twins Retrieval, Part III

**Author's Note: Many reviewers asked if Hagane is going to get Wood Release. The answer is no. As I already hinted, his Bloodline Limit has to do with gathering Nature Chakra, similar to Juugo. I did this because I didn't want both children with the same power.**

 **Now, enjoy the new chapter, and see you at the bottom:**

* * *

 **Chapter 38:**

Senju Twins Rescue Part III

 _or_

 _The Maw of the Beast_

…

Choji started to open his eyes as consciousness slowly returned to him. The feeling of extreme weakness that made him black out was being replaced by a more comfortable sensation as his energy slowly, but surely, returned to his body. There was an audible sigh.

"Thanks Kami, he's waking up," Shikamaru's voice said.

Choji tried to stand up, but a small pair of hands held him in place.

"Don't move!" Tamaki's voice stated.

"Don't worry, I'm almost done here. Thankfully your wounds weren't too severe. But we need to do something about your exhaustion," somebody he recognized as Shino stated.

True to the Aburame's words, he only took a couple more minutes to heal Choji, prompting Tamaki to release him. She then handed him something he recognized as a ration bar.

"Here, eat," Tamaki told him. "Shikamaru said that you need to recover your lost calories, Sorry I don't have anything better."

However, Choji wasn't in the mood to reject anything, and welcomed the bar with open arms.

"It's okay, thanks a lot," Choji replied, as he started to eat the bar.

"It's a good thing you found us, or else Choji would be a goner," Shikamaru mentioned, not hiding his immense relief.

"How did you find us, by the way?" Choji asked.

"I had one of my beetles latched onto each one of you. Said beetles can release a specific pheromone impossible to smell except to others of its kind. That way I'm able to track all of you," Shino explained.

Both Shikamaru and Choji had to resist the urge to look their bodies for the aforementioned bug.

"So, I'm guessing that you got to fight other of those Oto ninja, and given that you're here, you won, right?" Shikamaru asked.

Tamaki nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, albeit barely. And they said the two we fought were the weakest. I can't even think what the others are up against," Tamaki wondered aloud, as she looked into the distance. "Wonder if Kiba is okay..."

"Should we go and try to help the others?" Shikamaru asked.

Shino shook his head. "That would be mostly unwise. We just spent most of our energy fighting, some, like Choji, to the point of collapse. Far from being of any help, we'd be a burden."

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru sighed.

The Aburame then perked up. "Somebody's coming."

Everybody minus Choji shot up, pulled out their weapons, and slipped into a fighting stance.

"It seems that if we don't go to the fights, the fight will come to us," Tamaki complained, as she inwardly prayed for this new enemy not to be too tough.

However, the tension was immediately defused, and replaced by relief, when the would-be enemies turn out to be Kakashi and Gai, being led by Pakkun.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Tamaki squealed in joy as she rushed to meet him.

"Thank goodness. Reinforcements at last," Shikamaru said, as he allowed himself to drop on his butt. "Strong reinforcements, might I add."

Gai asked the most obvious, yet fitting question that the situation demanded. "What happened here?"

"We already know about the Hokage's children's abduction. Naruto told Kurenai through a Shadow Clone, and she told us," Kakashi interjected, so they wouldn't have to start from the beginning.

"The kidnappers are a group of five Oto ninja. Some of them stayed behind in order to delay us. Choji and I fought one, while Shino and Tamaki defeated another, meaning that so far, only three remain," Shikamaru quickly explained.

"However, the two we defeated were the weakest members of that squad. Our partners will have a much harder time against them than we did," Shino added.

"Kakashi-sensei, Kiba is still out there! You need to find him and help him!" Tamaki pleaded.

"I smell both him and Akamaru," Pakkun mentioned. "He's not far away from here."

"In that case, there's no time to waste. Gai, can you take care of these four?" the Copy Ninja asked.

Gai would have preferred to check on his students, but this was a more pressing responsibility. Kakashi and the others would have to take care of them. He gave Kakashi his trademark "nice guy" pose.

"You can count on that, Kakashi! I'll make sure they return to the village safe and sound!" Gai energetically declared.

"The village? It is safe to return?" Shino asked.

"Indeed! The unyouthful invaders have been successfully repelled, once again proving that nothing can topple Konoha's steel-hard resolve!"

"...uh, can we go back now?" Shikamaru awkwardly asked.

…

Meanwhile, Naruto and his remaining friends continued the chase. Even if their numbers have been reduced to less than half of how many they started this impromptu rescue mission, seven was more than enough to deal with the last remaining kidnapper, no matter how strong he was.

Or at least, that's what Naruto liked to think. The scenario in which he failed to save his siblings was something he didn't dare to even think.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata called, almost in a whisper. When Naruto looked at her, she shot him a caring smile. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."

Naruto smiled back at her. He was so grateful to have somebody like her at his side in such a dire moment. Yes, he needed to stay positive. He then looked at Karin.

"Nee-chan, how far until we reach that scumbag?" Naruto asked.

"Not far. He's moving slower than us. We'll catch him in no time," Karin announced.

"We better get ready, then," Sasuke stated, as his hand instinctively reached the handle of his katana.

"Wait!" Karin suddenly said, startling the other six.

"Something wrong?" Haku asked.

"The man stopped! I think he's done running and plans to fight all of us!" Karin informed.

"This is a golden opportunity," Tenten interjected. "Naruto, when we fight the guy, you go and rescue your siblings. Then run back to Konoha. We'll cover you as long as we can."

"That's a sound plan. Even if he can do clones of any kind, there's no way he can fight on multiple fronts," Naruto replied.

"Wait!" Karin called again. "I'm sensing somebody else! He's in front of the kidnapper. It seems as if they're talking."

"We must assume this new ninja is an enemy if the two of them didn't engage in battle," Hinata stated. As she came closer, her Byakugan finally spotted Kimimaro, and the mysterious man he was talking to. She gasped.

"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked, mildly concerned.

…

Kimimaro had stepped out of the dense forest, and landed in a green, clear expanse with few trees and a large lake, when he was stopped in his tracks when a man appeared before him. The newcomer also had white hair like Kimimaro, and unlike Kimimaro, he was spotting an incredibly smug smile on his face. He guessed the man was an ally, given that he was wearing the Otogakure standard uniform, but then again that could be a trick from the enemy.

"Hey there, going somewhere?" the stranger asked.

"Who are you?" Kimimaro asked, not lowering his guard for a minute.

"A friend, if you can't tell by the clothes," the man replied, apparently finding Kimimaro's lack of trust amusing. "Name's Mizuki, by the way. Orochimaru-sama left me here in case you guys were in trouble. And given that you lost your whole squad, it seems that you are."

"And you came here to help me?" the shirtless man asked.

"It should be obvious, isn't it?" Mizuki replied, as he walked over, tensing up the Kaguya clan member. "Relax, like I said, I'm a friend. Listen, there's not much time. I know you're way stronger than I am, so you must stay here and fight your pursuers. I'll take the children to the base. Then you take the Jinchuriki once you kill the others."

"How I know that you're telling the truth?" Kimimaro asked.

"You don't know. But you don't have much of a choice now," Mizuki replied, looking at something behind the Sound Five leader.

Not lowering his guard, Kimimaro turned around, and saw Naruto and his six remaining friends landing a few meters in front of him.

"Mizuki-sensei?" Tenten asked in surprise.

"He isn't your sensei anymore. He's with Orochimaru now. Did I tell you when my team fought against him in the Land of Sound?" Haku reminded his girlfriend.

"You did, but the idea of one of our teachers being a traitor was a bit hard to digest," Tenten replied.

"I doubt you'd be able to fight so many ninja, even if they're children, and keep them from taking the hostages back, don't you?" Mizuki asked.

Kimimaro hated to admit it, but he had no choice. He handed the children to Mizuki.

"If you screw the mission, I'll personally kill you," the white hair young man threatened in a rather cold and emotionless tone.

Mizuki replied with an unnerving chuckle. "I'm sure we won't have to get to such point."

Mizuki took the still unconscious children, and leaped away.

"NO!" Naruto yelled as he charged at the fleeing Mizuki. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

An army of Narutos came to life, but that wouldn't be enough. Kimimaro then slammed his hands in the ground.

"Dance of the Seedling Fern!"

A barrier of spiky bones emerged from the ground, impaling –and dispelling– most of the Naruto clones. Thankfully the real one was able to stop in time.

"Get out of the way!" Naruto angrily shouted.

Kimimaro remained impassible. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

"NOW!" Naruto bellowed. His eyes turned red with slitted pupils. His cheek marks became bolder, as his teeth and nails grew sharper. A red aura started to appear around him.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

While Naruto charged against Kimimaro, Sasuke used the opportunity to summon a small hawk.

"Quickly, follow that man that's carrying two children!" Sasuke ordered the small bird.

The hawk cawed affirmatively, and took off. Kimimaro raised his head to look at the speeding bird. Sasuke started to sweat.

 _"If he destroys my summon, then we won't have a way to track where did Mizuki go!"_ Sasuke distressingly thought.

But much to his relief, Kimimaro ignored the bird, and looked at the seven Konoha ninja once again. Naruto shared that same relief. He looked at Sasuke and shot him a grateful smile.

"Good one, Sasuke," Naruto thanked him.

Sasuke just smirked at him in return, before turning his gaze back at the present threat.

"You were fifteen at the beginning, yet seven of you still remain. The strongest seven, I presume," Kimimaro began. "My teammates did a poor job at whittling down your numbers. But it doesn't matter anymore. Your path ends here."

"Listen, we still can salvage this," Tenten said. "The moment he is distracted, Naruto and a couple others should leave and follow Mizuki."

"Very well. I will go first, and test the strength of our opponent," Lee suggested.

"Alright, but take your weights off first. According to Karin, this opponent is near as strong as our Jonin-sensei," Tenten told him.

"But Gai-sensei told me to-" Lee attempted to protest.

"Gai-sensei's not here, and in his absence, I'm your direct superior. So take off your weights, that's an order," Tenten sternly stated.

Lee decided to obey, and did what he was asked to. He removed the weights under his leg warmers, and held them on each hand with their arms spread. Then, he dropped the training tools, falling into the ground with a deafening noise, leaving two craters at his sides. Everybody looked at the weights in shock.

 _"Lee, what kind of self-imposed handicap did you have when we fought?"_ Haku thought, doing a better job masking his shock than everybody else.

Kimimaro wasn't impressed, though. He slipped into a combat stance, ready to take whatever the Konoha ninja threw at him. Which happened to be a flying kick.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

The shirtless teen managed to block Lee's admittedly powerful flying kick without much difficulty, and push the green clad ninja backwards. However, other two Konoha ninjas attacked while he was doing that.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Sasuke breathed a huge fireball at Kimimaro while Hinata cast a storm of lightning from her fingertips. The Oto ninja jumped out of the way before he could be hit, and aimed his hands at both Uchiha and Hyuga.

"Ten Finger Drilling Bullets!"

A bone bullet was fired from each of his fingers, five flying towards Sasuke and the other five towards Hinata. The former used his Sharingan to dodge –if barely–, the attack, while the latter thrust both palms forward.

"Vacuum Palm Wall!"

Hinata released massive vacuum shell that crashed against the bullets, but it failed to stop their momentum, and the bone projectiles embedded on Hinata's chest.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled in shock.

But much to his relief, Hinata disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a shattered log behind.

 _"Shit, Karin-neechan wasn't exaggerating when he said this guy is strong. If we aren't careful, this freak might kill us all!"_ Naruto distressingly thought.

"I had heard so much about your clans, Uchiha and Hyuga," Kimimaro began. "But if you're the best your clans can offer, then Konoha had even less of a future than I had imagined."

Lee suddenly appeared from behind, and delivered a quick kick to Kimimaro's head, throwing him sideways. The Kaguya managed to regain balance and land on his feet, though.

"Not bad, but insufficient," Kimimaro replied, as spiky bones began to grow over all of his body. "Dance of the Larch!"

Kimimaro's body fired the bone spikes in multiple directions, many of them flying right towards the Konoha ninja. Karin and Haku were quick to react and defend.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

Two walls, one made of solid rock, the other of deceptively hard ice, appeared between Kimimaro and the Konoha ninja. The bone missiles managed to pierce both walls, but they lost enough momentum to be safely deflected with mere kunai.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

From behind the destroyed walls, an army of blonds appeared and charged at the white haired teen, letting out cries of rage. Once again, Kimimaro remained impassible.

"Dance of the Camellia."

A pair of bone swords grew from each of Kimimaro's palms, detaching from his hands once they were complete, and rushed to meet the orange clad army. And, despite their sheer numbers, the Naruto clones were overwhelmed by the speed, endurance and skill of the white haired teen, who massacred the clones before either of them had a chance to lay a finger on him.

 _"Shit, this guy is way too strong!"_ Naruto thought as he felt his clones disappearing en masse.

While Kimimaro was distracted fighting the clones, Tenten saw a golden opportunity to attack, and leaped above the brawl while unfurling one of her scrolls.

"Naruto, get the real you out of the way!" Tenten warned while she prepared her attack. "Manipulated Tools: Rain of Steel!"

The scroll unsealed a multitude of kunai and shuriken at a fast pace, casting a rain of metal over the battlefield. However, the attack was of little help, as it mostly destroyed the Naruto clones, while Kimimaro easily deflected the weapons aimed at him with his improvised swords while he moved backwards.

"Tenten!" Naruto angrily shouted at the brown haired girl.

Tenten smiled sheepishly. "Sorry!"

Haku moved to attack. If Kimimaro managed to deflect everything they threw at him, then they needed to use something that would be impossible to deflect. He made several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Winter Breath!"

From his mouth Haku released an extremely cold wind that froze everything it touched. Kimimaro couldn't react in time, and he was engulfed by the dense blue mist, encasing him in a block of ice.

"Yay! Good one, Haku!" Naruto cheered.

Then, much to everybody's surprise, Kimimaro disappeared, leaving a log inside the block of ice.

"Everyone, he's underground! Watch out!" Hinata warned the others.

As soon as the warning left her lips, multiple bone spikes started to sprout from the ground. The Konoha ninja moved as fast as they could in order to avoid them, but the more bones appeared, the less space they had to move.

"Hinata-hime, where is he?" Naruto asked as he dodged the incoming spikes.

"Fifteen steps to the front and seven to the left!" was Hinata's response.

Naruto created a single Shadow Clone, which he used to help himself leap into the air as high as he could. While on air, he extended his hand, and made sure to fall in the spot Hinata had told him.

"Rasengan!"

The sphere of chakra released its energy into the ground, creating a massive crater, as well as cracking the ground in multiple directions. The attack had the intended effect, and Kimimaro was forced to leave his underground hiding spot. Sasuke appeared from behind, katana unsheathed.

"Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

Kimimaro barely had time to grow several spikes on his back which successfully blocked the fiery blade. He counterattacked by growing them even longer, forcing Sasuke to put some distance between the two of them.

"I admit you're strong. And your numbers make me fighting you quite more difficult than it should be," Kimimaro confessed. "But you should also know that I'm only using a fraction of my real power."

"Then why not go all out and finish us already?" Sasuke tentatively asked.

"While I admit you're strong, you're not strong enough to be deserving of my best moves," Kimimaro retorted, causing Sasuke to snarl. "But keep trying, and I might reward you with the strength of my full power."

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Before Kimimaro could react, many chains wrapped around his body. He wasn't perturbed, as mere chains couldn't be able to hold him back. However, the moment he tried to use his trusty Bloodline Limit, he found himself unable to gather chakra.

"What?"

"Ha! Reward that!" Karin shouted in a taunting tone. Kimimaro could see that the chains were coming from the girl's back.

While Kimimaro was being held, Haku made more hand seals.

"Ice Release: Ice Prison Jutsu!"

The chained Kaguya was encased in a large block of ice.

"Haha, yes, we got him! Good work you two!" Naruto congratulated both Karin and Haku.

"Well, we couldn't have done it if you didn't-oh shit!" Karin suddenly shouted.

"What's going on?" Sasuke asked, mildly alarmed.

"The guy's chakra level is rising!" Karin warned. "He will break out of the ice and my chains at any moment!"

"What!?" Tenten asked in shock. "How's that possible?"

"She's right! There's a foul chakra that's empowering his chakra network!" Hinata added.

"Guys, you need to go, now!" Tenten urged the others. "I'll stay here and help Haku and Karin hold this guy down!"

"But you can't do that! This opponent is way stronger than any other foe we ever faced!" Lee protested.

"We'll be fine. Naruto-kun will need you far more than we will," Haku reassured. "Now go, time is of essence!"

Without some hesitation, Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Lee left their three comrades to deal with the insanely strong Kaguya member.

"Alright, but don't you dare to get killed by this guy, you hear me!?" Naruto asked before leaving.

Karin smiled. "Don't worry, nii-san. I'm not planning to die today, and I don't think these two do either."

"Let's head up north, that's where their hideout must be!" Sasuke stated as he started to move, followed by the other three. "My hawk should have located its exact position by now!"

"Alright, let's go! Sasuke, Lee, follow my and Hinata's lead, we've been here before and know which path to take," Naruto suggested.

The others nodded and resumed their pursuit, not without having a lingering feeling of guilt about leaving their other three friends behind against such a powerful enemy.

And, indeed, after a few seconds, there was a burst of a very potent chakra that shattered Haku's ice block and Karin's chakra chains. Kimimaro stood there, with his stoic expression unchanged, looking at the three Konoha ninja with his dull eyes. There were black marks spreading over his body.

"Congratulations. Very few people push me to the extent of being forced to use the cursed seal," Kimimaro stated. "It will be of some consolation to know that at least you accomplished something before dying."

…

"Can you walk?" Ino asked.

"Yeah, I feel a bit better now," Sakura replied, as she weakly got back on her feet. "So, we beat those guys, what do we do now? Should we help the others?"

Ino scoffed. "Honestly, it's us the ones who need to be helped. I still can't believe that we beat those creepy twins."

As much as Sakura wanted to help the others, Ino had a point. In their current state, they would be of little help.

"How do you think the others did?" Ino asked, a bit insecurely. "I mean, I have faith in them, but we should have seen them already if they won their fights..."

"Well, we won, and we can barely move. Maybe the others are in a similar predicament," Sakura replied. "Besides, we didn't see those Oto ninja either."

Suddenly, that moment, there was a rustling in a nearby bush. Sakura and Ino tensed up, and adopted fighting stances.

"Sakura, if it's one of those Oto ninja, I swear I'm going to-"

"Arf!"

Ino was interrupted upon seeing Akamaru's small form running towards her. The little dog started to run in circles around the two girls, letting out happy barks. Soon, he was joined by Kiba, Neji, Asuma and Kurenai.

"Look, here they are," Kiba mentioned. "Good job finding them, Akamaru!"

"Arf!" the doggie happily barked as he returned to his master's side.

"Asuma-sensei!" Ino squealed in joy, and rushed to hug him. "Oh, I'm so glad that you're here..."

"I'm happy to see you in one piece as well," Asuma commented, taking a look at his student. "It seems that you two got roughed up a bit."

"That's putting it lightly," Sakura sourly added.

"What about Shikamaru and Choji? Are they alive?" Ino worriedly asked.

"Yes, they're fine. One of Kakashi's dogs told us that Kakashi and Gai found them, alongside Shino and Tamaki," Kurenai was the one who replied. "What about the others?"

"They resumed the chase of the kidnappers. Well, kidnapper, only the squad leader remains," Ino told them. "Even if he might be the strongest of the group, there's no way they can defeat the rest of our friends, especially since Naruto and Sasuke were among them."

Seeing the two Jonin there made Sakura realize of something. "Hey, what about the village? Did we beat the invaders?" The pinkette asked.

"Yes, the invasion is no longer a problem. Orochimaru and his flunkies had been successfully repelled," Asuma told them, making everybody unaware of the news sigh in relief.

"Maybe this day won't turn so bad after all..." Sakura replied.

"We'd better not celebrate in advance. The children of the Hokage haven't been rescued yet," Kurenai reminded everybody. "Kiba, Neji, take Ino and Sakura back to the village. Asuma and I will try to catch Naruto and the others."

"Understood," Neji agreed with a head nod, as he and the other three Genin turned back to the village, while the two Jonin went into the opposite direction.

As they moved to the north, Asuma noticed that Kurenai was becoming more and more tense by the minute. The fact that they hadn't found none of her students was probably eating her from the inside.

"I'm sure they will be fine," Asuma stated, drawing his girlfriend's attention. "Your students are way stronger than mine, and mine managed to come out of their fights alive."

"I try to think that, but you can never be too certain," Kurenai replied. "Not helped since the three of them, specially Naruto, have something that makes them desirable prey for scum of the earth like Orochimaru."

"Well, Orochimaru was in Konoha. Hokage-sama fought and defeated him. He won't be a threat to Naruto nor the others anytime soon," Asuma reassured her.

"Actually, that might not be the case. I think there's something more to this invasion that what it looks like." Kurenai replied. Asuma raised an eyebrow.

"Well, yes. He planned to use the invasion as a cover to kidnap the Hokage's children. So even if the invasion failed, he'd still get something out of it," Asuma replied.

"Yes, but remember what Naruto told us. Kabuto could have easily defeated and took him away, yet he told him about what happened to his siblings."

Asuma was starting to realize the implication of Kurenai's words. "Because he knew he'd do anything to get them back..."

"...including going out of the village, where he would be vulnerable and easy to capture while most of the adults are busy dealing with the invasion," Kurenai finished.

Now Asuma understood Kurenai's worries much better, since they went far beyond merely caring for her students.

"Fortunately, there still might be some time to stop such thing from happening," Kurenai stated.

Asuma nodded, and the two of them increased their pace.

…

"Wait a minute," Haku said, as if remembering something. "Those abilities...I knew I heard about them. You're a Kaguya Clan member, right?"

"Yes. It seems my clan's reputation is known even in countries beyond the Land of Water," Kimimaro confirmed.

"I thought all your clan went extinct when they launched that nonsensical campaign against the rest of the nation," Haku commented.

"True. But as you can see, at least one of them made out of that catastrophe alive," the white haired teen replied. "The same could be said about you, Yuki. Orochimaru-sama thought your clan fell prey to the Bloodline Purges, but it isn't the case."

"I would have died with the rest of my clan if it wasn't for the actions of a certain man," Haku replied.

"In that case, then we are alike. It was Orochimaru-sama who saved me from a certain doom and gave me a purpose. Now, to show him my gratitude, I serve and help him in every way I can. And he will be very happy when I bring him the last bearer of the Ice Release," Kimimaro then glanced at Karin, who tensed up upon being noticed. "And you...that red hair, and that jutsu...you're an Uzumaki, right? Orochimaru-sama also expressed interest in getting his hands in one of your kind."

The three Konoha ninja found his words sickening. While other Oto ninja would do that to seek a reward from the Snake Sannin, it seemed that Kimimaro did it just to make his master happy, something they had trouble deciding if it was worse or not.

Kimimaro finally looked at Tenten. "You, on the other hand, appear to be completely unremarkable. Your death won't be a big loss."

Haku nostrils flared in anger and was about to reply, but his girlfriend was quicker.

"How about if I show you how 'unremarkable' I can be?" the bun haired girl taunted, before crossing her arms in front of her face. "Gate of Opening: Open!"

Powerful surges of chakra coursed Tenten's body as she was enveloped by a glowing green aura. She then unfurled a small storage scroll and unsealed a couple of broadswords.

"Alright, I'll face this guy in close combat. Karin, Haku, you two cover me from behind with ninjutsu," Tenten stated.

Both Genin nodded affirmatively as they prepared to fight.

Tenten disappeared in a green blur, and reappeared behind the Oto ninja, ready to strike him down. Kimimaro, though, was already expecting this.

"Dance of the Willow."

Multiple bone spikes grew from Kimimaro's back, parrying Tenten's blows, and forcing the kunoichi back. Karin and Haku took the opportunity to attack.

"Adamantine Sealing Chain!"

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Haku formed a spear of ice which flew at Kimimaro, while Karin shot a chakra chain from the palm of her hand.

"Dance of the Camellia."

Two more bone swords grew from Kimimaro's hands, and used them to parry the attacks from Haku and Karin. He then turned back and engaged Tenten in a duel of sword fighting.

Despite his lithe appearance, Kimimaro had a lot of strength, albeit the brown haired kunoichi guessed that those black marks around his body had something to do with it. She jumped backwards in order to have some room for her next move. She spread her arms horizontally, and started to spin.

"Raging Blade-storm!"

In a few seconds, Tenten turned into a razor sharp tornado, menacingly moving towards Kimimaro. He Oto ninja tried to block her attack with his improvised swords, but he underestimated the strength of the kunoichi's attack, and his bone swords were blown out of his hands, and even got a few cuts on his chest before jumping back.

"Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Multiple Karins and Hakus appeared around the original, spread in a semicircle around Kimimaro, and started to pelt the last Kaguya with senbon and kunai. Kimimaro merely grew more bones on his back and shoulders which managed to block the incoming projectiles.

Forgetting about Tenten, Kimimaro dashed towards the clones, generated two more bone swords, and started to skewer them with little effort.

"I think I should take care of your first," Kimimaro stated as he impaled a Haku clone, turning back into water. "You two are ranged specialists, plus I'm sure one of you is also a medic-nin. Don't worry, I won't hurt you much."

After destroying the last Karin clone, he moved to incapacitate the real redhead, who prepared to deliver an hilariously telegraphed kick. Kimimaro proceeded to block her kick, and then knock her unconscious.

However, Karin's kick packed far more force than her small form suggested, almost like being kicked by a large beast. Coupled with how little strength he mustered to block the attack, Karin's savage kick sent him into the air, spinning rapidly, before falling with a loud thud.

"Too bad I'm going to hurt you as much as I can, you creep!" Karin retorted, as she shook her fist at him in anger.

"How...how is that girl so strong?" Kimimaro asked as he slowly got back on his feet. "That looked like Tsunade's famed Chakra-Enhanced Strength, but there's no way that little girl could have been able to master it..."

"Nice hit," Haku praised the Uzumaki. "But now that he got a measure of your real strength, you won't hit him as easily."

Tenten landed near the two of them. Her green aura was no longer active, meaning that the power boost from the Gates had run its course.

"It seems that if we ever hope to harm this guy, frontal attacks are not a valid option. But we can do some damage by catching him off guard," Tenten told the Genin.

"Do you have any idea, Tenten-chan?" Haku asked.

Tenten smiled confidently, and nodded. "Haku, cover the whole zone with mist. Karin, use your sensing abilities to track him down. Let's stick together, and attack at the same time when the right time comes."

The two Genin nodded, and Haku made a hand seal.

"Hiding in the Mist Jutsu!"

A dense mist started to cover the area in a wide range, blinding all who were caught inside.

Kimimaro remained unimpressed at his enemies' new strategy.

"I can't help but admire your tenacity and inventiveness in the face of a superior foe," Kimimaro stated, as he looked around. "But in the end, the result will be the same."

'Yeah, keep talking you overconfident dumbass, that way you'll make my job even easier,' Karin thought as she silently lead her teammates where Kimimaro was.

"Because, even if I can't see you, all I have to do is use a jutsu with a wide area of effect to ensure you're hit," Kimimaro stated, sending chills down the spines of the Konoha ninja. "Dance of the Seedling Fern!"

The ground started to shake, and bone spikes started to burst from below. The Konoha trio aborted their offensive and ran away in different directions, trying to avoid being skewered by the sharp and hard bone spikes. Karin managed to do several hand seals.

"Earth Release: Moving Core!

A square shaped platform was elevated above the ground, wide enough for the three of them to stand. The bones kept popping from underground, but they didn't appear on the platform. However, they were so focused on the bones that they weren't paying attention to Kimimaro, who leaped towards them.

"Die."

Kimimaro delivered Tenten a kick to the stomach which knocked her out of the risen platform, and would have fallen to her death if it wasn't for Karin's timely reaction.

"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Multiple chains emerged from Karin's back, and all of them wrapped themselves around Tenten's waist, successfully breaking her fall, albeit Karin was almost dragged down.

"Thanks!" Tenten said from below, as she eyed the nasty looking spikes.

"Hang on there!" Karin replied.

While this happened, Haku created a sword made of ice and faced Kimimaro in hand to hand combat. This proved to be an abysmal decision –if unavoidable, given the circumstances– as not only was Haku a poor melee fighter, while his opponent was a skilled one, but Kimimaro's bone swords easily destroyed Haku's ice blade.

"Your gift is wasted on such an unskilled individual," Kimimaro flatly stated as he delivered another brutal kick to the Ice Ninja's chest, sending him flying.

"Haku!" Karin cried. Her first instinct was to help him, but she couldn't do it while carrying Tenten.

While he was mid air, Haku made one last attempt to save his life and made several hand seals. Hopefully he would be fast enough.

"Ice Release: Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals!"

An ice mirror appeared under Haku, and he was absorbed into it. Another mirror appeared at the edge of the field of bones, allowing Haku to land in a safe zone. Or at least, what he thought it was a safe zone.

"Impressive. You're resourceful indeed," Kimimaro's voice said from behind.

Haku turned around, and saw the white haired teen emerging from one of the spike bones in the ground.

 _"He can use his bones to travel, like I do with the ice mirrors?"_ A surprised Haku thought, taking several step backwards.

A bone blade grew on Kimimaro's palm.

"Now," Kimimaro advanced menacingly towards Haku. "I'll make sure you you're properly incapacitated. Don't worry, I won't kill you. However, this won't be pleasant."

In such short distance, Haku knew that there was nothing he could do to defend himself. Tenten and Karin wouldn't arrive in time to help him, and even if they did, they would only delay the inevitable. This ninja was way too strong.

"Dance of the Camellia!"

The bone blade lunged at him. Haku involuntarily closed his eyes, waiting for the stab.

CLANG!

A metallic noise was something he wasn't expecting to hear. He opened his eyes, and saw a figure of a large man standing between him and Kimimaro. Said man was carrying a massive broadsword.

"Lay a finger on that kid, and I'll put you through so much pain that you'd consider hell a paradise," the man threatened, as he released untold amounts of killing intent.

"Zabuza-sama!" Haku cried in joy.

Zabuza was able to kick Kimimaro backwards, who was still a bit stupefied over the newcomer's arrival. Karin and Tenten landed behind him.

"Oh thank goodness, some help at last!" Karin squealed, just as happy as Haku.

"You did a good job keeping this guy at bay brats, but you're no longer needed. From now on, I'll take care of this," Zabuza stated as he slammed his sword into the ground.

"Are you sure, Zabuza-sama? This ninja's strength is unlike anything I've seen before. You may need our help," Haku objected.

"I'm sure. It will be easier to fight without having you brats getting in the way. Even then, I'm not much of a team fighter," Zabuza replied. "Now take those girls and go."

"As you say, Zabuza-sama," Haku agreed, before running towards Tenten and Karin.

"If you think I'm going to let you go..." Kimimaro stated as he moved to intercept the fleeing Haku. However, it was the Kaguya who was intercepted, being forced to jump backwards to avoid a swing from Zabuza's blade.

"I AM your opponent, in case I didn't made that clear," the former Demon of the Mist snarled. "You don't have time to waste on such distractions."

Haku reached Tenten and Karin, and the three of them left the scene, while Kimimaro had to watch, powerless to stop them.

 _"I let all of them get past me. Sorry Orochimaru-sama, I failed you. I hope my failure doesn't compromise the plan as a whole,"_ the last Kaguya sorrowfully thought. He then turned at Zabuza, and looked at him in subdued anger. "You will pay for that."

Zabuza snorted at the threat. "Somehow, I find that doubtful."

"I think I know you. You're Zabuza Momochi, the Swordsman of Kiri currently working for Konoha," Kimimaro observed.

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "I see you made your homework. Not that it will be of any help in the end, kid."

"Your profile of our Bingo Book states that you lack any kind of Bloodline Limit, hence Orochimaru won't have any use for you," Kimimaro flatly stated, then he eyed the Executioner's Sword. "Your sword, on the other hand, is something he'll appreciate."

"You want my sword?" Zabuza asked, before letting out a short laugh. "I'd say that you'll have to pry it from my cold, dead fingers, but trust me, we won't reach such situation."

"I see you like to boast a lot. Let's see if you can back those boasts up with actual power," Kimimaro stated as he dashed towards Zabuza.

…

Meanwhile, to the north, the rescuers' group, now reduced to less than a third of its original number, continued their way through a route that was familiar to half of its members.

"As expected, the kidnappers are heading to the Land of Sound," Naruto observed. "Where Orochimaru has his main base."

"Do you know where it is?" Sasuke asked. That would make things easier.

"No," it was Hinata who replied. "We fought against his forces here, but were unable to track where they came from."

"Itachi was part of the investigation team sent here after your mission in order to locate the base, but he was unsuccessful," Sasuke commented.

"Then...are we going to find something a team of elite ninja failed to?" Lee asked, a bit worried.

"Thankfully my hawk should have been able to do that by now," Sasuke replied. "Besides, I have the feeling that they want us to find their base. Or at least, they want Naruto."

"I was already aware that this could be a trap," Naruto replied, knowing what Sasuke was implying. "But what else could have I done? Most of the adults were busy defending Konoha. It had to be us. Or at least, me."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun, you won't have to this alone! You can always count on me to lend you a hand, and I'm sure that I speak for Hinata-san and Sasuke-san as well!" Lee energetically declared.

Naruto couldn't help but smile a little.

"The Valley of the End is ahead. We're getting close," Hinata told the others.

The foursome entered the valley, half of them for the first time, and the other half for the second. While it didn't make much of an impression on Hinata and Lee, it made Sasuke feel uneasy. Even if he was an enemy of Konoha, this was the place where the greatest of the Uchiha had fallen.

Sasuke was aware of his clan's history. While official history books depicted Madara as a power hungry monster that took badly being passed for the title of Hokage in favor of Hashirama, Sasuke knew that the truth was a bit more complex.

In the years leading to his defection, and subsequent attacks on the village, Madara was growing paranoid and disillusioned with both Konoha and the Senju Clan that ruled it. He even tried to stir the Uchiha into throwing a coup d'état back then, but none of his clansmen listened to him, waving off his warnings about the clan's dark future as the ravings of a madman.

It was tragic that eventually, the descendants of those Uchiha decided to follow Madara's posthumous advice. Then again, given the results, it was a good thing that the coup didn't happen earlier. Since Konoha was in its beginning stages, a civil war so soon would have torn the village apart.

 _"Is this the fate of the Uchiha?"_ Sasuke asked himself. _"To be consumed by hatred and lust for power that will lead us to our damnation?"_

Itachi and Shisui always talked about rebuilding the clan better than it ever was, without repeating the mistakes of the past. Even if it was a grim thought, the youngest Uchiha wondered if they were fighting against a force far beyond any human, no matter their power.

"Ugh!"

Sasuke was snapped of his thoughts by Naruto groaning, and clutching his stomach in pain.

"Naruto-kun! What happened? Are you okay?" a worried Hinata asked as she rushed to his side.

"It's the Nine Tails," Naruto replied, breathing heavily. "He hates this place. He hates it a lot."

"In that case, let's move faster," Sasuke suggested. "The last thing we need is the Kyubi going out of control."

Fortunately, the Valley was small, and soon they were out of it and into the Land of Sound. Naruto felt the Kyubi growing more relaxed as they left the place away.

 _"What's with you and that place, you fur ball?"_ Naruto mentally asked the Kyubi. However, he was met with silence.

"Look!" Hinata said, pointing upwards. "Up there!"

Everyone could see Sasuke's hawk flying in circles over a point far to the northwest from their position.

"The hawk has located the base," the Uchiha announced.

"In that case, we need to get there as soon as possible! Kami knows what those assholes will do to my siblings!" Naruto urged, growing more antsy and restless.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun, we'll be there before they can harm them in any way," Hinata reassured her boyfriend.

While Naruto and Hinata were focused on rescuing the Senju twins, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what kind of enemy was waiting for them at Orochimaru's hideout. Given that the leader of the kidnappers', that guy with the killing bones, was so insanely strong, he shivered upon having to fight against somebody even stronger.

He pushed those thoughts aside, realizing that letting fear consume him would be an ill advised course of action.

…

 _Undisclosed Location_

 _Raindrops fell upon Obito as he clutched Rin's inert body close to him._

 _"This...this is hell..." the boy cried._

 _Darkness and rain. It was a fitting image for Obito Uchiha, equating the darkness of his heart and the tears pouring from his eyes. He clutched the girl's corpse near him._

 _"Rin...Rin!"_

 _"Er...it might not be my place to tell," Guruguru, the imperfect Zetsu temporarily fused to his body, mentioned, startling the young Uchiha a bit. "But there's a chance that you might see Rin again."_

 _Obito stopped crying, and perked up his head._

 _"Really?" he asked, his voice dripping with desperation._

 _Just like Guruguru had expected._

 _"Yes, we can do something to make sure you see Rin again," Guruguru continued._

 _"What is it!? Come on, there's no time to waste!" Obito desperately pleaded._

 _"It's not that easy," Guruguru replied, much to Obito's dismay. "It's a long and hard procedure, that demands a lot of effort and resources. If we are to do this, it has to be under one condition."_

 _"Whatever! I'll do anything!" Obito cried._

 _"You must become a servant of Madara-sama, and do absolutely everything he says. There's no other way," Guruguru stated._

 _"Yes! Yes!" I'll do anything he wants! But please, help me save Rin!" Obito pleaded._

 _If Guruguru had a mouth, he would have smirked. Oh, Madara was going to be so pleased with this development._

 _"Alright then, listen closely, this is what we need to do first..."_

…

"Boss?"

Obito was a bit startled as Zetsu, who had emerged near him, called his name.

"Y-Yes?" he absentmindedly asked.

"The Hokage's children are here," Black Zetsu announced.

"What should we do with them?" the White half asked.

"Leave them in one of the base's cells. We'll deal with them later," Obito replied with a dismissive hand wave. "What about the jinchuriki?"

"He's on his way here. From what we could see, they managed to find the location of this lair," the White half answered.

"He will be here shortly," Black Zetsu added.

Obito smirked. "Good, we won't have to leave an obvious trail of breadcrumbs in order to lure him here," the Uchiha then put on his new mask, an orange one with an spiraling pattern. "In that case, let's prepare him the welcome he truly deserves."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Of course, none of the Konoha 15 are still on an appropriate level to defeat a healthy Kimimaro, so here comes Zabuza to save the day. I'm sure you'll enjoy their duel.**

 **So, we're getting close to the end of Part I, people! Just three more chapters besides this one to go! (which I have already written, by the way ;)) However, I should tell you that this story won't go into the Shippuden time frame after that. There will be one more arc (that I've been dying to write) that will take place between Parts I and II before we dive into Shippuden. It's an event that sadly took place offscreen in the original manga, but I think it deserves to be properly told.**

 **Also, you guys really don't want to miss next chapter, since you'll finally see what made Naruto and Sasuke fight each other, this time for real.**

 **Meanwhile, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	39. Senju Twins Retrieval, Part IV

**Author's Note: First of all, shout out to FireSharingan359, the first author who took on my "Shattered Team 7" challenge. Be sure to read his story "A Fool's Dedication", and leave a review to give him your support. You can find a link to his story in both my profile and favorites.**

 **Also...it's finally here. You wanted to know how Naruto and Sasuke ended up being enemies, and this chapter has the answer. I hope you find said answer, as well as the rest of the developments that take place enjoyable. And like usual, see you at the bottom notes. Now enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 39:**

Senju Twins Rescue Part IV

 _or_

 _The Curtain Falls_

…

Zabuza never thought that, during his stay in the Land of Fire, he'd run into and fight a fellow native of the Land of Water. The fact that he was from a clan believed to be extinct –albeit, for once, not due to the infamous Bloodline Purges– only added to his surprise, which he managed to keep carefully hidden thanks to his mental training.

But then again, if six years ago somebody told him that he'd be working for Konoha, he'd laugh in that person's face. Fate is indeed a fickle mistress.

"Let me guess, is that Orochimaru forcing you to work for him?" Zabuza asked.

Kimimaro visibly frowned, offended at such suggestion. "I serve Orochimaru-sama willingly. He gave my life a purpose, and I work for him in order to repay him. Unlike you, I'm not a slave."

The fact that he sounded a lot like Haku made Zabuza feel oddly uncomfortable.

"I'm not a slave either. This is just a temp job," Zabuza replied, trying to save face.

Kimimaro smirked a little, clearly amused. "Sure. Keep telling yourself that. Anyway, not that it's going to matter, given that you're going to meet your end here."

This time, it was Zabuza who smirked. "Do you really think that you can take on a Swordsman of the Hidden Mist, brat? You're strong, but you're way over your head."

"If that's the case, then let's check which one of the two is actually wrong," Kimimaro replied, as bone blades started to grow over several parts of his body. "Dance of the Willow!"

The Kaguya charged at Zabuza, who raised his sword defensively. Upon reaching hand to hand combat, Kimimaro launched an onslaught of swipes with his bone blades, as well as the occasional punch and kick, forcing Zabuza into the defensive. Still, that didn't last long, since Zabuza managed to jump back a bit, putting enough distance between himself and Kimimaro's attack, but still close enough for his Executioner's Blade to reach the white haired ninja.

Now, it was Kimimaro on the defensive as he parried and dodged Zabuza's vicious attacks. Despite the sword looked –and was– rather heavy, on Zabuza's hand it appeared as if it was made of light plastic. Still, the last Kaguya could feel all the weight of the massive sword whenever the parried one of its brutal blows.

"Still think you measure up to me?" Zabuza cockily asked, as he readied another sword slam.

This time, instead of parrying, Kimimaro gracefully moved sideways, and taking advantage of Zabuza's precarious position, he dashed towards him and sunk one of his bone blades on Zabuza's side. His makeshift weapon managed to pierce the Jonin's flak jacket as if it was made of wet paper.

"I think I'm way better than you," Kimimaro retorted, violently pulling out the blade from Zabuza's flesh.

But much to his shock, blood didn't come out of Zabuza's grievous wound, but water. Zabuza then smirked under his mask, before he turned into a puddle of water.

"A clone...?" Kimimaro lamely asked. "I've been fighting a clone the whole time?"

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A massive dragon-shaped water construct blocked the sun above the Oto ninja. It let out a distorted roar, before coming down at him. Kimimaro expertly jumped backwards dodging the lunge, but the dragon then exploded into a shapeless torrent of water rushing at him. Kimimaro continued running and dodging the water as good as he could..

A loud whirring sound alerted Kimimaro of the giant spinning sword flying at him like a deadly disc. At that speed, blocking it would be suicide, so he opted for dodging it. The blade passed besides him harmlessly, but that moment, Zabuza suddenly burst out of the water torrent, grabbed his sword and viciously assaulted Kimimaro.

"Water Release: Tsunami Sword!"

All of the water of Zabuza's previous jutsu started to gather around his Executioner's Blade, forming massive, thick watery cover. The swordsman then slammed his sword forward, releasing all that water once again in the form of a destructive giant wave, albeit this time it was focused in a single direction.

Kimimaro was unable to dodge it, and he was dragged away by the gigantic wall of water, before it slammed him down against the ground.

"Say, what do you think about my abilities now, brat?" an amused Zabuza asked as he calmly walked towards the downed Kimimaro, dragging his sword, leaving a shallow furrow behind. "Still think you can kill me and take my sword for that sick master of yours?"

Kimimaro didn't reply, and ignored Zabuza as he slowly started to get back on his feet.

"You can still move?" Zabuza asked, genuinely surprised. "Wow. Most people would have most of their bones broken after such a hit."

"If you aim to break my bones," Kimimaro slowly said. "Then you're doing a fool's errand. My bones I'm unbreakable."

"Not all that surprising, given your abilities," Zabuza conceded. "However, just because your bones are unbreakable, doesn't mean that the rest of you are. The human body has plenty of spots that guarantee an instant kill."

"I admit that you're way stronger than I had guessed," Kimimaro replied. "But you're not strong enough to defeat me. I'll make sure to enjoy this. An opponent that forces me to go all out is something I don't see every day."

Kimimaro's marks around his body started to glow as if they were made of fire, and they started to spread to the rest of his skin. His skin went from pale white to grayish brown. His hair grew longer, and huge bone spikes started to grow across his back. He also grew a large bone spiked tail, which gave him a somewhat reptilian appearance. His eyes turned yellow with black sclera, and two curved black marking appeared under his eye.

"Behold the full power of Orochimaru-sama's Cursed Seal of Earth, one of his two most powerful cursed seals, only given to the best of his servants," Kimimaro announced, as he spread his arms.

Zabuza frowned in disgust. "You disappoint me, brat. You are strong, very strong for your age. Yet instead of becoming more powerful on your own, you borrow power from others. I'm afraid to say you've already lost."

"Your logic is flawed. Power is still power, no matter where it comes from," Kimimaro retorted. "I exist to carry out Orochimaru-sama's will, and I'll use any tool that makes that job possible."

Zabuza smirked. "Of course, somebody whose entire purpose in life is to serve another would think that. Let me show you then the power of the future Mizukage!"

Zabuza and Kimimaro rushed towards each other, ready to go all out, and show who's truly the strongest.

…

Much further to the north, in the Land of Sound, Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke and Lee were deep into enemy territory, jumping from one tree to another, until they saw an expanse a few hundred meters in their general direction. Coming out of the forest into the vast green expanse, the four ninja noticed what appeared to be a small town not far from their position.

A town that was rather familiar to half of the group members.

"Hey, Naruto-kun, isn't that...?" Hinata asked.

"Sawa Town? Yeah, I believe so," Naruto replied before Hinata could finish her question.

"You know that place?" Lee asked.

Hinata nodded. "It was our first C-Rank mission. We had to protect that town from bandits. However, turns out said bandits worked for Orochimaru, and soon we found ourselves fighting something far greater than we could deal with."

"Kinda like now, if you think about it," Naruto sourly added.

"However...the town appears to be deserted," Sasuke noted, as he looked around.

"It is. The town was the last remnant of the old Land of the Rice Fields," Hinata continued her explanation. "We were forced to evacuate their villagers and escort them to the Land of Fire before Orochimaru's forces could attack."

"We barely made it out of there in one piece. Even with the Tactical Squad's help, if we took a little longer to reach the border and meet Konoha's reinforcements..." Naruto shuddered upon recalling that memory. "I don't want to imagine what could have happened."

"Yet here we are, diving into enemy territory, with no chances of reinforcements," Lee observed. Albeit he sounded as his usual excited self, as opposed to somebody more prone to worry.

"All of Orochimaru's forces are fighting in Konoha. Honestly, I doubt we'll face that much resistance," Naruto replied.

"Still, it would be wise to be prepared. I'm sure that Orochimaru left somebody to guard your siblings once they're delivered to his lair," Hinata wisely told him.

"Whoever are the poor bastards who were tasked with such job, I'll make them regret accepting it," Naruto darkly replied.

When they reached the town, the group took a couple seconds to take a look at it. The town didn't look any different to Naruto and Hinata than when they were there for the first time, even if some signs of being abandoned for some time were present. The silence of the zone did nothing but contribute to the already eerie atmosphere.

"Hinata," Sasuke called her. "Some of Orochimaru's men could use this place as a base, or at least a place to rest."

Despite the statement tone, Hinata caught the implicit question, and shook her head in negation.

"With the exception of some small animals, the town is completely deserted," the Hyuga heiress replied. "Either that, or Orochimaru's men found a way to fool the Byakugan."

Despite the probabilities of such thing happening, it was still a distressing thought for the young Hyuga, as well as for pretty much her whole clan.

Sasuke's hawk was still flying in circles above what appeared to be a thick forest zone. Of course, Orochimaru's lair would take advantage of that in order to remain hidden. They had thought that maybe Orochimaru could have occupied the capital. Thankfully it wasn't the case, since such city was located much farther.

The return to the forest was a welcomed change, mostly since they could now leap from one branch to another and increase their travel speed significantly. And even if the lush trees covered the skies almost completely, preventing the Konoha ninja from seeing the hawk, they knew in which direction the bird was. Plus only the boys had this problem, as Hinata could still see the bird.

Unfortunately for Hinata, her earliest fears were about to come true. While so far it was impossible for an actual person to become invisible to the Byakugan, it was possible to make seals that would hide certain objects from its gaze –something Jiraiya had already did many years in the past, but kept it a secret–. Such as explosive tags. And unbeknown to them, they entered a zone that was covered in them, with added seals to make them pretty much undetectable.

The zone was also covered in pressure seals connected to the explosives, and the moment Naruto unwittingly stepped on one of them, the group was surrounded, and almost engulfed, by deafening explosions. Naruto and Sasuke, who were heading the group, where launched high into the air in the direction they were heading, while Hinata and Lee were hurled backwards. A mighty tree painfully stopped them.

Even if the hit blurred her vision a bit, Hinata's Byakugan spotted four figures entering the scene. And adult, and three young teens. Four people she had already met once, one of them multiple times in Konoha.

"Well, well, look who's back in our turf," a muffled male voice stated.

"It seems that they didn't learn their lesson the first time," a haughty female voice added.

"Then let's make sure there won't be a 'next time'," another clearer, male voice said.

The Sound Genin Hinata and her team had fought during their first C-Rank mission was before her and Lee. Mizuki was standing behind them, smirking evilly at the two Konoha ninja. Behind them, there was a barrier of rocks and felled trees formed by the explosion, with Naruto and Sasuke at the other side.

"HINATA! LEE!" Naruto yelled.

"I'm okay!" Hinata shouted back, even if in reality the explosion had left her a bit shaken. "Continue with the mission! Save your siblings!"

"We will be okay!" Lee added, sounding as positive as ever.

After a few moments of hesitation, the two male Konoha Chunin decided to continue on their own, leaving Hinata and Lee alone with this new threat.

"So sweet, offering to stay behind so the Jinchuriki can save those brats. So Konoha of you," Mizuki said in a mocking tone. He then slipped into a battle stance as he grabbed the Fuma Shuriken from his back. "Too bad it won't do you any good!"

"Mizuki-sensei?" Lee asked in shock.

The white haired ninja looked at Lee, and raised an eyebrow. "Do I know you? Wait, were you one of my students? Oh well, it doesn't matter."

"So it's true that you defected to Orochimaru's side," Lee continued. "Your flames of youth had to be barely embers to do such a despicable action."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm a traitor and all that, can we skip that part this time? It becomes tiresome after a while," Mizuki flatly replied as he rolled his eyes.

The Sound Genin prepared to attack.

"Hinata, you're the Chunin. What do we do?" Lee asked, looking at the bluenette from the corner of his eye.

It was rather jarring for Hinata to realize that she was in command now, even if they were just two of them. But still, Lee had a point. She was the Chunin, and thus she had to lead them to victory. She ran multiple scenarios through her mind, until she found one with the highest chances of success. Unfortunately, it forced her to make a decision that could haunt her for the rest of her life if things didn't turn out as planned.

"Lee-san, I want you to fight Mizuki. I'll deal with these three," Hinata whispered him.

Lee turned at her incredulous, but ready to comply if necessary. "Are you sure? Mizuki used to be a Chunin back in Konoha, and 'm still a Genin."

"I know you're unsure, but I need you to keep distracted while I deal with the others. I already fought against them before, and know what I have to do to defeat them," Hinata insisted.

Fortunately, Lee nodded. "Very well then, I'll do as you say!"

The green clad ninja dashed towards the group of enemies. Zaku cast his palms forward.

"Decapitating Air Waves!"

The spiky haired Oto Genin shot two powerful streams of pressured air and sound waves through the orifices in his palms at Lee. The Konoha Genin merely leaped above them, gracefully landing behind Mizuki. Before the traitor could turn back, Lee delivered a painful kick to the sides, sending him flying.

"Sensei!" Kin called.

"Kin, watch out!" Dosu called.

The three of them saw Hinata dashing towards them, her palms crackling with electricity. She thrust her palm at Zaku, however, both he and his teammates managed to jump back in time, and Hinata ended up striking the ground with such power it created a crater.

"Whoa!" said Zaku in awe. "If I let that girl hit me..."

"I don't remember her being that strong when we first fought her," Kin lamented.

Their comments fueled Hinata's confidence, who, in an uncharacteristic display, allowed herself to smirk.

"I trained a lot since the first time we fought. I faced enemies way stronger than any of you, helping me to improve in a way I couldn't think it would be possible," Hinata told the trio.

Dosu frowned. Or at least, Hinata thought he did, it was hard to tell with all those bandages. "And you think we spend our time sitting on a couch doing nothing? You'll see now! Underground Sound blast!"

Dosu slammed both palms into the ground, sending sound waves that tore the ground apart, forming large cracks, and shooting small but sharp rocks and pebbles into the air.

"Ow!" Hinata yelped as she tried to dodge all the tiny but painful projectiles coming from below.

"My turn!" Kin stated, now a bit more confident, pulling several senbon on each hand. "Catch these!"

The black haired girl tossed the needles at Hinata, who got ready to deflect them with the Gentle fist. However, while she was busy doing so, Zaku aimed his open palms at the Hyuga Heiress and prepared to attack.

"Decapitating Air Bullets!"

Zaku fired a quick barrage of compressed air projectiles, similar to the Vacuum Palm's vacuum shells, which Hinata was forced to run in order to avoid, since she knew such thing would be impossible to block.

 _"They're cornering me. Even if I'm at a disadvantage here, I need to attack, not just defend!"_ Hinata inwardly told herself. She eyed her opponents. " _The bandaged boy seems to be the only melee specialist. If I can bypass him, then the other two shouldn't be hard to deal with."_

Hinata's attack plans where disturbed when an array of senbon appeared out of nowhere and flied at her. The bluenette yelped and jumped backwards, trying to avoid them. One stabbed into her arm, while another was stopped by her flak jacket.

"Do you like my Echo Needle Attack?" Kin asked. "I created that jutsu myself. It would be very careless of me if I only relied on genjutsu, right?"

Hinata pulled out the senbon from her arm, and quickly healed the wound. _"So, like multiplying tools with the shadow clone jutsu, but with a delayed effect to catch the opponent off guard. I need to remember that,"_ Hinata thought.

"I admit it is sort of impressive," Hinata agreed, as she stared defiantly at the three of them. "You three did grow stronger since the last time we fought."

"But I have the feeling you're not admitting defeat, are you?" Dosu guessed, before letting out a chuckle.

Hinata returned Dosu's chuckle with one of her own. "I didn't go this far by giving up. Vacuum Wall Palm!"

Thrusting both hands forward, Hinata projected a massive vacuum shell at the Oto genin, wrecking the ground below as it traveled. Zaku stepped forward, eager to met the attack head on. His mouth formed a smirk of superiority as he raised his hands forward once more.

"You think you impress us? That's nothing!" Zaku scoffed. "Decapitating Air Waves!"

Two streams of pressured air flowed through Zaku's hands once again, successfully slowing the vacuum shell to a halt, pushing back and forth with the Oto ninja's attack. Eventually the energy gathered by the clash reached critical point, and was released in the form of a respectable explosion of chakra and wind, raising clouds of dust that momentarily blinded the trio, forcing them to stand back to back in order to avoid being blindsided.

However, that moment was enough for Hinata to vanish from the trio's sights.

"Where did she go?" Kin asked, nervously looking around.

"She couldn't have gone too far," Dosu calmly guessed.

And indeed, Dosu's guess proved to be correct, since Hinata was much closer to them than what they imagined. Crackling electricity alerted them of a presence behind the three of them, but by that time it was too late.

"Lightning Release: Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two Thunder strikes!" Hinata began a series of lightning-enhanced palm strikes against her opponents. "Two Strikes! Four Strikes! Eight Strikes! Sixteen...!"

"Sonic Boom!"

Dosu slammed his two Melody Gauntlets together, creating a sonic explosion at point blank at Hinata. Zaku and Kin were also caught in the area of effect, but they weren't as harmed.

"Ow..." Zaku groaned, as he grabbed his head, while trying to fight the thankfully brief dizziness. "You could have warn us before doing that."

"We can't let a single opponent, much less a Konoha ninja, best us! So you better stop fooling around and put her in her place. Otherwise, we won't prove Orochimaru-sama of being worthy of his power!"

Hinata had also recovered, in no small part thanks to her healing abilities.

 _"That attack was sure something. I'm still having trouble finding balance. But that confirmed my suspicions that the bandaged kid is the melee specialist,"_ Hinata thought. _"Okay, let's show this guys why I'm a Chunin..."_

At the same time, while Hinata was facing the Sound Genin, Lee was fighting their sensei. Just as Hinata had gauged, his abilities were nothing Rock Lee couldn't handle without his weights on. Even if Mizuki's taijutsu, ninjutsu and skill with weapons was that of an average Chunin, Lee's taijutsu was beyond average. And in this word, is better to do one thing extremely well than do many things at a mediocre level.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Lee's foot connected with Mizuki's shoulder for the third time in less than two minutes, sending the former teacher flying. What Mizuki thought would be easy picking was being far more challenging than he expected.

"You're pushing my patience brat..." Mizuki growled, as he stood back on his feet for the third time.

Lee, however, remained impassible, much to the former teacher's chagrin. The fact that he only used taijutsu enraged him even more.

"Take this then!" Mizuki quickly formed several hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"

The head of a dragon made of earth and stone emerged from the ground. It opened its jaws, releasing multiple projectiles of compressed earth and dirt. However, much to Mizuki's shock, rather dodging them or using some jutsu to counter them, Lee started to punch and kick them, shattering them in the process.

"This is similar to an exercise Gai-sensei made us do," Lee casually explained. "Albeit he used a machine that shot rubber balls."

Burning in anger, Mizuki dashed at Lee, Fuma Shuriken in hand. "You think you can humiliate me by fighting with nothing but taijutsu? I'll show you!"

Mizuki's Fuma Shuriken was covered in flames the moment the white haired ninja tossed it, turning into a fiery disk of death. Lee's legs prepare to jump above it, but Mizuki wasn't done yet. He did several hand seals.

"Shadow Clone Fire Shuriken Jutsu!"

In an instant, Lee found himself from facing a single disc of fire, to facing dozens of them, flying at different heights. Jumping was not an option. Instead, Lee decided to do something that would have him deemed a madman by his peers, but would have made his sensei unbelievably proud.

Much to Mizuki's shock, Lee rushed towards the flaming shuriken. Displaying an astonishing speed, agility and reflexes, the green clad ninja expertly dodged all of the flaming shuriken that flied close to him. His speed wasn't perfect, and sometimes they grazed his clothes and his skin, but aside from a minor burn, no damage was done.

"H-How...?" Mizuki mumbled, before he was snapped out of his trance by a painful punch to the face, making him lose balance and stumble back. He regained his senses soon after that. "HOW!? WHY!? Why you don't use ninjutsu to fight me!? Are you so arrogant to believe that you can defeat me with taijutsu alone?"

"I'm unable to use ninjutsu nor genjutsu, so taijutsu is the only fighting art I can use," Lee calmly explained. "And even if it's not my intention to sound arrogant, so far I'm not doing that bad against you with taijutsu alone."

Mizuki snarled, before a memory dawned upon him. "Wait, I remember you! You're that freak who wanted to be a ninja despite not being able to use ninjutsu! You're Rock Lee!"

"You remember my name? I'm honestly surprised," Lee stoically replied.

"How could I forget such a failure like you? Somebody that can't use ninjutsu, or at least genjutsu is not meant to be a ninja. But judging by your forehead protector, you somehow managed to pass," Mizuki shook her head in disappointment. "So this is what Konoha became now. You guys give me every day more reasons to make me feel glad I decided to defect. Anyway, once Orochimaru-sama's plans come to fruition, Konoha will stop shaming the ninja world with its existence."

"Somehow, I find that as doubtful as you defeating me," Lee replied.

"You think I can't defeat you?" Mizuki laughed. "Oh, please! I've been only using a fraction of my power, but now," as Mizuki spoke, his body started to change. He grew bigger and more muscular, his skin turned maroon, his hair grew longer, his eyes turned yellow with black sclera, a pair of bone blades grew from the back of his hands, and two additional arms ended in sickle-like blades grew from his back. "THIS is the power of Orochimaru-sama! The power that he bestowed me!"

"And you're proud of a power that you didn't earn, that somebody just handed it to you?" Lee replied, slightly disappointed. "I'm not surprised that you don't believe I could become a ninja with taijutsu alone, if you disregard effort and hard work so easily. Now I will prove that my hard work will trump any borrowed power!"

Mizuki shook his head with a tsk-tsk, and chuckled.

"You're really deluded if you think you can defeat me like this. But I will be more than happy to give you a reality check. Get ready for the worst beating of your life!" Mizuki roared as he charged forward.

…

South of there, back in the grass expanse besides the lake, Zabuza and Kimimaro continued their duel, with neither of them gaining the upper hand over the other. Still, the power boost granted by the cursed seal was notable.

"Drilling Bullets!"

Kimimaro fired ten bony projectiles from each of his fingertips at Zabuza. The swordsman merely blocked them with his sword, ricocheting them into different directions. Then, he made several hand seals with a single hand, as his other hand was gripping the Executioner's Blade.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Another large dragon made of water rose from the nearby lake. It let out a roar before diving at Kimimaro. The Kaguya ninja tried to outrun it, but was too slow and the dragon engulfed him, before it turned into a shapeless torrent that dragged him away.

Or that's what Zabuza thought, since when the water receded, a heaving Kimimaro wasn't that far from his initial position, heaving and spitting some water. He had grew two bone spikes from his palms, and used them to anchor himself to the ground, thus preventing the water from dragging him away and slamming him against a hard surface.

 _"This time, he didn't even tried to dodge it,"_ Zabuza thought. " _While the cursed seal increased his strength as evidenced by his bigger muscles and stronger physical blows, it cut his speed. I need to take advantage of that."_

"One handed seals. Not many people are able to do them," Kimimaro praised the swordsman, while keeping a neutral tone.

"Given my fighting style, it is pretty much a need," Zabuza replied, sneering a little. Noticing Kimimaro's slight exhaustion, he added: "You look tired. Why don't you make both our days easier and give up?"

"Never," was his answer. "Especially not since I didn't even use my best moves."

Zabuza chuckled under his mask. "Then go ahead, kid. See if you can impress me."

"Dance of the Clematis: Vine."

Kimimaro then proceeded not to impress as more to revolt Zabuza when the white haired teen pulled his own spinal cord out of his body. Zabuza guessed he re-grew a new one in the process, given that he was still standing.

"As you can see, I'm no stranger to swords either," Kimimaro mentioned, as he swung his extracted spinal cord as if it were a weapon, akin to a mix between a sword and a whip. "Shall we duel?"

Earlier that day, another person challenged Zabuza to a sword duel, and the Demon of the Hidden Mist ended up humiliated. He wouldn't allow such thing to happen a second time in a row. Gripping it tightly, he raised his sword and frowned.

"I'll make sure you regret those words," Zabuza coldly stated.

Both ninja dashed towards each other, meeting in the middle, a loud metallic noise resulting of their weapons clashing. Given that both of them used rather lengthy swords, it was very easy to parry and block the other's strike, and naturally very hard to land a hit on the opponent. At least, not without relying on something other than a sword. Zabuza made a hand seal.

"Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"

Four blobs of water jumped out of the lake into the ground, and they took the form and shape of Zabuza, sword included. The clones then rushed to aid their creator.

This new threat forced Kimimaro to disengage Zabuza and face the clones. With a swing of his spinal cord sword, the Oto ninja easily destroyed one of the clones when it reached close combat distance, soaking Kimimaro completely. Undeterred, he proceeded to fight the other three.

"Given that you're relying on ninjutsu, I take that you admit I'm the best swordsman?" Kimimaro asked.

Zabuza, however, wasn't going to fall for such an obvious taunt. "Don't make me laugh. We're ninja, and as such, we use every resource available to win. If you expected me to do otherwise, then you're a bigger fool than I thought. The best swordsman will be the one who walks out of this fight alive, simple as that."

"Very well then," Kimimaro stoically replied, as suddenly multiple long spikes grew from different sides from his body, impaling the clones.

Kimimaro engaged Zabuza once more, but besides his makeshift weapon, he also used his body spikes to attack Zabuza, which would increase or decrease their length and sharpness whenever they were close or far from the former Kirigakure ninja. Such an increase of offensive power forced Zabuza to fight defensively, much to his chagrin.

Then, Kimimaro jumped backwards and made a swinging motion. The gaps between the vertebrae became bigger, increasing the length and the flexibility of the extracted spinal cord, turning it into something closer to a whip. Zabuza instinctively raised his sword to protect himself, and the chord wrapped itself around the sword. Zabuza and Kimimaro started to pull back and forth, until Kimimaro's superior strength won the struggle, and Zabuza's sword was yanked from his fingers, and tossed it into the nearby lake.

"What's a swordsman without a sword?" Kimimaro mockingly asked before he made the same movement, binding Zabuza. "I'll tell you, a corpse."

"SHIT!" Zabuza yelled as he tried to break free. But both the bones and the cartilage holding them together were very strong, and with his arms pinned against his body, he couldn't use all his strength.

"Now, time to finish this," Kimimaro extended his free arm. "Dance of the Clematis: Flower."

Much to Zabuza's horror, a massive drill made of bone formed around Kimimaro's hand. The bone construct appeared to be very hard and sharp. He didn't need to imagine what Kimimaro was planning to do. Kimimaro pulled Zabuza towards him while charging forward.

"NOW DIE!"

In the last second, Kimimaro could see how Zabuza's horrified expression morphed into one of confidence and mockery. Before the giant drill could impale him, Zabuza jumped and landed on top of it. Kimimaro's arm couldn't support so much weight, and dropped on one knee as the additional load pulled him down. Zabuza violently kicked Kimimaro in the face, forcing him to drop the spinal cord sword, and thus releasing Zabuza, who jumped backwards. Kimimaro quickly detached the giant bone drill and picked up the spinal cord sword as he got back on his feet.

"You're strong, kid. Very strong. Against another opponent, even one as skilled and strong as I am, you would have won. But your fate had already been decided," Zabuza claimed.

"What are you talking about? Sure, you avoided the killing blow, but you're no closer to defeating me than you were at the beginning of our fight," Kimimaro defiantly replied as he slipped once again into a fighting stance.

"You think so? Then you really need to check your current state, kid," Zabuza pointed out. "You said that you don't use that transformation against many people, and boy, it shows. It gives you quite the strength boost, but what you gain in physical power you lose it in speed. Something you could have remedied with enough training. And while your overall chakra is also boosted, the seal accelerates its consumption rate. As a result, you're both tired and almost out of chakra."

"You underestimate me," Kimimaro replied, not too happy.

"Am I? Those last attacks you used looked to have a hefty chakra cost. And that's not even counting all the chakra you spent fighting those three brats." Zabuza shook his head. "I'm not as arrogant as to think that you are my equal, even my superior, when it comes to raw power. But you have plenty of glaring weaknesses, and as the fool you are, you let me exploit them all with you none the wiser. That's why I told you no amount of borrowed power could match my skill, intelligence and experience."

"If you're so confident about your chances, why don't you try to beat me then?" Kimimaro asked.

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "It will be a pleasure."

In less than a second, Zabuza was in front of Kimimaro. The Oto ninja tried to raise his makeshift weapon to defend himself, but was too slow, and Zabuza delivered a quick punch to the gut, and another kick to the face that sent him flying into the lake. Zabuza immediately followed him as he made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu!"

Before he could realize what happened, Kimimaro found himself trapped in a sphere of water, deprived of oxygen. He banged the wall of the sphere trying to break free, but it was as hard as steel.

"Your bones might be unbreakable, but I'm one hundred percent sure you'll die if I keep you enough time from breathing," Zabuza stated, his words arriving distorted but still understandable to the trapped Kimimaro, who continued to furiously pound against the water sphere. "The average person can last around four to five minutes deprived of oxygen. But given your pointless attempts to break free, I'll give you three minutes tops. Anyway, just to be sure, I'll keep you here for ten minutes," Zabuza shook his head in disappointment. "Such a waste of power and potential. If I only got my hands on your before that snake did...between you and Haku, I would have my work cut out for."

Kimimaro didn't heed Zabuza's warning, and continued to bang his fists against the water prison. The horrifying realization of his impending demise dawned upon him.

 _"It's...it's useless. He's right...I'm too tired, and have very little chakra..."_ Kimimaro thought, before another realization renewed his strengths. _"NO! I can't die here! Not against this opponent! I'm Orochimaru-sama's strongest fighter! I can't deprive him of my service! I can't disappoint him!"_ Kimimaro desperately thought.

Kimimaro prepared for his last, desperate move. Zabuza started to notice that the water prison was becoming more and more unstable.

 _"What the...? The brat is gathering his chakra for one more attack...this is bad!"_ Zabuza removed his arm, undoing the water prison, a second before Kimimaro unleashed his remaining power.

A deafening cry rang across the land, scaring nearby animals into hiding, before Kimimaro exploded into a growing mass of shapeless bone spikes. Zabuza moved as fast as his body allowed in order to hide from the chaotic attack, and thankfully was fast enough to keep the distance until it ended.

"Idiot...that almost got me," Zabuza grumbled as he watched the sinking bone structure from the lake's shore. "Anyway, better retrieve my sword and see that those brats don't get themselves killed..."

However, unbeknown to Zabuza, Kimimaro didn't die. As his Bloodline Limit also allowed to merge with the bones he created, he used it as a way to escape the swordsman. Exhausted and with almost no chakra, he had reverted to his original form.

"I won't fail Orochimaru-sama..." he said as he climbed out of the water, gasping for air. "I won't fail..."

…

Back to the forests of the Land of Sound, Hinata continued her disadvantaged fight against the three Oto Genin.

"Decapitating Air Waves!"

Zaku once again shot his twin streams of pressured air at the Hyuga heiress, who dodged them with graceful agility, all while she pulled a few shuriken and tossed them at the spiky haired Genin. Dosu quickly intercepted the steel stars and swatted them away with his melody gauntlets.

Meanwhile, Kin pulled a couple kunai and tried to attack Hinata from behind, but the bluenette moved aside just in the nick of time, and delivered a painful palm strike to the black haired girl's abdomen.

"The hell? How did she know I was behind her?" Kin indignantly asked.

"She's an Hyuga. Her eye power allows her to see in every direction around her at the same time," Dosu explained. "Ambushes won't work on her."

"I've seen you've done your homework," Hinata mentioned.

"Then we will attack her from different sides! Even if she can see our attacks coming, she won't be able to stop all of them!" Zaku stated.

Dosu and Kin nodded, and the three Genin spread out to surround Hinata as they prepared to attack. Hinata made several hand seals and covered her body in electricity.

"Resonating Echo Drill!"

"Decapitating Airwaves!"

"Shadow Clone Senbon Jutsu!"

Hinata started to spin as destructive sound waves, pressured air streams and multiple steel needles flied at her.

"Lightning Release: Heavenly Thunderstorm!"

The blue haired Hyuga turned into a tornado of lightning that not only repelled the three attacks aimed at her, but it blasted her three attackers with lightning discharges, pushing them backwards. When Hinata stopped spinning, there was a large crater around her.

"What...what was that?" Dosu asked, incredulous, as he tried to stand back. Of the trio, he was the only one still conscious.

"That was my power. The power I developed after the first time we fought, with my hard work and determination," Hinata replied.

"You...Orochimaru-sama promised us power, but you...how can somebody become so strong so fast?..." Dosu stammered.

"Orochimaru can only promise you death," Hinata replied. "Don't you see? I don't know what your history is or what events led you to serve him, but you don't matter to him, except as disposable pawns and guinea pigs."

"No...that...can't be true..." Dosu unsure replied as Hinata walked towards him.

"If it was true, I alone couldn't have defeated you," Hinata said, before delivering a chopping strike to the bandaged ninja's neck, knocking him out cold.

…

At the same time Hinata fought the Sound Genin, Lee was fighting their master.

"Fire Release: Cursed Flame Destruction!"

Mizuki breathed a wave of blue fire at Lee, who managed to dodge it at a break-necking speed. The green clad Genin quickly reached hand to hand distance, and he engaged his former teacher in a rather short lived martial arts duel, which ended up with Mizuki on the ground once again.

"That cursed seal give you a boost. But it's still not enough to defeat me," Lee stated.

"How...why are you so strong? How can a kid that can't use ninjutsu be that powerful?" Mizuki asked in disbelief.

"Easy. Hard work," was Lee's answer.

"Hard work!? Do you expect me to me believe you got that power on hard work alone!? Do you think I'm stupid?" Mizuki spitefully growled.

Lee merely shrugged. "It's not surprising that you find my claims unbelievable, given your eagerness to take shortcuts to power, such as that cursed seal," Lee pointed out. "Most people tend to underestimate how long can you go if you work hard and push yourself to your limits on a regular basis."

"LIES! Nobody can become so strong by simply trying hard!" Mizuki spat back as he charged at Lee. "If it was that easy, every ninja would be as strong as Orochimaru-sama!"

Lee effortlessly dodged the charge and kicked him in the back.

"Who said it was easy?" Lee retorted. "From an outsider's perspective, it might look like it. But trust me, it's not. You have no idea what I had to do to become what I am today. How much I had to sweat, to bleed, to cry. But I don't regret any of that, because the pay off speaks for itself."

"Nonsense! People are either born strong or weak, and the latter can't change their status by themselves!" Mizuki protested as he threw a punch. "Especially if you're held back by others, like Konoha did with me!"

"Oh, I see it now," Lee said in realization, as he easily blocked the punch. "You were weak, but instead of trying to improve yourself with hard work, you shifted the blame to Konoha, and tried everything you could to gain power. Everything except tackling the actual problem. That's why you will never defeat me, no matter how much of a failure you think I am."

"SHUT UP!"

Once again, Mizuki lunged at Lee and tried to impale him with the sickles of his additional arms. Lee ducked in time and kicked Mizuki in the face while crouching, sending him up into the air.

"Gate of Opening: Open!"

Surrounded by a green aura, Lee shot upwards, catching the still flying Mizuki from behind, before both of them started to spin as Lee pile-drove Mizuki into the ground.

"FRONT LOTUS!"

Mizuki hit the ground headfirst with a loud crash, while Lee managed to jump out in the nick of time and land safely on his feet. While not lethal, the attack was strong enough to knock Mizuki out cold, who also reverted to his original form.

"Lee-kun?" Hinata's voice asked.

Lee turned around and saw Hinata walking towards him. Behind her, he could see the unconscious Sound Genin tied to a tree.

"Ah, Hinata-san, I see you defeated your opponents as well!" Lee pointed out. "And you were right, my flames of youth were more than enough to defeat our former teacher! I will never doubt your decisions ever again!"

Hinata smiled at him. "It's okay to doubt sometimes, Lee," she then grew serious again. "We should try to catch Naruto-kun. But we can't leave these people here unsupervised."

"I can see that you're eager to reunite and help Naruto-kun," Lee observed. "Go then! I'll stay here and watch over the prisoners!"

Hinata smiled once more, nodded, and headed towards Orochimaru's lair. She hoped she could find it on her own.

 _"Hold on, Naruto-kun, I'll be with you shortly!"_ Hinata thought.

…

While Zabuza fought against Kimimaro and Hinata and Lee fought against Mizuki and the Sound Genin, Naruto and Sasuke, the last two remaining members of the original rescue force, approached the entrance to Orochimaru's main base.

Sasuke's hawk had told them that it was located between two large oaks. It even showed them the actual spot. But all that they could see were a bunch of large rocks, with some bushes growing between them. Both of them reached the conclusion that there was a powerful genjutsu covering the entrance.

"Sharingan!"

Sasuke's Bloodline Limit flared to life, and with his enhanced vision, the youngest Uchiha could see a distortion between the large oaks. He made a hand seal, and released a small pulse of chakra in every direction. The effect was instant, and the illusion was dispelled, revealing the entrance to Orochimaru's lair: a simple set of stone stairs that headed underground.

"There it is," Sasuke pointed out.

"Should I send a clone to check if there are traps?" Naruto asked. Sasuke nodded, and Naruto made his most used hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A single clone popped into existence and went downstairs. After a few very tense minutes, the clone dispelled himself, sending his memories back to Naruto.

"No traps. It's safe to go down," Naruto informed Sasuke.

The two of them followed the same path the clone had walked before. However, much to their horror, the moment they reached the end of the flight of stairs, large stone slabs raised from the other end of the stairs, blocking the entrance completely, darkening the instance.

"The hell? How did the clone didn't spring that trap?" Naruto protested.

"It isn't obvious? They're watching us," Sasuke replied. "They knew we send a clone to scout, and when the real us entered, they activated the closing mechanism manually."

"Then there's no point in sending more clones to scout," Naruto concluded. "Come on, let's see if we can find my siblings. I'm sure we can force our way out of this underground lair."

"With the invasion going on, there should barely be any ninja manning this hideout, so I don't think we'll find much of a resistance," Sasuke observed. He was confident that both his and Naruto's strength would be enough to face any potential foe there.

How wrong he was.

They traversed a long but narrow hallway with multiple doors leading to what appeared to be rooms. All the rooms were inspected in hopes of finding the missing children, but to no avail. They both deduced that Orochimaru's grunts lived there. However, besides a bed and a small, empty wardrobe, there was nothing, as if they were abandoned.

After fruitlessly searching the last room, the two young Chunin exited the hallway, and entered a massive chamber illuminated by a multitude of torches. Massive stone statues of snakes oversaw the area. There were a few doors that lead into deeper parts of the hideout.

"Alright, this place is too big for just two people to search, so I better create an army of-" Naruto was about to suggest before being interrupted.

"So, you finally arrived," a voice said out of nowhere. Both Konoha ninja immediately tensed up and slipped into a combat stance. "Congratulations you two. I'm sure the path wasn't easy, was it?"

Before any of them could have a chance to ask who was there, a spiraling vortex appeared in the middle of the chamber, and a masked man wearing the Akatsuki cloak came out of it.

"However, your trip ends here," the Akatsuki menacingly said.

It took Naruto and Sasuke less than a second to know who that man was. They both knew that, according to official reports, Tsunade had fought against a hooded Akatsuki that wore an orange mask with a single eye hole on it. Said man claimed that he was after the Nine Tails, that he was responsible for the attack thirteen years ago that resulted in many deaths, Minato and Kushina among them, and freely admitted manipulating the Uchiha Clan into pulling the coup d'état, resulting in the deaths of most of Sasuke's family.

His name was Tobi. Yes, this man was responsible for two of the greatest calamities that ever happened to Konoha, which resulted in the loss of some of their closest relatives, parents included.

"YOU!" Sasuke roared as he dashed forward, unsheathing his katana. "YOU'RE DEAD!"

"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto shouted as he followed him.

Sasuke tried to stab Tobi, but the masked Akatsuki unsheathed his own sword as well and expertly deflected Sasuke's stab before kicking the Uchiha in the chest, knocking him on his back. Naruto suddenly appeared behind Tobi, ready to slash his back with his chakra blade, but Tobi swiftly sidestepped, avoiding the slash, before kicking the wide open Naruto in the face.

"Ugh..." Naruto groaned as he stood up. He rubbed his chin in pain. "Sasuke, remember that this man can turn intangible! According to mom, one of us should strike him while he's attacking the other!"

Sasuke didn't reply. He merely stood up, and shot Tobi a murderous glare.

Tobi chuckled, visibly amused. "Don't worry kids. You two are so below my level that I'm not going to resort to that."

This made the already angry Sasuke to be consumed by rage. He quickly made several hand seals as he tightly gripped his katana with both hands.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Sasuke's blade crackled with electricity, and once again charged madly at Tobi. Tobi was ready to counter that attack when the youngest Uchiha vanished seconds before he could reach close quarter combat.

"Predictable," Tobi stated as he quickly turned around and violently punched Sasuke in the face, sending him flying backwards, dropping his sword into the floor.

"Mass Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a few seconds, Tobi saw an army of green and orange clad blonds all leaping at him, Rasengan in hand.

"Impressive," Tobi flatly admitted as he started to make hand seals. "But insufficient. Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"

The floor tiles broke apart as multiple sharp roots emerged from the ground and shoot in every direction, impaling and destroying most Naruto clones. He then started to walk through the vines and fighting the clones one by one until only the original remained. Naruto, however, rather than fight him, leaped above him and landed next to Sasuke, who just picked up his sword after getting back on his feet.

"He's too strong and skilled," Naruto observed. "I'd say he's as powerful as any of our Jonin-sensei."

"As much as I hate to admit it, I agree," Sasuke grumbled. "We need to think of a strategy, and fast."

"How about if we stall the fight until the others arrive?" Naruto suggested.

"We can't depend on others. We have to assume that we're alone on this," Sasuke countered.

"But we can't-" Naruto protested, before being interrupted once again.

"I'll save you the trouble of trying to think a way to defeat me. I'm not going to fight you," Tobi declared, as he sheathed his weapon. "I thought that it would be fun to toy with you first, but this is too easy. Now Naruto, be a good kid, and come with me."

"You must be crazy to think I'm going to surrender to Akatsuki, especially after what you've done. You give me back my siblings!" Naruto shouted.

Tobi let out a heavy sigh. "I didn't want to use this on you, but you leave me no choice," he sourly said. Then, Tobi's mood suddenly shifted, and in a much happier tone, he added: "Oh, who am I kidding, I was dying to use this! Kotoamatsukami!"

Naruto felt as if somebody smashed his head with a hammer from the inside, and stumbled back. Sasuke had to hold Naruto to make sure he didn't fall.

"Naruto, are you alright?" the Uchiha asked.

"Yes...I think?" Naruto groggily replied.

"Well Naruto, are coming, or not?" Tobi asked.

"Y-Yes," Naruto replied, unsure. "Yes, I'm coming with you!" he added, now sounding more determined.

Sasuke watched in shock what was happening. What kind of jutsu did the masked man use on Naruto to make him so suggestible? He could wonder on that later. Now, he needed to stop the blond from doing something unbelievably stupid.

"Naruto! What the hell are you doing!?" Sasuke shouted as he grabbed Naruto's arm.

"Don't you see? I'm going with Tobi-sama!" Naruto answered as he swiped Sasuke's hand. "Akatsuki needs the Nine Tails in order to make this place a better world, and thus it is my duty to hand it to them."

"WHAT!?" Sasuke asked, his shock growing with each second. "Don't you see? That Akatsuki poisoned your mind! Do you hear what you're saying?"

"I am. And all what Tobi-sama did was opening my eyes. This world is a mess, Sasuke, and Akatsuki have the way to change it for the better. Now please, let me go," Naruto calmly pleaded.

"What about your siblings? Did you forget about them already?" Sasuke indignantly asked.

The mention of Hagane and Kaida seemed to bring some lucidity back to the blond, but it was brief.

"They will be fine. I know they won't suffer any harm here," Naruto said with a shrug as he continued walking towards Tobi.

Sasuke, however, grabbed Naruto by the arm once again. "If you can't be reasoned with, then I'll knock you out and drag you back to the village unconscious. Like hell I'm going to let you leave with that man."

"I already told you to take your hands off of me, you idiot!" Naruto lashed out as he tried to punch Sasuke.

"Enough," Tobi calmly, but firmly, stated as he walked forward. "Sasuke, why don't you come with us? You have a lot of potential. Akatsuki could use somebody as strong as you, and under our guidance, you could become a powerful ninja."

"Join you!? After what you did to my clan!?" Sasuke roared, heaving with anger.

"Yes. Don't you see, Sasuke? This world is nothing but chaos and suffering. All Akatsuki wants is to create a world of order. A world where nobody will lose a loved one in nonsensical wars and power plays. A world where the friends you have today won't be enemies you will fight tomorrow. A world of peace and justice. Naruto can see that. Why can't you?"

"Maybe because unlike Naruto, I'm not under mind control," Sasuke spat back.

Mind control.

As soon as those two words let out his lips, Sasuke's brain started to make the connection. Shisui was able to mind control people. Shisui lost one of his eyes the day before the insurrection. Shisui claimed Danzo did it, but the eye never appeared.

Tobi was in Konoha the day of the insurrection.

"In that case, let me show you how hopeless this world is," Tobi looked at Naruto. "Naruto, kill him."

"…As you wish," Naruto flatly replied, grabbing a handful of kunai and tossing them at Sasuke.

"Maybe watching you two fight will be a better entertainment than fighting you myself," Tobi stated to no one in particular, before jumping into one of the statues' head in order to get a better view of the fight.

The Uchiha barely had time to deflect the incoming blades as he jumped back in order to put some distance.

 _"Alright, it seems I'll have to knock you unconscious then,"_ Sasuke thought, as his hands flied through hand seals. _"Though I have to try to break the mind control."_

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a huge fireball at Naruto, who pulled out a kunai with a blue paper seal and tossed it. Kunai and fireball met midway, and the seal attached to the kunai burst in a watery explosion, putting the Uchiha's attack out, creating a wall of steam.

Coming from the steam, Naruto dashed at Sasuke, his trusty chakra blade in hand, ready to cut his former friend open. Sasuke was quick to raise his own katana, and after infusing it with his own chakra, used it to block the attack. Before Naruto had any time to react, Sasuke delivered a painful kick to Naruto's gut, which pushed him a couple meters backwards.

"Sasuke," Naruto spoke, looking at him with pleading eyes. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Sasuke's eyes flared with anger. "Shut up. You have no idea what you're talking about!" the Uchiha angrily protested.

"I do. I admit that I used to be quite dense back then, but now...now I know the truth. Now I see everything the way it is, and I know the way to fix it. If you only let me..." Naruto continued.

"Let you? LET YOU!?" Sasuke roared. "To let you help the man responsible for the death of my clan!?"

"That's why you need to help me, Sasuke! To make sure that such a tragedy won't happen again!" Naruto protested. "I can't be Hokage and let something like that happen again!"

"You won't be Hokage if you follow your actual path. Only death awaits you," Sasuke grimly reminded him.

"Perhaps. But a Hokage should be willing to die for the greater good," Naruto adopted a fighting stance. "But my death won't come today, Sasuke, nor it will come by your hand."

"We'll see about that," Sasuke replied as he adopted a fighting stance as well.

"We already fought once, I proved to be stronger than you. Even that jutsu with two elements wasn't enough to defeat me. You have no chance of winning against me," Naruto stated, hoping that maybe he could make Sasuke to stand down, but deep down he knew the Uchiha was as stubborn as himself.

"Things change. That jutsu was incomplete, and it's not the case anymore. And this isn't a mere fight for a promotion. There's too much at a stake for me to hold back, even if it ends in your death," Sasuke replied.

Naruto chuckled. "So, you are willing to kill me. It is true what they say about you Uchiha. You'd kill your friends without remorse."

"Do not dare to insult my clan!" Sasuke roared as he charged against Naruto.

Naruto smirked, as he prepared for Sasuke's onslaught. Even if the situation was dire, he was going to enjoy the fight.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So there you have. The reason that Naruto and Sasuke fought. I hope that the chain of events that lead to this moment made sense. Also, reviewer Mr. Spinner guessed that Kotoatsukami would play a role, but he thought that it would be Sasuke the one controlled instead of Naruto.**

 **Besides the attention grabbing last part, I hope you liked both the Zabuza vs Kimimaro, Hinata vs Sound Genin and Lee vs Mizuki. The latter is pretty important to me at least given the theme. In canon, Lee always embodied the theme of hard work, but said theme was never properly executed because, even if Lee became really strong, he never won any important fight and always lost against people who were naturally giften. It was even more exacerbated as Naruto and Sasuke kept getting power ups, each one more ridiculous than the one before. So unlike canon, Lee's hard work allowed him to beat somebody who simply had power handed to him.**

 **And yeah, before you ask, both Kimimaro, Mizuki and the Sound Genin are alive. And while Kimimaro will crawl back to his master, the other four will spend the next days on a cell under Konoha.**

 **Now you guys really don't want to miss chapter 40. Trust me, it's going to be mind blowing. And not just because the ensuing fight between Naruto and Sasuke but...well, let's say that there's going to be a plot development that none of you will see coming, even if I did leave a few hints already ;)**

 **Once again, don't forget to read and review "A Fool's Dedication" by FireSharingan359!**

 **Also, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	40. Return of an Old Friend

**Author's Note: Boy, I'm so happy with the response to the previous chapter. I was a bit afraid that people wouldn't like how the Naruto vs Sasuke fight ended up happening, but once again the reception has been mostly positive, much to my relief, and not only in terms of the reviews themselves, but its number as well. Thanks a lot!**

 **I'm also hoping that this chapter will have a similar reception. Enjoy the last chapter of 2017:**

* * *

 **Chapter 40:**

Return of an Old Friend

 _or_

 _Stop trying to be mysterious by wearing a mask_

…

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a wide volley of fireballs at Naruto. The fireballs had shuriken hidden within them, so even if Naruto doused the flames with another of those annoying water seals, there was still something left to hit.

However, being the unpredictable ninja he was, Naruto opted for another strategy.

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Like the name stated, a mass of green and orange clad clones appeared in a front of Naruto, clustering together in a barrier, successfully blocking the attack, shuriken included, even if most of them had to "die".

Without issuing any order, the surviving clones formed a Rasengan each and charged at Sasuke. The Uchiha tensed up. A Rasengan was bad. Half a dozen were way worse.

" _They won't be able to defend themselves from ranged attacks if they have to keep the Rasengan active,"_ Sasuke thought as his hands flew through hand seals as they started to crackle with electricity. "Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Lightning bolts flew out of Sasuke's fingertips, striking the three foremost Naruto clones, poofing into cloud of smoke. However, the smoke also acted as a cover for the two clones of the back, who avoided Sasuke's lightning attack, and spread out and attacked in a pincer formation. Seeing no other way out, Sasuke decided to tackle one of them head on, and take care of the other next.

"Rasengan!"

The clone tried to slam the sphere of destruction into Sasuke's chest, but the Uchiha was faster, and grabbed the clone by the wrist before he could do so. Knowing the other clone was behind him, he slammed the first clone's Rasengan against the second, resulting in a massive chakra explosion that destroyed them, while hurling Sasuke against a stone column.

"Well, that looks like it hurt," Naruto observed, as he let out a taunting chuckle.

Sasuke just grumbled something unintelligible as he tried to shake off the pain of the impact.

"Not as much as this," he said as he made more hand seals, before pulling out his katana. "Fire Release: Burning Blade!"

Sasuke's sword was wreathed in flames. Holding it in a reverse grip, he charged at Naruto. The blond pulled out his chakra blade, and activated the moment he raised it to parry Sasuke's attack. Fire and steel fought against pure chakra, with neither of them gaining the upper hand. Sasuke then jumped back, allowing Naruto to attack. But the moment Naruto made a swing, Sasuke quickly dodged it by sidestepping, and slid behind Naruto. He placed a hand on his shoulders, and sent a chakra pulse through the blonde's body.

" _I hope this can break the mind control,"_ Sasuke thought.

Naruto's elbow violently connecting with the Uchiha's mouth signaled that no, the chakra disturbance wasn't enough.

"Godamn it Naruto, snap out of it already!" Sasuke angrily shouted as he held his mouth in pain.

"Snap of it? I was shown the truth, Sasuke. I can't just 'snap' out it," Naruto replied.

"What about your parents? What about Hinata? Are you willing to help the people who want to destroy everything they fight for?" the Uchiha asked.

"In time, they will understand that Akatsuki is a force of good, and that big changes always require sacrifices," Naruto retorted. "Such as how so I can fulfill my destiny, you need to die so you will stop getting in the way."

Sasuke snarled, as he prepared to continue the fight. He thought in summoning a hawk, but hawks fought poorly in caves and caverns, even in one such as big as this one. At least Naruto wasn't thinking in summoning a toad either. Probably because deep down he knew they wouldn't help him in his current state.

" _Well, if the chakra pulse didn't work, then I'll have to use something more...potent,"_ the youngest Uchiha thought as he got ready to resume the fight. He stabbed his sword on the ground, and made several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade! Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

Sasuke pulled out a kunai the moment he retrieved his sword. The former was covered in flames, while the latter started to crackle with blue electricity.

"That thing again?" Naruto asked, before grinning evilly. "Thank Kami I'm prepared now."

The Jinchuriki pulled out a second chakra sword from his ninja tool pouch and activated it, projecting another blue blade of pure chakra.

Naruto and Sasuke charged towards each other, meeting in the middle as they clashed in a storm of sword swipes and swings. While Naruto was indeed skilled with the swords, Sasuke's skill was greater, plus he had also been training in sword fighting much longer than Naruto. After a few strikes, Sasuke managed to swipe one of Naruto's chakra blades from his hand.

"Give up, loser. There's no way you can defeat me in sword fighting!" Sasuke boasted.

"You sound awfully sure," Naruto cockily retorted. "You see, my chakra blade still has a couple more tricks you haven't seen yet. Behold!"

Naruto held his weapon in front of him as he focused, and the projected chakra blade started to ripple, as if it was growing unstable. The chakra blade then expanded and turned white, almost looking like white fire.

"See this? My chakra blade is now a Wind Blade," Naruto told him. "One of the wind element's most known characteristics is its cutting power. Wanna help me test how deep this sword can cut now?"

Sasuke didn't answer Naruto's taunts and resumed the fight. While he wouldn't know if Naruto's weapon could slice any better, his blows now carried far more power. He immediately realized what was happening.

" _The wind chakra is blowing gusts with each strike, increasing their power of his swings. Plus that wind sword can easily repel my lightning attacks,"_ Sasuke quickly deduced. _"Better stick to fire alone."_

Sasuke dispelled the electricity coursing through his blade, and replaced it with fire. Naruto, however, looked undeterred.

"You're going to need something more than elemental advantage if you can hope to defeat me, dumbass," Naruto pointed out.

"We'll see about that," was Sasuke's response.

Naruto gripped his weapon tightly, and the white flames that formed its blade started to glow with an intense white light. Making a swinging motion, Naruto cast a crescent-shaped wave of chakra at Sasuke. The black haired boy managed to jump over it in time, and saw how the chakra wave cleanly slashed a column before it crashed against a wall, shattering a large area.

"See this, Sasuke? The culmination of my work and my training," Naruto boasted. "This is what you're up against."

Sasuke frowned. Naruto was boastful, but never sounded so...mean. The mind control altered his mind in more subtle ways than just buying the lies of Akatsuki. Sasuke then sheathed his sword and returned his kunai to his ninja tool pouch. He then made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed a massive fireball at Naruto, so hot it left a trail of scorched, blackened floor underneath as it flied towards the Uzumaki. Naruto merely smirked as he raised his sword above his head, and grinned.

"Is all the best you have?" Naruto taunted, as he lowered his sword in a vertical chopping motion.

The resulting action produced a gust of razor wing that literally split the incoming mass of fire in two, with both halves slowly disintegrating into smoldering embers. However, Naruto's smile was short lived upon noticed that Sasuke wasn't in his initial position anymore.

"Where did he go...!?" Naruto asked as he frantically looked around, until he saw the last Uchiha high into the air.

While he was into the air, Sasuke pulled out and unfolded two Fuma Shuriken.

"Take this!" Sasuke cried as he tossed the giant steel stars, one after the other.

Naruto smirked again and raised his wind blade in a defensive stance. He quickly sliced the first flying star in two as if it was made of butter, then in a quick swing, he repeated the action with the second one before it could get too close to him.

"Haha, look at that! You can't-"

Naruto was interrupted by a whirring sound, and much to his shock and anger, realized that Sasuke had tossed normal shuriken at him while he was falling to the ground. Shuriken that he didn't see because he was too focused on the Fuma Shuriken Sasuke tossed first.

However, Sasuke had fumbled the toss, and the steel stars were flying way too separated from each other, leaving large laps between them that could be used to dodge them. Something Naruto naturally did.

"Your aim's getting worse, Sasuke. Guess that the Sharingan isn't all that cracked up as you make it out to be," Naruto taunted, as the shuriken flew past him.

However, Sasuke was smiling. "Trust me, I aimed exactly where I wanted," he replied, before making a pulling motion.

While confused at first, Naruto quickly realized that Sasuke was handling ninja wire. Ninja wire connected to the shuriken that he just tossed. No wonder they were flying in such a spread formation. Sasuke moved the shuriken in a circular motion, tying Naruto up before the steel stars embedded into his skin.

"I don't know if it was beating me at the Chunin Exams, or the mind control, but you certainly grew overconfident," Sasuke stated, then he started making hand seals while keeping hold on the wires. "This will hurt a lot, but I promise you'll much better afterwards."

Sasuke sent electricity through the metallic cords that bound Naruto, electrocuting the blond. He let out a loud cry of heart wrenching pain. Such action had the side effect of heating the cords until they snapped, releasing the blond and cutting the connection for the electricity to travel, but it had already did his job. Or at least, that's what Sasuke was hoping.

"Ugghh..." Naruto groaned as he fell to his knees. Smoke was coming out of his body, which had multiple small burns.

"Naruto...are you okay?" Sasuke tentatively asked.

"You were right when you said it would hurt a lot," Naruto weakly stated. He then raised his head, fixing a hateful glare on the Uchiha. "But it didn't hurt as much as what I plan to do with you! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

About thirty clones popped into existence, every single one of them sharing the original's anger, each of them holding a wind blade as well. Without any order from the original, the army of Naruto clones charged forward.

Sasuke prepared for the incoming onslaught by making several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Burning Man!"

A cloak of flames surrounded Sasuke, as the youngest Uchiha unsheathed his katana once again, which was also set on fire. Not waiting for the blond army to arrive, Sasuke dashed forward, taking advantage of his superior speed to plow through the clones, as he started to cut them down.

Sasuke took advantage of the fact that the clones were clustered and thus were getting in each other's way to attack, giving him an easier time at dodging and counterattacking. But the moment the number of clones were cut in half, the clones also had more space to attack and no longer got in each other's way, forcing Sasuke into the defensive.

Sasuke jumped out of the fray, hoping to buy a couple seconds to regain his breath, but the clones –with the original among them– were relentless in their chase. Sasuke expertly parried most of the blows aimed at him, but he still got some pretty ugly cuts from the ones he was unable to block.

" _Even if it's chakra cost will make me regret doing it, I need to use a jutsu with a wide area of effect,"_ Sasuke thought as he stabbed his katana into the floor and made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Annihilation Nova!"

Naruto cursed upon hearing the name of the jutsu as he jumped back and tried to put some distance but knew he was too close to Sasuke to outrun it. The youngest Uchiha turned into a giant fireball that instantly destroyed all the clones, successfully catching the original in the blast. Naruto was badly burned and hurled against a wall before falling to the ground.

" _Did that get him?"_ Sasuke wondered, before he was forced down on one knee once the effects of spending so much chakra at once kicked in. " _Damn! I should have listened to Itachi when he told me to try to create a jutsu less chakra heavy, even if it wasn't as powerful..."_

"You're really getting on my nerves, Sasuke," Naruto groaned as he got back on his feet.

"...how can you still stand after taking the brunt of that blast?" the incredulous Uchiha asked.

"I'm tough and heal fast. And with that move, you sealed your defeat," Naruto said in satisfaction. "Using that jutsu after all this fighting must have left your chakra reserves almost depleted, while I still have plenty to spare."

"Not entirely," Sasuke mentioned as he grabbed his katana once again, and gripped its handle with both hands. "I still have enough chakra for this!"

The blade of Sasuke's katana burst into flames, followed shortly by numerous electric sparks. Naruto let out a loud, mocking laugh.

"Are you serious? Do you plan to do that again?" Naruto asked, incredulous, but also amused. He made a single Shadow Clone. "Okay then. If it's a repeat of the Chunin Exam Finals what you want, I'm more than happy to oblige."

However, Naruto wasn't planning to use a normal Rasengan, but one infused with wind chakra. That would reduce Sasuke's victory chances to less than zero. Sasuke moved first, charging towards Naruto while trying to keep his complex jutsu under control. And once Naruto completed his jutsu, he had the clone push him towards Sasuke for additional momentum.

"Double Elemental Release: Plasma Blade!"

"Wind Release: Rasengan!"

Both attacks clashed against each other. The Rasengan suddenly expanding, and releasing powerful gust of winds everywhere, while blazes and lightning bolts came from Sasuke's sword.

"Come on...come on!" Sasuke cried as he struggled to keep both elements active.

"Die already!"· Naruto hatefully shouted as he pushed the Rasengan towards Sasuke with all his remaining might.

Despite being able to keep the jutsu stable this time around, even with two elements it wasn't enough to counter Naruto's elemental Rasengan. Like it happened before, the force of the attack blew Sasuke's sword out of his hands, before he was trapped in a twister of wind and chakra that violently slammed Sasuke against a wall with such force, it shattered a good chunk of it.

Sasuke wasn't moving. Naruto, panting heavily, started to laugh. Even if he wasn't sure if the attack killed Sasuke, the fight was already over. His laugh grew in mirth and volume as seconds passed by.

"Hahahaha, yes! I defeated you again, Sasuke! The moment we graduated from the Academy marked the last time you would ever be better than me!"

However, Naruto's victory boast was interrupted when Sasuke's body poofed, stunning the blond into silence.

"What the...?" the Jinchuriki said as he proceeded to look around.

But before he could do anything, a sword pierced his back and burst through his gut, impaling him. A thread of blood fell from his mouth. Through the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke behind him.

"How...?"

"You're not the only one who knows how to do Shadow Clones," Sasuke replied. "And you ARE rather confident now. But enough words. If this doesn't break the mind control...then I'm out of ideas. Lighting Release: Thunder Blade!"

Electricity once again coursed through Sasuke's katana, electrocuting Naruto again, this time from the inside out. Once he was done, he pulled the sword in a clean motion, and the blond fell to the ground, unconscious. He should be okay, given that the Uchiha carefully avoided every possible vital spot. But he would need medical attention soon.

And following his own advice, Sasuke made sure that Naruto hadn't tricked him, and prepared for any possible attack.

The attack came, in the form of a sudden kick to the face, but it did not come from Naruto, but from the Akatsuki who had been watching the whole fight, and Sasuke pretty much forgot his presence until now.

"What did you do?" Tobi asked as he knelt before Naruto's body. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"What...?" a confused Sasuke asked upon getting up.

"You idiot! You killed him! You killed him!" Tobi angrily repeated.

Those words hit Sasuke like a sledgehammer. There's no way that could have been true. He made sure none of the attacks he used on Naruto were lethal. Besides, Jinchuriki were said to be far more resilient than normal humans due the creatures they hosted inside them.

"No, that can be..." Sasuke said, almost in a whisper. "I avoided all his vital spots!"

"You impaled him, then electrocuted him from the inside out!" Tobi loudly pointed out. "What the hell did you think was going to happen!?"

Sasuke stood there, in shock, looking at Naruto's immobile body. He did look dead. He had killed him. The very first person he ever killed, and it was Naruto. While Sasuke has mentally prepared himself for his first kill, he would never imagine it would be one of the very few people he would call themselves their friend.

"No...no..." Sasuke weakly said as he stepped back. "This can't...AAAAARRRGGHH!"

Sasuke's eyes started to burn as if somebody dropped a hot coal on them. His palms instinctively slapped against his pained eyes, as he bent over his knees. Tobi, meanwhile, watched intently.

"IT WAS YOU!" Sasuke roared. "YOU MADE ME DO IT!"

Sasuke had his Sharingan active again, but it acquired a different pattern: three red intersecting ellipses against a black background.

"Ah, there it is," Tobi casually said, now oddly calmed.

Sasuke let out an cry of rage, and too angry to think any kind of sensible strategy, or even use ninjutsu, the youngest Uchiha merely leaped at the masked Akatsuki, as if he were a wild animal pouncing on its prey.

Tobi merely chuckled, and easily kicked Sasuke in the chest, knocking him on his back. However, before he could get back on his feet, the masked man made a few hand seals, and plant vines emerged from the ground and wrapped around Sasuke's limbs, neck and body, pinning him against the floor.

"And there it is, the Mangekyo Sharingan," Tobi mentioned, then he turned back at Naruto. "But just in case..."

Tobi knelt once again before Naruto's body, and thoroughly check his vitals. An audible sigh of relief escaped his lips.

"Just as I imagined, he's still alive," Tobi said, now even more calm and relaxed. "I knew that your attacks wouldn't be enough to end his life, but I wanted to make sure."

"...what?" Sasuke asked, his anger dispelling, being replaced by confusion. "Then why did you trick me into thinking that I killed him?"

"It isn't obvious? Because I wanted you to awake the Mangekyo Sharingan," Tobi explained. Sasuke's visible confusion made Tobi realize that the youngest Uchiha wasn't familiar with the term. He let out a mocking laugh. "Oh, this is too good. You don't know what I'm talking about, do you? It seems that your dearest brother and cousin kept you in the dark about one of our clan's secrets.

"Anyway, allow me to enlighten you then. The Sharingan has a higher form, named Mangekyo Sharingan, that grants the user a whole new set of very powerful abilities. Your brother, your cousin, and I myself have it. The problem, though, is to awaken it. In order to do so, an Uchiha must experience a sense of overwhelming guilt and/or despair. And what better way to make you experience such emotions than making you believe you killed one of the few kids that didn't treat you as trash when everybody else did?"

"But...but why? Why did you went to such lengths to help me?" Sasuke asked.

A scalpel appeared on Tobi's hand. Sasuke's normally pale face turned even whiter when the realization instantly dawned upon him.

"What do you think?" Tobi was grinning maliciously behind his mask. "I could have dispatched you and take the Jinchuriki the moment you set your foot on this lair. But then I realized how could I use Naruto to make you awake the Mangekyo Sharingan...and truth be told, it was too good to pass. Especially since we Uchiha now are an endangered species."

As his self preservation instincts kicked it, Sasuke tried to use his remaining strength to break free of his bindings and run away from there.

"Don't bother, even if you were at your full strength, you wouldn't be able to break those vines," Tobi stated as he walked closer to Sasuke. "Now stay still while I begin the extraction...actually, now that I think about it.. I don't even need you to be alive anymore so...die."

Tobi made a hand seal, and the vines started to strangle Sasuke as they greatly tightened their hold over him.

"What a pity. Even by Uchiha standards, you had a lot of potential. You could have been an useful ally. But don't worry, the power of your eyes won't go to waste. I can assure you that," Tobi said as he watched Sasuke die.

The youngest Uchiha struggled with all his strength against the tightening vines, but the effect if lack of oxygen soon became noticeable. His movements become slower and jerkier, as his vision started to blur and darken.

Then, at that moment, a green, blue and silver blur crossed the instance in less than a second, as a sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air.

"Lightning Blade!"

Kakashi's signature move impaled Tobi's heart. Or at least, that was the intention, as the Copy Ninja noticed that, even if his hand was buried inside the Akatsuki's chest, he felt as if he hit thin air. Tobi jumped back, and Kakashi realized that he had used his ability to turn intangible Tsunade has talked about.

"Whew, that was a close call, wasn't it?" Tobi casually mentioned.

Asuma and Kurenai entered the room as well, followed by Hinata, Haku, Tenten and Karin. Asuma walked towards Sasuke, and with a few accurate swipes, cut all the vines holding him down, releasing the Uchiha Chunin, who started to violently cough, as he held his pained throat.

"Breathe slowly. Don't try to take too much air at once," Asuma instructed Sasuke.

Karin walked towards Sasuke and used the Mystical Palm Jutsu to heal him.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried in shock upon seeing Naruto laying motionless in the ground. Thankfully, she could see he was still alive since his chakra network was still active. She rushed to him and started to heal him.

"We need to take Naruto and Sasuke out of here, right now!" Kurenai urged.

"As well as find the Hokage's children," Asuma added.

"And you think I'm going to let you do that?" Tobi asked as he unsheathed his katana. "While I sadly won't be able to get Sasuke's eyes, I won't let you people stop me from claiming the Jinchuriki a third time!"

"Okay then. Asuma, Kurenai, let's deal with this guy," Kakashi suggested. "Remember what Tsunade-sama said about his abilities. Between the three of them should be able to put him down."

"You really overestimate your abilities, Kakashi," Tobi sourly said.

"Karin, can you look where the children are?" Kurenai asked.

Karin nodded, made a hand seal, and focused. As her senses expanded, she managed to identify the chakra signature of the twins.

"Got them!" she said.

"Alright then. Tenten, Haku, go with her and rescue them. Hinata, stay here and take care of Naruto and Sasuke. Once everybody is safe, we'll cover your escape," Kurenai commanded.

"Now go!" Asuma added as he engaged Tobi in a duel of blades.

Taking advantage of the Akatsuki's predicament, Tenten, Haku and Karin rushed past him, and headed into the deepest part of the lair, where the twins were presumably held, while the three Jonin charged against the masked Akatsuki.

…

"Now to the left!" Karin stated, as the three of them reached a fork.

"How much until we get to them?" Tenten asked.

"Shouldn't be far. I think one more turn and then-WHOA!" Karin suddenly said, as she stopped in her tracks.

"What's wrong, Karin?" Haku asked.

"We're not alone!" Karin warned the others.

Tenten looked around, a bit puzzled. "I don't see anybody. And this empty hallway doesn't have any spots to hide and...wait, what's that?"

Suddenly, what appeared to be some kind of white, semi-gelatinous mass started to grow all around the hallway at a rather fast pace.

"What the hell is that?" Tenten loudly asked, as she unsealed a naginata from one of her remaining scrolls. Haku and Karin also adopted fighting stances.

"I don't know. But it's alive, and it has chakra!" Karin distressingly informed.

The mass then began to morph into something humanoid. An actual human, with green hair, yellow eyes, and no genitalia.

"You can't be here!" one of the artificial men stated.

"All intruders must die!" said another, as he charged towards the Konoha ninja.

Tenten was fast, and placing the naginata in the way of the attacker, the creature ended up impaling himself. This spurned the few others to attack as well. Haku quickly formed several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Breath of Winter!"

Haku exhaled an incredibly cold wind that completely left two of the attackers frozen. Tenten unsealed a barrage of shuriken from one of her scrolls, shattering them to pieces. Meanwhile, Karin reduced another of those strange beings to white chunky salsa with a well placed chakra-enhanced punch.

"What the hell are these things? Their chakra is so...weird!" Karin mentioned.

"What do you mean by 'weird'?" Haku asked.

"I don't know how to say it with words. It's like...their chakra is human, but at the same time is not. Does that make any sense?" Karin tried to explain.

"It's probably an experiment of Orochimaru," Tenten decided, before she knelt down and grabbed a chunk of white mass. She then pulled out an unused sealing scroll., "Maybe Tsunade-sama can analyze this properly. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Let's seal as much as we can."

"Alright."

After sealing the remains of the strange humanoid creatures, they continued their trek. More of those beings appeared to stop their mission, but the results were the same. After a few minutes and a couple hallway fights, they reached the room where Hagane and Kaida were held.

"Allow me," Karin said, before she kicked the door down.

The room only held two beds, with each twin laying on one of them.

"They don't seem to be gravely injured, just some bruises," Karin said as she started to heal them with the Mystical Palm Jutsu. "They should be fine in no time."

And true to the redhead's word, the twins woke up once they were treated, groaning and rubbing their eyes.

"Huh...where I am?" Hagane groggily asked.

"What is this place? Who are you?" Kaida asked, looking at the trio of Konoha ninja, before her eyes rested on Karin. "Hey; I remember you? You're Naruto-niisan's cousin, right?"

"Your memory seems to be fine. That's good," Karin noted, as she let out a small sigh.

"To make a long story short, Orochimaru's lackeys kidnapped you. We're here to bring you back home," Haku quickly explained. "Can you walk?"

The two of them replied by jumping out of their beds.

"Okay then, if that's the case, then let's go. Try not to lag too much," Tenten instructed, as she and the now group of five ran back to the lair's entrance.

However, just like the way in, Karin suddenly stopped.

"Karin? What's wrong? More enemies?" Haku asked.

"Come on, we can't afford to lose any second!" Tenten protested.

"Well, it's that...when we passed this hallway, I felt a hidden presence, I couldn't pinpoint exactly where...but now I felt it again, even stronger," Karin pointed to a nearby door. "There's somebody behind this door."

Tenten tried to opened the door, but it was locked. "Whatever they keep here, it's valuable if they locked it. Still, we can't risk the Hokage's children anymore. Maybe we can send-"

"Hey! Is somebody there?" a female voice asked from the other side. "Please, help me! Get me out of here!"

While the possibility of being a trap crossed their minds, Karin's sensing ability could tell her she wasn't lying.

"Move aside, I'm going to bring the door down," Karin stated, shortly before making good on that statement with a powerful kick.

"Whoa! You're so strong!" the prisoner observed.

Inside the room, which was just as bare and laconic as the one holding the twins, was a girl the same age as them, with shoulder length brown hair, brown eyes and purple facial markings. She was wearing a plain grey short sleeved t-shirt, and knee length pants of the same color.

"You're Konoha ninja, oh thank Kami!" the girl said, as she exited the room. "Thanks. You know, this room has anti-sensor seals, as well as other protections. How did you know I was here?"

"Let's say that I'm way more powerful than the average sensor," Karin proudly boasted.

"Who are you, by the way?" Tenten asked.

"My name is Rin Nohara, I'm a ninja of Konoha too. Now, we need to get out of here as soon as possible!"

…

While the three Jonin fought Tobi, Hinata was still taking care of Naruto, under Sasuke's distressed sight.

"How did you enter? The door was sealed by several stone slabs behind us," Sasuke asked.

"We opened the entrance by force," was Hinata's response, not taking her eyes from the unconscious Naruto. "It wasn't as solid as it looked."

That's something Sasuke would have done as well.

"How is he?" the youngest Uchiha asked.

"His injuries were grave, but he will survive," Hinata's sight shifted from Naruto to Tobi, and frowned. "That evil man impaled Naruto and submitted him to multiple lightning jutsu. A weaker person wouldn't have survived."

Sasuke shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Actually...it was I who did that"

Hinata suddenly turned at Sasuke, and looked at him with surprised eyes. However, she didn't look angry or outraged. "You did such a thing? Why?"

"Naruto was under mind control," Sasuke began. "But it wasn't a normal genjutsu; it was the most powerful mind control genjutsu to ever exist. Not only is the ability exclusive to the Sharingan, but only one person in the whole world can cast it: my cousin Shisui Uchiha."

"Shisui Uchiha...?" Hinata wondered, as she remembered who she was talking about, until she slowly remembered. "Oh, the proctor of the first part of the Chunin Exams, right? He only had one eye."

"Yes. He lost his right eye shortly before the Uchiha Insurrection. He claimed Danzo did it. Danzo claimed it was a lie. Regardless of that, the eye never appeared," Sasuke then glared at Tobi. "I think it's obvious where the eye is."

"So you were forced to fight Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. Sasuke nodded. "But...if Naruto-kun was under his thumb the whole time, why didn't he take him away? Why did he jeopardize his plan like that with such a meaningless plot?"

Sasuke grew even more uncomfortable. "He said he wanted to show me how easily friendships can break and become enemies. As well as for his own amusement. Honestly, that man is very mentally unstable. It's not that surprising for him to make such an irrational decision."

Hinata narrowed her eyes a little. Sasuke was clearly hiding something from her. But she decided this wasn't the best time for an interrogation. It was obvious for anybody with functional eyes that the Uchiha had gone through a lot during the past couple hours.

"I tried to break the genjutsu by every way I knew, and none of them worked. Causing extreme pain and corporal damage was the only option I had, while making sure Naruto would survive it," Sasuke continued.

"It's okay, I'm not mad at you. You were cornered into a situation in which the choices available were few and hard," Hinata emphatically replied.

Still, Sasuke remained stiff.

Meanwhile, the three Konoha Jonin battled the masked Akatsuki, though they were barely able to land a hit on him.

"You know, this is actually much harder than Tsunade-sama made it look," Asuma protested as his swipe failed to hit anything but thin air for the umpteenth time.

"What, you thought that just because somebody figured out how my powers work, beating me would be piece of cake?" Tobi mocked as he tossed a barrage of shuriken at his opponents. "Besides, after my encounter with that blonde cow, I made sure to get better at using them."

"Still, as long as we're here, you can forget about abducting Naruto! Get that inside your head!" Kurenai stated as she kicked him in the head, but sadly her foot phased through him.

"And you think you three can stop me? HA!" Tobi retorted. "Your presence is a mere setback! These events are part of a plan that was conceived and started decades ago! Nothing you can do can stop it! Nothing you can do can stop ME!"

"OBITO, STOP!"

As those two words echoed though the cavernous chamber, all the adults froze in place. Looking to the place where the cry came from, they saw that Tenten, Haku and Karin had returned with the Hokage's children. However, the white haired kids weren't the only ones they brought along. Among them, there was a brown haired girl with purple facial markings.

"Is that...?" Kurenai began, completely caught by surprise.

"It can't be..." Asuma said, just as shocked. Then, he looked back at the masked Akatsuki. "And he called him Obito?"

If Kurenai and Asuma were surprised, Kakashi was so shocked, he couldn't even articulate a single word.

"You let her out!?" the masked man roared. "NO! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"Obito, please...end this madness already..." Rin pleaded.

"No...Rin can't be alive..." Kakashi muttered, as he slowly became more and more agitated. "And you can't be Obito either! I saw both of them die! This has to be a trick!"

Tobi slowly turned at Kakashi, lowered his hood, and just as slowly, removed his mask, before casually tossing it away. The surprise of the three Konoha Jonin grew even more. That man was Obito, even if he clearly looked much older now. Still, he had the same facial features –ignoring his scarred left side of the face– and the same spiky hair. He also had two Sharingan.

"Surprise," Obito stated unenthusiastically.

"It's really you?" Kurenai asked in shock. "But...we all thought you were dead!"

Obito chuckled. "In a way, I was. Obito Uchiha, the loud, clumsy and dumb kid that boasted that one day would become Hokage died that day during the last Ninja War. Now I'm somebody else. Something else."

"But..." Kakashi stammered. "You were alive all this time? And Rin too? How? And why didn't you come back to the village?"

"As for how I survived...well, let's say that I was lucky a man rescued me. A powerful and wise man," Obito cryptically recounted. "I did plan to return to the village once I was healed of my injuries, but that man...he showed me the truth of this ugly world: that there's nothing but pain and despair awaiting for us."

Obito made a dramatic pause before continuing, as he was going to drop quite a revelation at his former comrades.

"Kakashi...I was there the night Rin died," Obito announced.

Once again, Kakashi paled with shock. How his heart managed to survive all this maddening revelations, it was anybody's guess. But to the adults, the implications of that statement were felt in full force.

"Wait a minute...how is that you're an adult, yet Rin still looks like a child?" Asuma asked.

Obito looked at Rin, before his sight rested once again onto the three Konoha Jonin.

"Let's say that it wasn't until recently that I managed to undo such a tragic mistake," Obito replied, still using ambiguous language. He then looked at her, his eyes reflecting sadness. "That's why I kept you here, Rin, even if it was against your will. I couldn't afford losing you again after finally getting you back."

"Obito, I'm not some sort of china doll you have to put in a locker! And neither I am of your property! What's the point of bringing me back to life, if I'm not allowed to experience what life is?"

"NO! You don't understand! This world is too dangerous! Once Akatsuki changes it for the better, you'll be able to roam it as much as you want!" Obito insisted. He then turned back at Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai. His face was contorted by anger. "You won't take her away from me! Not again! I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU BEFORE LETTING SUCH THING HAPPEN!"

Asuma and Kurenai quickly adopted fighting stances. Obito was ready to attack, and he looked extremely unhinged. Kakashi was still frozen with shock, and remained immobile.

Then, at that moment, a strange humanoid creature which appeared to be engulfed by a venus fly trap plant emerged from the ground besides Obito. The Akatsuki cloak made it clear this new being wasn't an ally of Konoha.

"Good, you're here, Zetsu," Obito mentioned, noticing the new arrival. "Secure Rin while I-"

"Sorry boss, but this is for your own good," Zetsu said as he blew a green powder in Obito's face.

"What...are you...?" Obito didn't have the chance to finish that question before he felt asleep. Zetsu managed to grab him before he could completely fall, and carried him over his shoulder, before he started to sink into the ground.

"Don't think this is the end, Konoha scum," Zetsu threatened as he sank. "We will see again sooner than you think."

And thus, Obito and Zetsu disappeared, leaving the Konoha ninja alone. An uncomfortable silence ensued. Finally, Rin began to walk towards the trio of adult ninja, followed by Tenten, Haku, Karin and the twins.

"Kakashi? Is that you?" Rin asked, once he got a better look at the silver haired man. "You're so...grownup..."

Barely breaking out of his stupor, the Copy ninja kneeled down in order to be eye-to-eye level with his thought to be deceased teammate. He put a hand on her shoulder, as if testing if it was really her, and not just some cruel mirage.

"Yes, I'm Kakashi," he replied. "And you...how? How can you be alive?"

Rin smiled, as she grabbed Kakashi's hand with her own. "It's...a very long story."

Asuma cleared his throat. "We should better return to Konoha immediately and treat our wounded, before any other danger appears."

The moment those words left his lips, the entire lair started to violently shake.

"Oh Kami, what now?" Tenten asked.

"Good job Asuma-sensei, you jinxed it!" Karin scolded the bearded man, while she tried not to lose her balance.

A huge hole was blown up in the roof of the chamber, dropping several large rocks inside. Tsunade appeared from that hole, landing with a loud THUD, shattering the ground beneath her feet. Jiraiya landed besides her as well. Visibly shaken, she scanned the area until she found what she came for.

"My children!" the blonde Sannin cried as she rushed towards them.

"MOM! DAD!" the twins replied in unison as they went to hug their parents.

"When they told me that you were kidnapped by Orochimaru's ninja...my entire world shattered," Tsunade said, barely holding her tears back, as she hugged her youngest children. "Thanks goodness you're alright!"

"I don't know what we would have done if we lost either of you," Jiraiya added, just as emotional.

"It was Naruto-niisan and his friends who saved us," Hagane pointed out.

"Naruto!" Tsunade gasped upon seeing her adopted son laying on the ground, motionless. Breaking the embrace, she rushed to him. "Is he...?"

"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama, he's okay," Hinata reassured the Sannin. "But we should better head back to Konoha. I did heal him as best as I could, but it would be better if he was treated at a hospital."

Tsunade nodded at Hinata's more than sensible suggestion.

Relieved to learn that his children were relatively safe, Jiraiya took a moment to study Orochimaru's hideout.

"So, this is where that bastard has been hiding the whole time," Jiraiya mused aloud. He then looked at the slightly damaged snake statues. "The decoration certainly fits him. Anyway, once we reach Konoha, we need to send a team to secure the place, capture any of the remaining underlings still hiding, and search the place to see if we can find something regarding Orochimaru, Akatsuki and their plans."

"Hokage-sama, Tsunade-sama," Kurenai said as she walked towards them. "Once we reach Konoha, we need to talk immediately. We've made some...astounding discoveries regarding a certain Akatsuki member."

Both Jiraiya and Tsunade turned at the genjutsu mistress with genuine curiosity. Still, that had to wait. The first priority was to take the kids to Konoha, now that it was safe again.

…

 _Orochimaru's New Base, Undisclosed Location_

Orochimaru and Kabuto were walking through their new base as those who survived the failed invasion attempt arrived in what would be their new home for the foreseeable future.

"Impure World Resurrection has proved too unreliable to use for the time being," Orochimaru began, still sour for the failure of the jutsu that thought it would be his trump card over Konoha.

"Do you think that maybe Jiraiya or somebody at Konoha knows something about that jutsu that we are ignoring?" Kabuto asked.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Such thing is unlikely. Nobody but me would have dared to research a jutsu that tampers with death to such depth. Even if extremely unlikely, there's the chance that Konoha ninjas found a way to bypass the infinite regeneration and permanently kill Tobirama, Minato and Kushina. However, they managed to break my hold over Hashirama, and such thing should have been impossible."

"Our research in the past showed that somebody powerful enough can break the caster's control," Kabuto replied.

"Yes, but that's why I limited their power so they could be easier to control. During all the tests I made, none of the subjects rebelled against me."

"We will have to continue the research, then," Kabuto concluded.

"Indeed. I'm not letting this mistake slip by," Orochimaru declared, undeterred. "To change the topic, what about the secondary mission?"

Kabuto smiled. "The mission was a success."

Without waiting for Orochimaru to issue any order, Kabuto pulled out a small sealing scroll from one his pockets, and unsealed a large, metallic briefcase, which he handed it to his master. Delighted, Orochimaru opened the briefcase, revealing its contents: vials of blood, brain fluid, spinal fluid, hair samples, among other things.

"Finally...enough biological samples of Jiraiya and Tsunade's brats. This will help us in the long run immensely," Orochimaru gushed, as he closed the briefcase.

While Orochimaru knew of the Bloodline Limits of those children, he sought to acquire them at any cost. However, he also knew that, if he kidnapped those children, their parents would never rest until they got them back. And said parents had the might of one of the strongest Great Villages backing them up. Hell, Jiraiya and Tsunade would offer Konoha itself as a bounty for anybody that knew where those children or their captor could be.

Of course, there was a much easier solution that would get Konoha out of his back for a while: harvest enough samples of them, and erase all the evidence of such thing happening. That way, Jiraiya and Tsunade would relax and lower their guard, unaware that Orochimaru got his hands on not one, but two potentially powerful bloodlines.

The plan's only downside was that the samples were limited, so if they were lost or degraded to the point of being unusable, he wouldn't be able to get more. But he liked to see such limitation as a challenge to his limitless genius.

"This victory didn't come without a cost, though," Kabuto continued. "Jirobo, Kidomaru, Sakon and Ukon died while fighting an improvised rescue team that was formed to retrieve the children. Only Tayuya and Kimimaro made out of it alive."

Orochimaru grinned. "Do not fret, Kabuto. While they were some of my strongest minions, only Kimimaro was truly irreplaceable. Besides, the payoff of the mission more than makes up for their sacrifice."

"I see," was Kabuto's reply. "What do you plan to do now, Orochimaru-sama?"

Orochimaru's grin grew even wider, almost like a child who couldn't wait to play with his new, shiny toy. "Make sure the laboratory is up and running as fast as you can. I want to analyze these samples immediately."

"As you wish."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So yeah, Rin is back. Needless to say, this needs to be addressed.  
**

 **While bringing dead characters back to life is far from being new, most people seem to bring back characters like Minato, Kushina, Fugaku or Mikoto. I can count with one hand the number of fics in which Rin is saved/resurrected, and I would still have a couple fingers left. Though I can see why this happens, given that Rin's death is what kickstarts the whole plot, and undoing it would kill the plot. So I brought her back since I think she deserves a bit better than being just a posthbumous character in order to motivate a character to become a villain.**

 **But fear not! Like I said before, this won't hamper Obito or Akatsuki's plans in the slightest. They will be the same as they were in canon, and they will continue hunting Tailed Beasts. Like I said in previous chapters, their endgame won't be the Infinite Tsukiyomi (because I think it was really dumb), but something else that in my opinion fits better the theme of Love vs Power which was introduced in Part II.**

 **By the way, if you ever think that the Team 7 vs Sasuke "fight" (emphasis on the quotations, since it was barely a fight) from the Sasuke and Sai arc really sucked, go to Youtube and type "Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 Sasuke Boss Fight", and see how that fight SHOULD have been. That fight was my inspiration for both Naruto vs Sasuke fights.**

 **Also, those who were worried about Obito having Shisui's eyes, don't worry either since I'm planning to give that ability a much needed nerf.**

 **So, while there's still one chapter left to wrap everything up, you can say that the Senju Twins Rescue Arc, as well as Part I, is pretty much over plot-wise. I hope you enjoyed the ride so far.**

 **Anyway, see you in 2018, and hope you have a Happy New Year! In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	41. The End of an Era

**Author's Note: So, here we are, the first chapter of 2018, but ironically the last chapter of Part I. Boy, this arc has been the best received so far, and I hope both the ending and the arcs to come are just as good, if not better. Anyway, enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 41:**

The End of an Era

 _or_

 _Not really an ending_

…

 _Many Years Ago..._

 _"This...this is hell..." Obito cried, as he clutched Rin's lifeless body close to him. "Rin...Rin!"_

 _"Er...it might not be my place to tell," Guruguru, mentioned. "But there's a chance that you might see Rin again."_

 _Obito stopped crying, and perked up his head._

 _"Really?" he asked, his voice dripping with desperation._

 _Just like Guruguru had expected._

 _"Yes, we can do something to make sure you see Rin again," Guruguru continued._

 _"What is it!? Come on, there's no time to waste!" Obito desperately pleaded._

 _"It's not that easy," Guruguru replied, much to Obito's dismay. "It's a long and hard procedure, that demands a lot of effort and resources. If we are to do this, it has to be under one condition."_

 _"Whatever! I'll do anything!" Obito cried._

 _"You must become a servant of Madara-sama, and do absolutely everything he says. There's no other way," Guruguru stated._

 _"Yes! Yes! I'll do anything he wants! But please, help me save Rin!" Obito pleaded._

 _If Guruguru had a mouth, he would have smirked. Oh, Madara was going to be so pleased with this development._

 _"Alright then, listen closely, this is what we need to do first: return to the lair with the body. A friend of mine will create a decoy corpse to fool Konoha. Time is of essence!"_

 _"Right!" Obito stated, renewed determination coursing through his body._

 _The one eyed Uchiha carefully held Rin's body, and both he and Guruguru returned to Madara's secret hideout. Once there, they approached the elder Uchiha, and explained him what had happened. Madara didn't say anything, he just stared at the young girl's body for a few moments, as if studying it._

 _"Can you help her?" Obito asked, almost in a pleading tone._

 _"Hmm..." Madara carefully inspected the body once more, before stating his verdict. "This wound is too grievous..."_

 _Obito felt his heart sank. No, it couldn't be, it couldn't be possible. If Madara had saved him, he could save her._

 _"...but I'd say she isn't beyond saving," Madara concluded. Obito sighed in relief, and smiled. He looked at his younger clansman. "However, if I'm to do this for you, I need you to do something for me."_

 _"I'll do whatever, I don't mind!" Obito quickly answered._

 _"You can't go back to Konoha anymore. You must remain here, and serve me. Be an extension of my will," Madara began, sounding rather ominous. His withered lips curved into a smile. "Don't be afraid, I'm not asking you to become my slave, but the tool that I'll use to reshape a world into a better place."_

 _"I'll do anything you ask me," Obito sincerely replied._

 _Madara's smile widened. "Good then. I think it's about time we try that jutsu."_

 _The two Uchiha and the Zetsu brought Rin to one of the lair's empty chambers. They placed her on the ground, and eight Zetsu surrounded her in a big circle. Vines emerged from the Zetsu's mid section, as if they were umbilical cords, and started to wrap around Rin, covering her in layers of vines. Then, the eight of them performed the same seal sequence in perfect synchronization._

 _"Wood Release: Majestic Cocoon of Divine Rebirth!"_

 _The mass of vines started to glow with a green light, and merged into a shapeless radiant mass, which began to grow, and took an oval shape. And the glow ceased, there was now a pulsating green cocoon, connected to the eight Zetsu through vines._

 _There was a tense moment of silence._

 _"Well?" Madara asked to no one in particular._

 _"It's working, boss!" one of the Zetsu replied. "It's stable!"_

 _"So...is Rin going to be okay?" Obito asked, almost pleading._

 _"She will be more than just okay," a very pleased Madara replied. "The cocoon will not only bring her back to life; it will infuse her with the power and life force of Hashirama Senju. Once the process is complete, she will have a power most people can only dream of."_

 _"So...is she going to be like me, then?" Obito asked._

 _"You could say that," Madara replied with a nonchalant shrug._

 _"How long will it take?" Obito asked once again._

 _"I don't know for sure, but such a delicate and complex process like this one could take many years," Madara told Obito in an almost chiding tone. "Can you wait that much?"_

 _Obito, however, didn't look deterred in the slightest. "I prefer to wait a long time to see her again, than never seeing her to begin with. No matter how much it takes."_

 _Madara smiled once again. "Good. Patience is an invaluable virtue. Now, I fulfilled by side of the bargain. I hope you're ready to fulfill yours."_

 _Once again, Obito's face reflected nothing but determination. "Konoha let Rin die. You saved her. My loyalty will always be with you...Madara-sama."_

 _"Excellent. Then come. There's much to plan, and I don't have much time left."_

…

 _Hokage's Tower, Present Time_

A select group of people had been gathered inside the Hokage's office, these people being the Hokage, Jiraiya himself, his predecessor, Hiruzen Sarutobi, a trio of Jonin composed by Kakashi, Asuma and Kurenai, and lastly, Rin Nohara herself.

"I don't remember much between the time of my...death," she uneasily said, as she glanced at Kakashi, who tensed up in return, "and my resurrection. When I came out of that cocoon...it felt like waking up from a dream...or a nightmare, given the circumstances. The first thing I saw was Obito. I didn't recognize him right away, given that he was a full grown adult, but it took me no time to recognize some of his most prominent features.

"I was confused. I had so many questions...like where I was, why Obito was an adult, who or what where those weird pale naked guys...he said that it was a time to celebrate, that I was dead but not anymore, and how everything would be better now.

"However, answers never came. Obito pretty much locked me inside a room, claiming that it was too dangerous out there. I thought that a catastrophe of epic proportions had broken out, given how paranoid he looked. He visited me at least once per day, and asked me how I was or if I needed something. Yet he refused to do the only thing I ever wanted, which was to come back here."

"Do you know what jutsu Obito used to bring you back to life?" Hiruzen asked. Despite knowing that the dead should be left in peace, he couldn't repress some morbid curiosity about a jutsu that could bring people back from the dead for real, not like the Impure World Resurrection.

Rin shook her head. "I know it involved a cocoon, but nothing else. Besides...I don't think I came back as myself..."

"What do you mean?" Kurenai asked.

"The resurrection process...it didn't just revive me...it changed me," Rin cryptically stated, as she looked at her hands. "I can't put it into words, but I feel...different. For once, I don't need to eat anymore."

Many eyebrows were raised.

"Come again?" Hiruzen asked.

"It took me a couple days to notice that they didn't bring me any food. Yet I never felt hungry. I still need to drink, but my cell had running water," Rin explained. She shivered, hugging herself. "I'm afraid I may not even be human anymore."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure Tsunade-hime runs regular tests on you to make sure there's nothing to worry about," Jiraiya interceded.

"Given that you were a prisoner of Obito, you don't know that much about his or Akatsuki's plans, do you?" Asuma asked.

Rin shook her head once again. "No. But I'm okay if you want a Yamanaka to scan my mind. Maybe I saw or heard something that I don't remember."

"We will do that too," Jiraiya replied.

"Oh, I just remembered something. I think it's important," Rin spoke up. "When I came out of the cocoon...I remembered there was a second one."

"Obito was trying to revive a second person?" Kurenai asked.

"Could it be Minato?" Hiruzen guessed.

Kakashi shook his head. "Unlikely. As much as it pains me to admit it...Obito was the one behind the Nine Tails' attack thirteen years ago, which resulted in sensei's death. It would make no sense for him to want to resurrect sensei when he was the one who indirectly killed him."

Rin looked at Kakashi with apprehension. On the way back to Konoha, she was informed of several major events that happened during her absence, among them, the Nine Tails attack, the Uchiha Insurrection, and more recently, the Sound Invasion. And Obito played a part in all three. Like Kakashi, she couldn't believe how much Obito had fallen.

"When I saw Obito...rather than being an adult, what shocked me the most was how...miserable he looked. His eyes, which once were so full of joy and enthusiasm, reflected nothing but sadness and despair," Rin began.

"Obito was there when I killed you, Rin," Kakashi calmly stated.

Rin gasped, and looked at Kakashi, covering her mouth with her hands. "No! That can't be..."

"But he was. I think seeing me killing you broke him," Kakashi said with a ting of sadness. "Obito was naive and idealistic. He did kill, but seeing somebody he was so close to being killed affected him greatly."

"I think we can discuss what to do about Obito later. For the time being, Rin, you will be kept here in the tower, while we try to come up with a proper explanation as for how you came back from the dead," Jiraiya stated.

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Rin replied.

"Okay, everybody else, you're dismissed. I need a lot of things to do before I leave," Jiraiya mentioned.

Naturally, this caused everybody to shoot him deservedly questioning looks.

"Jiraiya, what do you mean you're leaving?" Hiruzen asked.

"Oh, yeah, I didn't tell you yet, hehe," Jiraiya awkwardly laughed. "Don't worry, it's nothing long term. I remembered I promised Pa and Ma I would return to Mount Myoboku and finish my Sage training. Sensei, I hoped that both you and Tsunade-hime could fill for me while I'm absent."

Hiruzen sighed heavily. "I don't think we have much of a choice. But I wish you informed us of this decision sooner. You're not leaving in the best moment."

"I know, I know, that's why I want to make sure I do as much as possible before leaving," Jiraiya apologized.

Finally, everybody else left the office. A couple minutes later, the door opened again, revealing Jiraiya's most recent battle partner.

"Hokage-sama?" Anko said, uncharacteristically timid. "May I enter?"

"Of course, Anko," Jiraiya's serious demeanor wasn't that usual either. "I'm sure you know why I called you."

"'You can court martial me later'," Anko sourly echoed. "I knew those words would come back to bite me in the ass."

"Yes, Anko. Even if I don't think I could have come out of that fight alive without your help, you still disobeyed a direct order from the Hokage, so there has to be consequences. What you did is high treason, and it's punished by death."

Anko gulped, and shoot Jiraiya a pleading look that pretty much screamed 'you can't be serious.'

"However, there were mitigating circumstances. Like I just said, if you didn't help me I might have died, so I'm going to take that into account," Jiraiya continued. Anko relaxed a little, but she was still tense. "So instead of being executed, you shall be demoted to Genin for the next two years, and you shall be expelled from the Torture and Interrogation Department. You may rejoin them once your sentence has been completed."

Anko let out a sigh, half of relief, and half resignation. While she wasn't looking towards the next year, it was better than the alternative.

"Guess that I can't complain. Doing D-Rank missions is still preferable to dying," Anko said.

Jiraiya smirked. "Oh, I don't plan to waste a kunoichi of your skill walking dogs and painting fences. Let's say that I have another task way more...fitting for somebody of your background and skills."

Anko didn't know how to take that, but she was fearing it wouldn't be anything good.

…

Naruto woke up with a killer headache. He didn't remember much of the last few hours, but the little he remembered wasn't pleasant. As his senses slowly returned to him, he realized that he was in a vaguely familiar chamber, with an incredibly damp floor. This was a place that Naruto had visited at least once, and he wasn't exactly happy to be here again.

 **"So you finally wake up, brat,"** a deep, booming voice welcomed him. **"But then again, you aren't truly 'awake'."**

Naruto stood up, and looked at the Nine Tails, staring at him from the other side of the gate that kept him in check. While the last time he met the fox, his tenant was rather cranky and angry, now he looked much more calm, and strangely enough, eager to talk to him.

"Nine Tails...?" Naruto groaned. "What are you...hey, what do you mean that I'm not truly awake?"

The Tailed Beast chuckle. **"It means exactly what I said. You're in a coma after sustaining nearly fatal injuries."**

Naruto paled. "WHAT!?"

The Nine Tails chuckled even further. **"Oh, that reaction was just too good. Don't worry, you'll wake up shortly. In the meantime, I think we could take advantage of this...parenthesis, to talk."**

Naruto crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "Now you want to talk?" he asked, skeptical. "What made you change your mind?"

 **"Tell me, Naruto, what do you remember of the past few hours?"** the Nine Tails asked, ignoring the blonde's questions. **"Do you remember fighting Sasuke Uchiha? And I'm not talking about your stupid Chunin Exams."**

"Actually...yeah, I have some vague memories of me and Sasuke duking it out..." Naruto uneasily admitted. "I thought it was a dream...but it seems it wasn't..."

 **"Oh, you can bet it wasn't,"** the Nine tails confirmed. **"You've got hit by one of those Sharingan mind control jutsu. A particularly strong one, might I add."**

"I was mind controlled?" Naruto asked in disbelief, before growing a bit pensive. "Guess that explains the feeling..."

This seemed to grab the Nine Tails' attention, who moved closer –as close as the steel bars allowed him to– before saying: **"Oh, do tell. How did you feel?"**

"It was...weird," Naruto began, as he tried to put his memories in order. "On one side, it felt that what I was doing was the right thing...but on the other side, there was a part of me that knew that it was wrong and begged me to stop...almost as if my mind was split in two, with both halves fighting against each other, but one of them overpowering the other. And now that I realize what I've been forced to do...I feel so manipulated and...angry."

The Nine Tails bared his sharp teeth in what very few people would consider a smile, regardless of the beast's intention. This wasn't unnoticed by Naruto, who looked annoyed at the fox.

"Does this look funny to you? But given it's you, it shouldn't come as a surprise," Naruto spat, as he crossed his arms.

 **"If I wanted to laugh at you, I would have picked a different topic,"** the Nine Tails replied. **"Trust me, a buffoon like you has endless possibilities when it comes to mockery."**

"Then why are you so interested? You never want to talk with me about anything. Were you mind controlled too or what?" Naruto asked. Upon seeing the Nine Tails' silent reaction, a realization dawned upon him. "You WERE mind controlled! When? How? I don't think it was possible to do such a thing!"

The Kyubi's smile disappeared, as he rested his head over his crossed front paws. His eyes narrowed in anger, though Naruto could tell that the monster's anger wasn't directed at him.

 **"You asked me earlier why the Valley of the End irks me so much,"** the Nine Tails began. **"While you humans gave it that name, for me it wasn't the end, but the beginning."**

"Beginning? Of what?" Naruto asked.

 **"Of my torment. Of my life as a prisoner. Of me joining my siblings' ranks as living weapons,"** the Nine Tails bitterly said. **"Then again, it could also be the end. The end of my freedom, and of my happiness. If Father could see what have been of us..."**

Naruto was taken aback upon hearing the last line. "You have a father? Are there MORE giant multi tailed foxes out there!?"

The Nine Tails growled, but left that question unanswered. **"Tell me, kid, are you aware of the history behind that place?"**

"It was formed during the last fight between the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha," Naruto began. "The intensity of the battle was so great, it changed the landscape forever."

The Nine Tails waited expectantly for Naruto to continue, but the blond remained silent. After a few moments, he started to look at him awkwardly. The Kyubi realized that he wasn't going to get anything out of his jailer.

 **"That's it?"** the Nine Tails asked.

"...yes? I don't think there's more to that story," Naruto replied.

The Kyubi groaned. **"Of course they kept the truth hidden from you. And probably from most people, but that's irrelevant now. Let's take a different approach. Do you know what was of me before I was sealed inside you?"** the Nine Tails asked.

"Yes. You were sealed within my mother, Kushina Uzumaki," Naruto replied. His expression grew somber. "Whom you killed alongside my father the day I was born."

The Nine Tails smiled once again. **"So they did tell you about her. Good, then everything might not be entirely lost. And before that? Do you know who was my jinchuriki?"**

"Mito Uzumaki, the First's wife, and my adoptive great-grandma," Naruto replied, much to the Kyubi's delight. "And before you ask, I know she was the first jinchuriki to hold you."

 **"It seems that you at least are aware of your predecessor's history,"** the Kyubi observed. **"And tell me, brat, do you know how Mito became my jinchuriki?"**

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but was forced to close it just as quickly. Now that was a very good question. Tailed Beasts are among the most powerful beings which ever lived. How do you even capture one and seal it inside a human? He tried to think for a couple minutes, but came up with no answer.

 **"Don't force that minuscule organ you call brain too much, it won't do you any good,"** the Nine Tails began. **"Since there's no way for you to know this, so I'll have to tell you. Mito became my Jinchuriki the night Hashirama and Madara fought."**

Naruto was once again taken aback. "WHAT!? But...that makes no sense! How did you-"

 **"I was the last of my siblings to fall prey to your loathsome race, thanks to my might and cunning intellect,"** the Nine Tails began. **"Many humans tried to capture me to harness my power, but very few managed to even find me in the first place. Until one man succeeded. His name was Madara Uchiha."** The Nine Tails' voice turned venomous the moment that name left his jaws.

"Madara captured you?" Naruto parroted. Sure, history books described him as powerful and unparalleled to all who came both before and after him, Hashirama being the exception, but being powerful enough to subdue a Tailed Beast on his own...

 **"Unfortunately for me, Madara had a weapon that I had no chance to defend against, and made me as helpless to him as a mere puppy: the Mangekyo Sharingan,"** the Nine Tails revealed.

"Mangekyo Sharigan? Never heard of that," Naruto admitted.

 **"Hardly surprising. The Mangekyo Sharingan is an ascended form of the Sharingan that grants the user an array of new abilities. One of them being complete control over my kind. After Madara made me his slave, he made me help him fight his longtime enemy, Hashirama."**

"And with you at his side, Madara still lost?" Naruto asked, astonished, but gleeful. "Wow, the First was even more badass that history books made him to be."

The Kyubi snarled, baring his sharp teeth once again, as his eyes narrowed in anger, this time directed at Naruto. The Tailed Beast didn't take kindly to people complimenting one of the two individuals he hated the most, even more than any of his jinchuriki.

 **"And do you know why, despite the overwhelming odds, Madara failed to win? Because Hashirama, despite not being an Uchiha, possessed the same ability,"** the Nine Tails revealed. **"He managed to override Madara's control with his own, and removed me from the battle. Then, once the Uchiha was dead, he brought his wife to me, and together they sealed me inside her."**

"Wow..." was all Naruto could say. Did anybody else knew about such turn of events? Jiraiya and Tsunade were bound to know, given their positions within the village. And the Old Man Hokage as well.

 **"That's why I hate that place. And that's why even if I hate your race as a whole, I hate the Uchiha and the Senju the most,"** the Nine Tails said, concluding his tale.

"That was...a fascinating story," Naruto admitted. "But why are you telling me that now?"

 **"Because now you can understand what I felt when Madara put me under his control. What I felt when the masked Akatsuki did the same thing to me decades later in his attempt to destroy Konoha."**

"What the First did..." Naruto began, unsure at first, but became more resolute. "He had to do it! You are too dangerous! You're a threat to humanity, you said so yourself!"

The Kyubi snarled once again. **"Yes, that's exactly what he said. Despite the fact that I never killed any human that didn't provoke me first. He feared my power, and sought to keep me under control. That day I swore that humanity as a whole would pay for what Hashirama did to me."**

Naruto wanted to protest, but suddenly everything started to fade to white.

 **"It seems that your time here is up,"** the Kyubi observed. **"But even if I'm not looking towards it, we will meet again."**

…

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, seeing nothing but blurry white. As his sight became clearer by the second, he noticed he was in a white room. A hospital room, he guessed. He had never been in one, given that he was never sick nor got any kind of lasting injury that required being taken to such a place.

Of course, when your mother is the best medic who ever lived, hospitals become redundant. But the redundancy appeared to be broken now.

"Naruto?" a female voice besides him almost shouted. Naruto turned around, and saw Tsunade sitting on a chair besides him, watching him intently.

"Mom..." Naruto weakly said.

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness you're awake! I was afraid that you wouldn't come back from this one!"

Naruto chuckled a bit. "Oh well, you know me, nothing can put me down for long, hehe," Naruto cheerily replied. Then, he remembered something. "Hagane and Kaida! Where are them? Are they okay?"

Tsunade smiled. "Yes, yes they are. We managed to save them in time. Thanks to you and your friends."

This time, it was Naruto who sighed in relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Given what happened to me, I was afraid Orochimaru got away with them. Also, what about the others? Are they okay?"

"Your friends made it back alive. Sakura and Ino required some medical attention, but they will be fine in no time," Tsunade reassured him.

Naruto slumped back on his bed. "Thanks Kami everything turned out alright...and how about Konoha? How bad was the invasion?"

"Well, sadly many ninja died, and there's plenty of material damage. But thankfully it's nowhere near as bad as the aftermath of the Uchiha Insurrection. We will recover earlier than most people think," Tsunade assured. She then stood up from her chair. "Speaking of, I need to tell Shizune and the twins that you're awake!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see them," Naruto replied.

After all, he went through hell and back to save them.

…

 _Hyuga Estate_

As a small reward for their daring rescue of Hagane and Kaida, the members of the Konoha 15 had been granted a week worth of paid vacation, which they used to either rest or get some training. Or both, as a week was a long time. And of course, Hinata didn't want to miss this rare opportunity of spare time in order to keep bettering herself.

Hinata breathed slowly, as she prepared to repeat the same move she has been practicing during the morning, under her mother and sister's expectant gazes. Getting into the proper stance, Hinata gathered some impetus as she started to spin. After the initial spin, she released chakra from every point of her body, adding to her building momentum, until she reached the proper speed.

"Heavenly Spin!"

The chakra grew into a spinning blue dome, and stayed like that for two seconds. When Hinata stopped spinning, there was a crater in the training ground. Hikari smiled, got up from her bench, and started clapping.

"You did it my daughter!" Hikari gushed, as she walked towards Hinata. "I knew you could master the Heavenly Spin if you tried hard enough."

"Thank you, mother," Hinata replied, panting a little. "It wasn't easy. Neji-niisan was right. Gai-sensei's intense training helped me achieve the proper speed needed for the jutsu."

"Now that you have finally grasped the Heavenly Spin, you have to master the Sixty Four Palm Strikes," Hikari told her. "And your position as heiress will be more than assured."

Hinata's face dropped. Hanabi frowned, as she angrily crossed her arms.

"Why does neechan have to learn those jutsu in particular?" Hanabi asked. "She created a new jutsu way cooler than any of ours! Isn't that enough?"

Hikari shook her head. "Is not that simple, sweetheart. The Gentle Fist is as much part of the Hyuga Clan's identity as the Byakugan. The Clan Head needs to be the embodiment of the Hyuga as a whole, so being able to perform the most advanced Gentle Fist techniques is always a must."

"Yes, mother, I understand" Hinata replied.

"Don't feel pressured. You still have a lot of time before you have to replace me as the Clan Head," Hikari reassured her.

"I will do my best," Hinata obediently said.

"You know, it would be fun if in a few years, the new Hyuga had to learn the Heavenly Thunderstorm," Hanabi commented.

"It wouldn't be surprising," Hikari answered. "I'd say that there's a pretty big chance of such thing happening."

Hanabi quickly turned at her mother, looking at her with eyes wide open in surprise. "Really?"

"Despite our not entirely undeserved reputation as staunch traditionalists, the Gentle Fist isn't written in stone," Hikari explained. "Sure, the basics always remain the same, but if somebody manages to come up with an useful innovation, is integrated into our fighting style. For example, the Vacuum Palm is a relatively recent move, invented by your late great uncle Tadashi Hyuga."

"Really? Then what did our ancestors did if they wanted to fight from a range? Use conventional ninjutsu?" Hanabi asked.

Hikari shook her head once again. "No, they rejected that option. The Hyuga had always been a clan proud of its power, and said power resided in hand to hand combat. That's why ninjutsu is discouraged, even if not outright banned. However, that didn't change the fact that we were at a serious disadvantage against a ranged specialist. That's why Tadashi created a move that could cover such weakness. Even if the Vacuum Palm was met with some resistance by the most conservative members of our clan, it was quickly embraced by everybody else due its sheer usefulness. I believe Hinata's combination of elemental ninjutsu with the Gentle fist might follow a similar path."

"Speaking of which… Hanabi-chan, how is your training in fire chakra going?" Hinata asked her little sister.

Hanabi's face lit in expectation. "Oh, it goes great! Look!" the youngest Hyuga ran towards one of the nearby trees of the courtyard, plucked a leaf, returned to her sister and mother, and easily burned it off with the force of her chakra. "See? I finally did it! Now I can go into more advanced exercises."

"Good to see that Hinata isn't the only one making progress. Good job to you too, Hanabi," Hikari complimented as she ruffled Hanabi's hair affectionately.

"Thanks! I'll be breathing fireballs in no time! And then, I'll create my own version of the Heavenly Thunderstorm, but with fire instead!"

Both Hikari and Hinata giggled at Hanabi's unbound enthusiasm.

"Well, I'm going to take a quick shower, and then leave. Today I have to help the Retrieval teams to salvage whatever valuable items remain under the wreckage caused by the invasion," Hinata told them. "After that, I plan to go to the hospital and see if Naruto-kun woke up yet. Do you want to come with me?"

Hikari smiled at her. "Of course, sweetheart. We could also bring him something. After all what Naruto-kun did, it's the least he deserves."

"Maybe we could bring him ramen," Hanabi suggested. "I don't think they have that, and he likes that as much as much as he likes you, neechan."

Hinata giggled. "I'm afraid I will never replace ramen as Naruto's first love."

…

Back at the Hokage's office, three Genin the same age as Naruto were in front of him, watched by two ANBU. The three of them were the Oto Genin that had fought against Naruto's team in the Land of Sound, and then against Hinata and Lee more recently. The three of them, as well as their sensei, Mizuki, had been taken prisoner to Konoha. But while Mizuki was taken to a dark and cold cell to await his execution, Jiraiya believed that there were still some hope for these youths.

"So, your names are Dosu, Zaku, and Kin, right?" Jiraiya asked the trio. None of them bothered to reply. "I'll take your silence as a yes. Do you know why you're here?"

"Yes. Obviously, to interrogate us about our master," Kin spat.

"But forget about it, old man, we'll never betray Orochimaru-sama!" Zaku angrily added. An ANBU squeezed his shoulder, prompting him to shut up.

Jiraiya chuckled, as he laid back on his chair. "If I wanted you interrogated, I'd have send you to the aptly named Torture and Interrogation Department," Jiraiya explained. Zaku and Kin visibly gulped upon hearing about torture, but Dosu remained impassible. "Besides, it's quite obvious that you're way too low on the hierarchy to know anything relevant."

"Then what do you want to do with us?" Dosu asked. "Wait, let me guess. You hope we switch sides with Konoha, like you did with that Swordsman of the Mist, am I right?"

Jiraiya smiled in satisfaction. "So I wasn't wrong when I pegged you as the smartest of the three."

Zaku and Kin stared at Jiraiya indignantly, but the Hokage paid them no mind.

"You can forget about such thing happening," Dosu continued, as if finding the very idea offensive. "Orochimaru-sama gave us a life and made us strong when we had nothing. We would never betray him."

"Too bad your loyalty isn't reciprocated," Jiraiya stated. "Listen, Orochimaru doesn't care about you. To him, you three are nothing but cannon fodder. He's an specialist in fishing out people with nothing to their name and nothing to lose to use as disposable minions. If he really was interested in you becoming more powerful, you wouldn't have been defeated by a single opponent the same age as you."

Dosu couldn't help but recall Hinata's words before the pale eyed girl knocked him unconscious. That was a good point to consider.

"Maybe," Zaku conceded. "Even if Orochimaru-sama isn't the most caring of masters, at least he gave us something better than we used to have."

"You don't have to tell me. I've seen those same eyes as yours countless times," Jiraiya told them. "Kids that lost everything to war, their homes, their families. Forced to live in the streets and steal to survive. Am I getting close?"

"So what if you do?" Kin spluttered. "Besides, what would that say about us? To betray the man who gave us everything we have?"

"Orochimaru wouldn't doubt about betraying you the moment you became a burden, or you weren't useful to him anymore. I can guarantee you that such thing won't happen in Konoha," Jiraiya told them. "Besides, if you don't join us, the alternative is going to prison for being enemies of Konoha. Besides, don't you want to follow the same path as your sensei? He also betrayed his home village to join its enemies."

"Yeah, and he's going to be executed," Zaku dryly pointed out. "Something that will happen to us if Orochimaru lay his hands on us again."

"Mizuki ended up the way he did because he had an exceedingly large ambition, and not enough willpower to see it realized on his own. What I'm offering you here is the chance to be smarter than Mizuki. Work for us, and if you don't like it, you can always go back to jail," Jiraiya offered.

The Sound Genin looked doubtful. They traded unsure glances, until they apparently reached an unheard agreement. Dosu, who appeared to be the leader of the trio, voiced their decision.

"Given that you don't gave us much of a choice, guess we'll have play nice and work for Konoha," Dosu said, not without resignation.

"Wonderful!" Jiraiya heartily replied. "Well, if that's the case, then maybe you should meet your new sensei! I'm sure you'll get along fine, given that like you, she used to work with Orochimaru, and hopefully, she will be able to show you how much it sucked. Anko, come in!"

Even with all his bandages, Dosu paled upon hearing that name. "Anko? Do you mean...Anko Mitarashi?!"

The door opened with a loud slam. "The one and only!" Anko cheerfully said as she burst into the office. She stared at the three Genin, who turned back at her, and grinned. "So, you're the runts Hokage-sama asked me to train? This will be piece of cake!"

"This has to be a joke," Kin deadpanned.

"Like I usually said, if I told a joke, you'd be laughing so hard you wouldn't be able to breathe," Jiraiya retorted. "Now Anko, besides training, I'd also like you to show them what I means to be a pawn of Orochimaru."

Anko's mouth curved into a sadistic smile. "Consider it done. How much leeway do I have?"

"As long as you don't kill, maim, mutilate, or mentally scar them for life, you're free to do as you see fit," Jiraiya replied.

"Understood! Come on brats! We have a lot of work to do!" Anko happily ordered as she left the office, with the three reluctant former Oto ninja trailing behind her, as well as the ANBU keeping an eye on them.

Being alone at last, Jiraiya sighed, and slumped on his chair. Thankfully, that was the last of the loose ends that needed to be tied. However, before the Hokage had a chance to relax, a small toad jumped out of the window, landing on the desk.

"Before you say anything, Pa, everything's been take care of, and I'm ready to go," Jiraiya preemptively said. "But before we leave, can we just wait a little until Naruto wakes up? I want to see him again before we resume my training."

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk with you about, Jiraiya-chan," Pa replied, prompting Jiraiya to raise an eyebrow. "Ma and I have been talking about it, and we believe Naruto-chan is ready to undertake sage training."

Such proposal took Jiraiya aback, to say the least. While he had plans to have Naruto learn Senjutsu, he was waiting until he was a bit older.

"Do you think he's ready? He's still too young," Jiraiya argued.

"Gamamaru-sama has been watching over him, and thinks he is. Ma and I agree with him. Besides, given how close Akatsuki were of catching him the last time, I believe Naruto-chan is going to need all the possible help we can offer," Pa explained.

"If you think so, then sure, Naruto can come with us," Jiraiya agreed, then chuckled. "But given how restless Naruto is, I doubt he'll find much joy in the kind of training we're going to do."

…

 _Uchiha Training Grounds_

Sasuke was restless. Since the fight against Naruto and the masked Akatsuki , the youngest Uchiha felt an intense unease he had been unable to shake off. Training was Sasuke's main way to cope with stress, and so far, it was working, but he wondered for how long. There was just so much to process...

First, the fact that the masked Akatsuki was an Uchiha. He was also the Fourth's student and Kakashi's teammate, but that data was irrelevant to Sasuke. He was responsible for the Nine Tails' attack thirteen years ago, which laid the ground works for the Uchiha Insurrection to happen. Something Obito had masterminded as well. Not happy with that, he also collaborated with Orochimaru to invade Konoha.

All to get the Nine Tails. While Tailed Beasts were powerful and highly sought after, the extends Obito had taken and the lines he had crossed were simply ridiculous. Was there something more to the Nine Tails that it's worth causing the demise of your own clan?

Second, the Mangekyo Sharingan. According to Obito, Itachi and Shisui had it, yet they never told Sasuke about it. They admitted the truth when Sasuke confronted them about it, but he decided to leave and not listen to their excuses. At least for the time being.

Tempted by its power, Sasuke decided to see for himself what kind of new abilities he had now. But the moment he activated his freshly awakened eye power, something happened that Sasuke didn't expect: his mind relived the moment he stabbed Naruto, and all the anguish he felt when he thought he had killed him. He tried multiple times, but the effect was the same. Deciding that he wasn't going to risk his sanity any longer, Sasuke gave up and opted instead for good old shuriken practice.

Grabbing four shuriken in one hand, Sasuke moved his arm in an arc, tossing the steel stars in four different directions. Each shuriken found its mark. He repeated the process again, with the same result, and a third time. Even without the Sharingan, his aim was flawless.

Sasuke sighed. "This isn't working anymore."

"Really? I think you did pretty good job," a voice from behind said.

Sasuke turned around, and saw his brother and cousin walking towards him.

"You know, you left before we had the time to explain ourselves," Shisui began, with an apologetic tone. "We're very sorry for hiding such things from you, but..."

"We thought it wasn't necessary for you to know about the Mangekyo Sharingan," Itachi continued. "In fact, we were both hoping that you would never awaken it."

Sasuke crossed his arms, and frowned. "And why not? So I'm always below you two in terms of power?"

Shisui let out a sad chuckle. "You know that's not true, Sasuke. Nothing would make us happier than seeing you surpassing the both of us. Something we're sure you'll do in the future."

"Listen, Sasuke, the Mangekyo Sharingan is a very dark power. I'm sure you now know how to awaken it, right?" Itachi asked. Sasuke nodded. "And tell me, did you try to use it after you awakened it?"

Sasuke grew uneasy, and averted his gaze. "Yeah, I did. I know what happens when you use it."

"The Mangekyo Sharingan is a tempting power. But making you relive the event that triggered it...it can drive anybody insane, even if used sparingly. That's why Shisui and I try to use it as little as possible," Itachi explained.

"Besides, we like to think that there's more to the Uchiha Clan than a mere bunch of fancy eye powers, you know? We have to show everybody that even without the Sharingan, we're still strong," Shisui added. "Besides, that's not the only drawback."

Sasuke opened his eyes wide in surprise. "There's more?"

"Sadly, yes," Itachi replied. "Like we said, the power of the Mangekyo comes with a price. The more you use its powers, the more will your eyesight deteriorate, until you'll end up completely blind."

"WHAT!?" Sasuke asked in shock, as he involuntarily took a step back. "How...is there a way to reverse the eyesight loss?"

"Fortunately, there is one," Itachi replied. Sasuke was almost tempted to feel relieved, but he was afraid there would be some sort of catch. "If you take the eyes of a direct relative and replace yours with them, not only will your eyesight be restored, but it will never deteriorate again. So in order for such thing to happen, we must now trade our eyes."

"I already made an appointment with Shizune-chan for the surgery," Shisui helpfully added.

"After that, if you wish, I can teach you how to use the power of the Mangekyo," Itachi offered.

"Wait, you said you hoped I never awakened the Mangekyo. Then, if you kept using it, you would have ended up blind!" Sasuke pointed out. Itachi merely shrugged. "And you were okay with that?"

"I had accepted such fate, as did Shisui," Itachi explained.

"Well, in my case is easier. With only one eye, I only have one of the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan, Kotoamatsukami notwithstanding. So the temptation is much lower," Shisui detailed.

"Sasuke, they say that the Uchiha is a clan cursed by hatred and darkness. And as you just learned right now, people who said that had a point. There's no other clan that needs to feel strong traumatic emotions to awake their powers. People not only fear our power, they also fear that our powers may turn us mad, as it was believed of our ancestor, Madara Uchiha. And look what it did to Obito Uchiha," Itachi explained.

"And those fears were realized the night our clan rebelled," Shisui added, sounding melancholic.

"We simply don't want you to end like them."

Sasuke sighed. He turned his back at them, as he processed the words he just heard. His fingers tightly clenched into a pair of fists.

"Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it," Sasuke said.

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked.

"All of this. The effort of reigning ourselves in for the sake of people who already fear and hate us. What's the point? Maybe this is our fate. Maybe we should stop pretending to be something we aren't, and accept our nature. Maybe that's why Father decided to start an insurrection," Sasuke said, as he turned back at them.

"Sasuke, I know that sometimes follow the right path is hard, but trust me, it's worth it," Shisui solemnly said. "Don't give up when things get complicated. Don't let yourself be tempted by somebody offering you an easier alternative. Such things will only lead to misery and unhappiness."

"And remember that you're not alone. You have us, among many others, to support you whenever you feel bad," Itachi added.

"I...okay. I'll keep doing as you say. Besides, I always took pride in not giving up in the face of a challenge," Sasuke replied.

Both Itachi and Shisui smiled in relief.

"You won't regret that decision, Sasuke," Itachi said, as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Now come on, you can train later. You guys have to see the house Shizune-chan and I chose to move to," Shisui said with renewed enthusiasm.

…

Hinata, Hanabi, and their mother Hikari entered the Konoha hospital to see how Naruto was doing. Hinata was holding a bento on her hands. While she was initially tempted to bring her boyfriend some ramen, she decided that it would be best if she brought him something a bit healthier. After all, she had to help him recover, and ramen wouldn't do the job.

"It's a good thing you don't have to make Naruto fall in love with you anymore," Hanabi had joked.

When they entered the building and headed to the reception, Hinata saw a familiar person already there. A boy in a kimono.

"Thank you," the boy said to the receptionist before turning around, seeing Hinata and her family. "Oh, hi there, Hinata-san. Came to see Naruto, I presume?"

Hinata nodded. "Indeed I am, Haku-kun. By the way, let me introduce you to my little sister, Hanabi, and my mother, Hikari. Hanabi-chan, mother, this is Haku, my other teammate."

Haku bowed his head before the Hyuga. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ladies. Hinata-san told us a lot about you two, but I regrettably I never had the chance to get to know you."

"Pleasure is all ours, Haku-kun. I guess that you're also here to see Naruto-kun?" Hikari asked.

"Indeed. The receptionist told me where his room is. Follow me," Haku told the girls.

The Hyuga women decided to follow Haku, who lead them to a room in the third floor. The room was open, and some voices could be heard from the inside. Peeking through the door, Hinata saw Naruto, still bedridden but thankfully awake and fully conscious, talking with his little siblings, as well Shizune. The medic-nin was the first one to notice the newcomers.

Shizune smiled. "Oh, look at that, more people came to visit you, Naruto-kun."

"Huh?" Naruto said, turning around, and smiled as well. "Oh, hey, Hinata-hime! You came to see me, great! But don't stay there, come in!"

"I'd love to, but...I didn't come alone, and the room is going to get a bit cramped."

"Nonsense! Come in!" Naruto insisted.

"I think I'm going to get something to eat," Shizune stated, as she went to exit the room. She noticed Hinata's bento, and added: "I'd ask if you want something, but Hinata already has that part covered, hehe."

The Hyuga heiress blushed a bit.

"Oh, you brought your mom and little sister. And Haku's here too!" Naruto noticed.

"Hello to you too, Naruto-kun. Glad to see that you're feeling better," Haku greeted his blond teammate.

"Haha, yes, it takes more than a mere blade to the gut to put me down!" Naruto boasted.

"A blade to the gut!?" Hikari asked in shock. The Hyuga matriarch activated her Byakugan, and saw that Naruto's gut didn't have any injuries. "Amazing...there's nothing left of that wound."

"You can thank Hinata-hime for that. She healed me before I could be taken to the hospital," Naruto stated, making Hinata blush a little, before she averted her gaze.

"Uh...it was nothing. I only did my duty..." Hinata shyly stammered.

"Dear Kami, even after the two of you became a couple, you're still so awkward and shy!" Kaida pointed out, shaking her head.

"That's how my nee-chan is, she can't help it," Hanabi agreed, shrugging.

"Hanabi-chan!" a flustered Hinata called her.

"Come on Hanabi, don't be so mean..." Hikari said.

"Heh, it's okay. I think that Hinata's cute when she's all shy like that, hehe," Naruto chuckled.

Rather than embarrass her even further, Naruto's comment brought up a smile to the shy Hyuga. She then remembered the bento still in her hands, and as an added bonus of changing the topic, she handed it to Naruto.

"Here, I made this for you!" Hinata said as she handed the item to the blond. "Hospital food isn't that good, so I thought it would make your stay here a little better. It's not ramen, though."

"Oh..." Naruto deflated a little, his hopes dashed away, but it didn't last long. "It's okay. Everything you cook tastes so great, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun," Hinata happily replied.

"You know, seeing Nee-chan and Naruto makes me want to have a boyfriend too..." Hanabi mentioned out loud.

"Have you thought in dating Hagane? He's a great catch!" Kaida said, pushing her brother towards Hanabi.

"Hey! Don't I get a say in this?" Hagane indignantly protested.

"Nope!" was Kaida's reply.

"You kids are too young to start dating. Give it a few years," Hikari started, putting an end to the topic. "Trust me, you don't want to grow up too fast."

"By the way, Haku," Naruto began, realizing of something the last time he saw the Ice Ninja. "That bone guy looked really tough. How did you manage to defeat him between Tenten, Karin-neechan and you?"

"We didn't," was Haku's brief response, confusing Naruto a bit. "Thankfully, Zabuza-sama appeared in the nick of time to save me from what it would have been an horrible fate. After that, we left and tried to meet you and Hinata-san again, but we didn't find you until much later."

"Did Zabuza-san beat him?" Hinata asked.

Haku shook his head. "Technically speaking, Zabuza won the fight, but sadly he was unable to kill or capture the man, who managed to escape. I'm afraid we will see him again in the future as well."

"Neji-niisan told me the same about the kunoichi he and Kiba-san fought against," Hinata added. "At the very least, we won't have to worry about the other three ever again."

"I'm sure Orochimaru will try to recruit more people with Bloodline Limits in order to replace the people he lost with the invasion," Hikari gravely noted.

"Then we'll stop him before he has the chance to do such a thing," Naruto determinately stated.

"You won't be able to do much stopping in your current state," a new voice said. Everybody turned around, and saw Jiraiya standing besides the door. "Fortunately, I have good news for you."

"Really? What is it, dad?" Naruto asked, clearly interested.

"You're coming with me to Mount Myoboku for special training. The Toads have deemed you ready to undergo Sage training," Jiraiya announced.

Hikari gasped. Jiraiya realized she was the only one aware of what Jiraiya was saying.

"Sage training? That's...incredible! I didn't know that somebody so young as Naruto-kun could become a Sage!" Hikari exclaimed.

"I didn't think so either. But the toads told me Naruto is ready," Jiraiya replied.

"Uh...what is Sage training?" Naruto asked.

"A special kind of training that will allow you to gather and use nature chakra, besides your own. It has a large number of boons that will help you make stronger," Jiraiya explained.

None of the kids understood Jiraiya's explanation, mostly because none of them knew what nature chakra was to begin with. But Naruto knew that it was something it would make him stronger, and that was enough to catch his interest.

"Besides, give how close you were to being captured by Akatsuki, you need to become as much stronger as soon as possible," Jiraiya stressed.

"Naruto-kun won't be the only one to become stronger. I will train as hard as I can to match him as well," Hinata stated.

"So do I. I've seen that there are enemies out there that dwarf our skill and power so much, is almost laughable," Haku added.

"Good, because I'm sure Akatsuki won't give up until they have Naruto and the rest of the Jinchuriki in their power," Jiraiya mentioned.

…

 _Undisclosed Location_

Obito slowly blinked as he started to wake up. He had a hard time remembering what happened before he lost consciousness, but as soon as he made a little effort, memories started to flood his brain as if it was a torrent.

"Rin..." Obito murmured, his heart filling with dread.

"Will you stop obsessing over her already?" a voice tiredly said.

As Obito's eyesight adjusted and became less blurry, the figure of Zetsu appeared in his field of vision. And soon, his confusion was replaced by unbridled fury.

"YOU! YOU LET THEM TAKE HER AWAY!" Obito screamed as he sloppily lunged at his fellow Akatsuki, who easily sidestepped.

"Yes, I did" the white half admitted.

"TRAITOR! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO OBEY ME!" Obito screamed, as he tried to pounce at Zetsu again. This time, the plant-man grabbed Obito's arm, and twisted it behind his back. Obito tried to use Kamui, but the aftereffects of the sleeping spores made him mold chakra extremely hard.

"That's true as well. But while Madara-sama left you in charge, he also allowed be to act on my own accord if I think you take a wrong decision," the black half stated. "And frankly, you've taken quite a lot of bad decisions as of late."

"You could have captured the Nine Tails, but you let it escape your grip," the white half added.

"It was Orochimaru's fault! His stupid minions failed to keep the Konoha ninja at bay!" Obito protested.

"Don't try to pin the blame on Orochimaru. He did what it was expected, which is more than we can say of you," Black Zetsu continued. "We've noticed that the moment that girl left the cocoon, you've become far less focused and driven. She was hindering you."

"SHE'S THE WHOLE REASON I'M DOING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE!" Obito loudly screamed. "And now she's in danger again! Those Konoha fools will send her to die again!"

"Relax, boss. If the process worked as intended, Rin is pretty much impossible to kill now," White Zetsu assured. "You won't have to fear for her ever again."

"Besides, why would you? She chose Konoha over you. Clearly, you're not as important to her as she is to you," Black Zetsu added.

"But not everything is lost. Let's continue with the plan. When she sees the kind of just and peaceful world you plan to create, she'll soon join our side," White Zetsu added.

"I'm not convinced. I want our Konoha spies to keep an eye on her at all costs. I want to know when she's on a mission. I want to know when she's in danger of dying," Obito ordered. "I'm not going to let history repeat again."

"Of course, boss. It will be done as you say," Black Zetsu replied.

Satisfied with the answer, Obito left. Mostly to find out exactly where Zetsu brought him.

"Are we going to do that?" White Zetsu asked his Black Half.

"Of course," was the other being's reply. "How else are going to check the progress of our little test subject?"

…

 _Konoha Hospital, Next Morning_

It was the first day of Rin's new job at the hospital. Jiraiya had offered her to return to active duty as a ninja, but she had declined, arguing that she needed some time to think and ponder what to do. And given what happened the last time she went on a mission, she was arguably not ready to go back into action as well.

Fortunately, Rin was a medic-nin, which were always needed, so of course it wasn't hard for her to get a job at the Konoha Hospital. Granted, hospitals could be rather tense and frenetic places for obvious reasons, but they couldn't compare to a battleground.

She had been assigned to tidy all the rooms that have been recently vacated. While most people would find such task bothersome and boring, Rin enjoyed the simplicity of it. It allowed the young girl much needed time to think. And she had a lot of things to think about.

"Yo," an unknown adult voice said.

Turning around, Rin saw said voice belonged to his former teammate, now an adult. It would take her some time to get used to Kakashi's much deeper adult voice. And to a lesser extent, how her former friends and partners looked now. Having to adapt to this completely new world was something that made her feel overwhelmed, but she had to persevere.

"Oh. Hello Kakashi," Rin greeted him, as she continued with her work.

"I...I came here to see how are you doing," Kakashi began.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Rin replied.

"You are? I mean..." Kakashi awkwardly continued. "Well, I just wanted to say that if you have any problems adapting, or just feel bad about anything, you can talk to me."

Rin let out a sad sigh. "I'd be lying if I say everything's okay. Konoha changed so much, that when you guys brought me here, I barely recognized it. Not to mention how much you guys changed as well. Meanwhile, I'm still stuck as a little girl."

"Hey, don't say that. Didn't Tsunade-sama said that you would continue growing at a normal pace?" Kakashi asked.

"She said that. But until I become an adult...seeing you, Asuma, Kurenai and the others is going to be difficult. Maybe I should befriend your students?" Rin asked, before letting out a sad chuckle.

"They're great kids. I'm sure you'll get along with any of them just fine," Kakashi earnestly replied.

Rin was a bit surprised by such a honest answer to her quasi-rhetorical question. Then again, she did met a few of them during her escape, and they looked like people worthy of getting to know better, at the very least.

"Anyway, remember what I said. Even if a lot of things changed, if you want to find me, I still live in the same place as when we were kids," Kakashi told her, before turning around. "Well...see ya later."

"Aren't you going to ask me about Obito?" Rin suddenly asked, freezing Kakashi on his tracks.

"I'm tempted to. But I'm afraid of the answers," Kakashi uncomfortably replied. "Your world isn't the only one who's turned upside down. While I did have a hard time accepting that both of you were still alive, it's nothing compared to having to accept that all the tragedies and disasters that happened in Konoha during the last decade and a half were orchestrated by him."

"We're on the same boat then," Rin sadly replied.

"So it seems. Well...I better get going. It's great to have you back again, Rin," Kakashi said before finally leaving.

Rin sighed once again. "I wish it was as great for me too."

After making the bed, Rin grabbed a small watering can and went to water the potted plants on the window. The plants were still small, but in a few days, they would grow up and sport beautiful flowers.

"I wish I could grow just as fast..." Rin moaned as she sprinkled the plants with water.

Then, much to her shock, the plants started to grow and bloom before her very eyes, speeding a process of days to mere seconds. An astonished Rin dropped the watering can, and stumbled back in shock.

"What...what the hell is going on?" the brown haired girl asked.

…

 _Senju Residence_

The entire Senju family –plus Hinata– were gathered in the house's backyard. Jiraiya and Naruto were standing next to each other, carrying backpacks, while the girls (and Hagane) were in front of them, bidding them goodbye.

"Boy, I can wait to see Mount Myoboku! The toads I summoned made it look like an awesome place," Naruto gushed in anticipation.

"It's a sight to behold, kid. I'm sure you'll like it," Tsunade told him.

"You're not going to like the food much, I can guarantee you that," Jiraiya sourly replied.

"I know. That's why I packed a lot of food. Including some things Hinata made me," Naruto replied.

Hinata blushed a little. "I want you to think in me when you're so far away."

"You don't need to make me food to make me think of you, Hime," Naruto sweetly said. "But it will sure help a lot!"

"Dad, when can we train to become sages?" Hagane asked.

"When you grow up a bit more, I'm sure the toads will be more than happy to train you two as well," Jiraiya reassured him.

"Bring us something cool when you get back!" Kaida requested.

"And make sure you come back for the wedding, you hear me!? I won't forgive you if you miss it!" Shizune energetically told them.

Jiraiya chuckled. "I wouldn't let anything make me miss it. Even if we take more time than intended, I'm sure Ma and Pa will understand."

"Hey, don't take too long with the training either! Being Hokage is YOUR job, not mine!"Tsunade protested.

"I bet I can complete the training in less than a week!" Naruto boasted.

"That's a bold claim. Let's see if you back up those words once we get started," Jiraiya replied.

That moment, Fukasaku appeared before them. Upon seeing that Jiraiya and Naruto looked ready, his lips curved into a smile.

"I see you're ready to go, then," Fukasaku guessed.

"Yeah, we were saying our goodbyes," Jiraiya replied.

Before leaving, Hinata walked to Naruto and gave him a small peck on his lips.

"Good luck with your training, Naruto-kun. I already can't wait to see you back," Hinata told him.

"That's another incentive for finishing my training as soon as possible," Naruto said, laughing a bit.

"To Mount Myoboku then!" Fukasaku exclaimed, and both he, Naruto and Jiraiya disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving the girls and Hagane alone.

…

 _Mount Myoboku_

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Naruto gushed, as his eyes witnessed the natural paradise around him. "The toads weren't exaggerating when they talked about this place."

"Glad you like our home, Naruto-chan," Fukasaku replied, as he nodded. "So, are you ready to begin your training to become a Sage?"

Naruto smiled confidently, as he punched the palm of his hand. "Let's do it!"

 **End of Part I**

* * *

 **OMAKE: Shizune's Revenge**

Shizune was giving the Senju Residence one last look before leaving for good. She had already move all her things to her and Shisui's new apartment, but she couldn't help feeling nostalgic and a bit melancholic for leaving the house that had been her home for so many years.

"I'm going to miss this place so much. It was my first permanent home after Tsunade-sama returned to Konoha for Naruto-kun," Shizune sighed.

"I know how you feel. I do miss the old Uchiha Compound as well. But live goes on and we have to move as well," Shisui told her. "But hey, it's not that you can't come back to pay Tsunade-sama and the others a visit, right?"

"Now that you mention Tsunade-sama...there's something I'd like to do before I leave," Shizune then wrapped her arms around her fiancée. "And I need your help for it."

Shisui smiled innocently. "Sure, babe, whatever you need."

Shizune smiled wickedly.

…

Hours later, Tsunade returned home from work. As she entered the house, she heard something. Moans and giggles, coming from the living room.

"What the...?" Tsunade walked towards the living room, and turned on the lights. The sight before her surprised her to say the least. "THE HELL!?"

"Oh, sorry, Tsunade-sama, we didn't think you'd come so soon," Shizune cheekily replied.

"Uhhh...hello, Tsunade-sama," Shisui nervously greeted.

Shizune and Shisui were laying on the couch, completely naked, the latter on top of the former. And while Tsunade didn't notice due the abundant nudity before her eyes, there was a blanket covering said couch. She glared at Shizune, and frowned.

"You're a petty brat, you know that?" Tsunade snarled, before stomping upstairs.

The naked couple spend a few seconds in an awkward silence before Shizune let out a happy squeal.

"Oh yes, revenge is sweet! I've been wanting to do that for years!" Shizune said.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So now you know how Rin came back to life. As I told to some reviewers, it wasn't either Rinnegan nor Edo Tensei. But a question remains, is that the real Rin, or is just a clone with the real one's memories? Would there be any difference between the two anyway?**

 **And yes, the "reliving the traumatic moment that awakened the MS every time you use it" is an addition entirely made up by me. I think it's a good and fitting way from having the Uchihas abusing the MS like Sasuke did in late Part II, so instead is more like a last resort power. Though I doubt this would have stopped canon!Sasuke, given that he was pretty deranged by the time he got the MS anyway, but this Sasuke is not, and won't trade his sanity for more power.**

 **As I said before, Shippuden won't come next. There will be another arc that will take place between parts I and II. But fear not, I'm sure all of you will like it.**

 **And before you ask, this omake is canon ;P**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for his betareading job.**

 **So, how did you find the conclusion to Part I? Tell me in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	42. A New Mission

**Author's Note: I'm glad to see the overall good reception the ending of Part I got. Anyway, even if that part is over, there's still quite a lot of story left to tell! So now, before we head into Shippuden, there's an arc that could be considered Part 1.5. This chapter will mostly cover how much Naruto and his friends changed during the next year and a half, and towards the end, you'll see what this new arc will be about- Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 42:**

A New Mission

 _or_

 _Let's give the neglected villages some love_

 _Fourteen and a half years since the Nine Tails Attacked_

 _Training Ground Nine_

Today, two of Konoha's most promising young ninja were about to fight. Even if it was just a spar, the combatants' own reputation and the fact that they didn't clash since the Chunin Exams made plenty of ninja eager to see the fight.

"Let's hope that this time, things turn out different," Hinata, one of the many people among the spectators, commented a bit worried.

"Oh don't worry, I'm sure it won't be a repeat of the last time," Naruto assured her, as he held her hand.

While the year and a half following the Invasion of Konoha hadn't been as chaotic as the year preceding it, it wasn't uneventful either. All of Naruto's former classmates managed to score a promotion to Chunin during the Chunin Exams in Kumo, and many of them went beyond that. Naruto himself quickly earned a promotion to Special Jonin specialized in fuinjutsu when he mass produced his Chakra Blade for the ANBU to use as their main weapon. At first, it turned out it wouldn't work since the sword drained too much Chakra, but with Jiraiya's help, he realized that the original model wasted way more chakra than it consumed, something Naruto didn't notice thanks to his seemingly never-ending reserves. But once he fixed that design flaw, it could be used by people with average chakra pools.

In fact, Naruto himself was strong enough to be a full Jonin already, but Jiraiya thought he still needed more experience before he could grant him the rank. Hinata and Haku were also on their way to becoming Special Jonin, with specializations in tai-ninjutsu and ninjutsu, respectively.

"They're finally going to start," Naruto pointed out, as the two fighters got in position.

On one side, there was Sasuke Uchiha, no longer the youngest of his clan, who during the past year managed to get promoted to the rank of Special Jonin specialized in ninjutsu and sword fighting. Besides his usual katana, he also added a shoto to his regular arsenal, which he dual wield alongside his main weapon.

Facing Sasuke was Neji Hyuga, also a Special Jonin, though specialized in taijutsu, and the one who requested the spar to begin with, since he wanted to test a new jutsu he had developed recently.

"Boy, I don't know whom I should cheer," Karin whined. "Neji-kun is my boyfriend, but Sasuke is my teammate..."

Acting as referees were their respective Jonin-sensei, Shizune Uchiha and Maito Gai.

"Alright, combatants ready?" Shizune asked, looking at both of them, who nodded at her. "In that case let the fight...begin!"

Like it happened the first time, the first thing both fighters did was activating their ocular power. And the moment the word let out Shizune's lips, Sasuke and Neji dashed towards each other at such speed they were seen as blurs by some of the onlookers. Sasuke's left hand reached for his shoto, and unsheathed it in a circular motion against Neji, who prepared to deliver an arc strike.

However, Neji's opening move was a fake out, as Neji nimbly crouched and slid towards Sasuke, dodging his blade, and striking the Uchiha in the chest with an accurate palm hit. Sasuke heaved a little as he jumped backwards, holding the stricken area in pain with his free hand. He shot Neji and angry look, which was replied by a smug smirk.

"I believe the first strike is mine," Neji declared.

"Maybe, but victory belongs to those who deliver the last strike of the fight, not the first one," Sasuke replied, as he charged against Neji as once again.

Knowing that Sasuke would see it coming, Neji decided to let Sasuke strike this time and then counterattack. However, he didn't expect Sasuke reaching into his tool pouch, grab a handful of shuriken and toss them at him. As quickly as he could, Neji pulled out a kunai from his own pouch, and used it to deflect the incoming steel stars. And while he was doing that, Sasuke disappeared.

Thanks to his Byakugan, the Hyuga prodigy could see that Sasuke had appeared behind him –more than likely, after using the Body Flicker jutsu– and was about to strike. Even then, Neji was still in a disadvantageous position. Still, he wasn't deterred by Sasuke's tactic, and quickly sidestepped to avoid the incoming slash. While he was moving, Neji turned around and thrust his open palm forward.

"Vacuum Palm!"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to jump back and dodge. If Neji wanted to switch to ranged fighting, the Uchiha was more than happy to oblige. He started to make hand seals with a single hand.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke breathed from his mouth a volley of fireballs at the Hyuga prodigy, covering an area so wide that it would be impossible to dodge. Fortunately for Neji, he didn't need to dodge, and started to spin as chakra poured from every point of his body.

"Heavenly Spin!"

The fireballs crashed against a spinning dome of blue chakra, which successfully blocked both the fiery projectiles and the explosions they made upon crashing. When the dome vanished, Neji was completely unharmed.

"You'll need to do better than that," Neji taunted Sasuke.

Sasuke sheathed his shoto, while at the same time unsheathing his katana. He also made several hand seals, again with just one hand.

"I admit that's an impressive defense. But then again, there's no barrier my sword cannot cut down," Sasuke replied, almost boasting. "Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

The blade of Sasuke's katana was soon engulfed by a cloak of flames. His weapon now ready, the Uchiha attacked once again. Neji took a step back, and adopted a defensive position once again, seemingly trying to come up with a way to counter Sasuke's attack, given that normal weapons rarely did well against elemental-enhanced ones. And much to Sasuke's surprise, he blocked the Uchiha's flaming sword with a palm strike.

And to Sasuke's even greater surprise, the block was successful. Using his other hand, Neji tried to deliver another palm strike to the Uchiha, but Sasuke quickly grabbed his wrist before such thing could happen.

"So you focused your chakra on your fingers in order to make your hand stronger and protect it from the flames of my sword," Sasuke stated, as he inspected the Hyuga's hand with his Sharingan. "Intelligent trick."

"Oh, it's more than a mere trick. And you haven't seen anything yet," Neji replied, as he kicked Sasuke in the chest, breaking the struggle, before quickly adopting a stance Hinata knew too well. "You're within my divination range. Eight Trigrams. Sixty Four Palms!"

"Shit!" Sasuke cursed as Neji lunged at him, ready to strike. He made a hand seal one of the onlookers was very familiar with. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones of Sasuke appeared in front of him as Neji was about to attack.

"Two strikes!" one of the clone disappeared before he could ever record what was going on. "Four strikes!" the next clone soon followed his equally short lived brother's fate. "Eight Strikes!" This time, the strikes landed on the real Sasuke, who groaned in pain as his chakra points were closed. "Sixteen Strikes!"

This time, however, Sasuke managed to successfully block and dodge all of Neji's palm strikes, and force the Hyuga back by slashing his flame wreathed katana at him.

"You managed to interrupt one of the Hyuga Clan's most prized taijutsu techniques? I'm impressed," Neji genuinely praised.

"That fancy combo isn't as great as it seems once dissected through the Sharingan," Sasuke replied. "Technically, it's only a repeat of the first sixteen strikes, which I managed to see when you hit both my clones and myself, thus giving me the means to counter them. That attack won't work on me again."

"I wouldn't be so confident in your abilities, Sasuke. Just because you see a hit aimed at you, it doesn't mean you'll be able to prevent it in time," Neji countered, as his position relaxed. "I believe that was enough of a warm up, don't you think so?"

"I couldn't agree more," Sasuke replied, as his lips curved into a smirk. "I can't wait to see that technique you bragged about so much a few moments ago."

"Then I won't keep you waiting any longer," Neji then crossed his arms in front of him, a position the other members of the Close Combat Squad knew too well. He then quickly spread his arms as a burst of chakra pulsed from his body.

"Gate of Opening: Open!"

The resulting burst of chakra blew a powerful wind in every direction, as a green aura started to slowly appear around his body. Even those who weren't sensors could feel the resulting power boost.

"Whoa!" Naruto said in awe. He turned at the remaining members of Team Gai. "Didn't know that Neji could use the Gates too!"

"Well, it's only fitting, given that he was the only on of use that didn't learn to use them yet," Tenten replied, as she shrugged.

"Neji saw them as the invaluable tools they are, and requested me to teach him how to use them," Gai proudly added. "Now, my team is the first ninja squad in Konoha, probably in the world, that knows how to use the Celestial Gates."

"Since Gai-sensei and Lee use the Gates for their enhanced taijutsu moves, and I use them with armed combat, Neji thought he could create a new school of Gentle Fist by combining it."

"Nii-san said he was inspired by seeing me combining Gentle Fist with elemental manipulation," Hinata chimed in, with a slight and uncharacteristic edge of pride.

"Well, this certainly looks like something worth seeing!" an excited Naruto said as his eyes returned to the combat.

While this wasn't the first time he opened the Celestial Gates, Neji would never stop enjoying the rush of power result of the larger amounts of chakra surging through his body. Feeling more confident than ever, the Hyuga prodigy rushed towards Sasuke, ready to strike.

For his part, the Uchiha could barely dodge the much faster Neji's palm strike –and would have been unable to if it wasn't for his Sharingan– while Neji continued to launch a flurry of palm strikes, some of which were blocked or dodged, while others found its mark.

 _"Damn it, so this is what he meant with my Sharingan won't be able to keep it up!"_ Sasuke thought, as he tried as best as he could to dodge the wave of soft but painful strikes. _"I need to put up some distance!"_

Sasuke made a hand seal, and Body Flickered a few meters back. However, in less than a second, he saw a green flash, and Neji was in front of him already, continuing his onslaught.

"What do you think of my speed? And that's just with one Gate opened," Neji boasted as he reengaged Sasuke.

"I admit is impressive," Sasuke conceded, as he started to make hand seals with one hand while using the other to defend. "But let's see how your Gentle Fist does against an opponent you can't touch! Fire Release: Burning Man!"

Sasuke burst into flames, before they stabilized, forming a fiery cloak around the Uchiha. Naturally, Neji stopped attacking, and his confident expression morphed into a thoughtful one, as his brain tried to come up with a way to harm his opponent. It was Sasuke's turn to sport a confident and even smug grin.

"I can't believe I didn't do this earlier," Sasuke admitted. "Guess my pride didn't allow me to use my best moves from the very beginning."

"While withholding your true power is a valid tactic sometimes, doing so due to a sense of pride is something I'd call 'beyond stupid'," Neji replied, prompting Sasuke back into his usual frowning expression.

"You didn't show me your true power from the start as well," Sasuke retorted.

"Because I wanted to assess my opponent's abilities and capabilities first. And now, I have an approximate measure of what I'm going against," Neji explained.

"Measure THIS then!" Sasuke replied as he shot forward towards Neji, leaving a trail of fire behind.

Using his enhanced speed, Neji dodged Sasuke's charge, and moved to the side. However, the cloak of fire somehow increased Sasuke's speed as well, and the Uchiha was now able to match the Hyuga in that department. They spent a few seconds engaged in a game of cat and mouse, with Sasuke chasing and attacking Neji, and the latter evading and dodging him. That's it, until the Hyuga managed to find a window of opportunity long enough to prepare his next move. He slipped once again into the stance used for the Eight Trigrams Combo.

"Let's see how well you do against this," Neji announced, as he prepared to attack. "Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Exploding Strikes!"

While some people in Sasuke's situation would have believed that there's no way taijutsu, even the Gentle Fist, could bypass a shield of fire, most people didn't have a Sharingan. Thanks to his ocular power, the Uchiha could see, much to his worry, that Neji was gathering an inordinate amount of chakra into his hands.

 _"This is bad!"_ Sasuke thought as he moved to dodge the strike.

"Two Strikes!" Neji delivered two pal hits that, as the name implied, created two small chakra concussive blasts upon hitting the target, effectively bypassing Sasuke's fire cloak, but leaving Neji unharmed. "Four Strikes!" two more strikes were delivered, to the same effect. "Eight Strikes!"

 _"His palm strikes aren't closing my chakra points, but those blasts are making a number on my body!"_ Sasuke noted, trying to contain the pain caused by the hits. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A clone of Sasuke appeared before the original.

"Sixteen Strikes!" Neji finished the short but devastating combo, though it was wasted on the clone Sasuke summoned in the nick of time.

Sasuke put some distance, panting heavily. He wasn't expecting that Neji would aside the subtle damage usually caused by the Gentle Fist and replace it with brutish explosions. Then again, that was probably the idea.

"Pity I was unable to finish the combo properly," Neji lamented, shaking his head in disappointment. "Then again, you're not Naruto. Using Shadow Clones so lightly will hinder you in the long term. Your chakra levels decreased substantially."

"That might be true, but never underestimate me. I still have plenty of chakra to spare," Sasuke replied.

"After what happened the last time, I would never even dream about underestimating you," Neji sincerely admitted. "In fact, I think it's about time to step up my game even further. Gate of Healing, open!"

Meanwhile, to the onlookers, the match had become even more interesting now.

"How many Gates can Neji open?" Naruto asked.

"Neji can open up to three Gates right now, just like myself," Tenten replied. "We're working on the fourth one, but so far we've been unable to handle the strain caused by the withdrawal backlash."

"Don't worry, Tenten, just keep training! That's how both Gai-sensei and I managed to surpass our limits!" Lee chimed in, with his usual optimist demeanor.

"Some limits can't be overcome by mere training, Lee," Tenten replied.

"Nonsense! That's just unyouthful talk from a quitter!" an indignant Lee replied.

"So are you telling me that, if you train a lot, you'd be able to use ninjutsu?" Tenten sharply asked. This managed to shut Lee into a stunned silence, as he wordlessly accepted Tenten previous statement. "Thought so."

Meanwhile, Hinata was watching the fight with her Byakugan activated, in order to get a better assessment of the situation.

"Neji-niisan was right, Sasuke-san wasted a lot of chakra using Shadow Clones so carelessly," Hinata confirmed. "But the Gates is consuming niisan's chakra at a fast rate. The match won't last much longer."

"My money's on Sasuke. We've fought quite a lot of times this past year, and he got really strong," Naruto stated.

"And you just saw Neji-niisan also spent a lot of time growing stronger," Hinata replied, almost with a hint of animosity.

Back to the match, Neji and Sasuke continued trading blows, producing a strong gust of wind every time they clashed. Neji's blows created shockwaves upon impacting, while Sasuke's fire aura shot fireballs with every move the Uchiha made. However, he deactivated it after a few moments in order to save chakra.

"Smart move," Neji told Sasuke.

"I'm not the only one whose chakra is quickly burning," Sasuke said as he stabbed his katana into the ground and made several hand seals, this time with both hands, before grabbing his katana and unsheathing his shoto once again. "Fire Release: Burning Edge! Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Once again, Sasuke's katana was wreathed in flames, while his shoto started to crackle with electricity. Lastly, he crossed both blades, casting a beam of fire surrounded by electricity from the intersection point at Neji.

"Double Elemental Release: Plasma Beam!"

Neji turned into a green blur as he outrun the destructive beam aimed at him. Sasuke moved his crossed weapons in his efforts to hit Neji, leaving a trail of burned earth behind. In no time, Neji managed to reach mid distance, and prepared for his next attack.

"Eight Trigrams, Invisible Palm!"

Neji started to thrust both palms back and forth, generating spectral arms made of chakra that flew at Sasuke. The Uchiha parried all the hits with his elemental-enhanced weapons, but the strikes packed so much power they pushed the Uchiha back with each blow. Neji finished the combo with a double palm strike that blew Sasuke's weapons out of his hands and pushed him so hard, he fell on his back.

"This is over!" Neji proclaimed as he prepared for the finishing move.

Sasuke saw Neji gathering chakra on the tip of his fingers, and knew whatever he was preparing, it couldn't be good. Thankfully, he rolled on his back in time to avoid the strike –which created a small crater on the ground–, got on his feet, and managed to retrieve his shoto.

"Don't underestimate me!" Sasuke indignantly shouted.

"This IS over," Neji insisted. "Gate of Life open!"

Another burst of chakra, this one even more intense than the previous two, shook the battleground. Neji's green aura became more intense, as his pale skin started to take a reddish tint. A powerful wind started to blow. Sasuke made a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

A single clone appeared besides Sasuke, and both he and his clone continued making hand seals, a different sequence each.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

The clone blew a massive fireball at Neji, as the real Sasuke prepared his next attack.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Sasuke released an array of lightning bolts at his fireball, coating it with electricity. Neji, however, didn't look impressed.

"I've been looking for an opportunity to use this," the Hyuga prodigy stated, as he started to spin. "Heavenly Spinning Lotus!"

Neji turned into a green spinning chakra dome that successfully deflected Sasuke's bi-elemental attack. The Uchiha, however, wasn't impressed.

"So, a beefed up Heavenly Spin. It won't help you any-what!?" he asked in shock.

Much to his surprise, Neji started to move –rather fast– while still spinning.

"The hell!? How can he move?" Sasuke asked, visibly taken aback.

The Uchiha tossed a few shuriken at Neji, but as expected, they failed to slow him down. Sasuke leaped above the spinning Hyuga and landed besides him, but Neji merely moved in the opposite direction. Sasuke sheathed his shoto before retrieving his katana from the ground.

 _"Thanks to the additional power provided by the Gates, I can now use some chakra to propel myself while I'm still spinning,"_ Neji thought. _"The Hyuga's Ultimate Defense can now be used as a weapon to attack!"_

Sasuke's hands flew through hand seals as he prepared his last attack. " _Let's hope this can be enough to counter that technique!"_ he worriedly thought.

Sasuke gripped his sword with both hands, and the blade was quickly covered in both fire and electricity, before dashing at Neji.

"Double Elemental Release: Plasma Blade!"

Sasuke's elemental sword struck Neji's spinning chakra dome. The two forces clashing resulted in a powerful wind blowing outwards as flames, lightning sparks and chakra bursts flew everywhere. Both forces struggles against each other, neither of them bulging one bit. And finally, like it happened all the time Sasuke used that jutsu, when the energy gathered reached a critical point, it was released at once in the form of a large explosion, which hurled both combatants up in the air, before they both landed in the floor with a loud thud.

Shizune and Gai quickly went to check their respective students. They both were bruised and badly beaten, but they didn't have any serious injury. They would be fine after being healing.

The onlookers started to murmur among themselves, until somebody, namely Lee, voiced what most of them were thinking.

"So...who wins?" the green clad ninja asked.

"Since both Neji and Sasuke are unable to continue fighting on their own, then it's a tie," Gai declared. "But even if none of you won, it was a fight to remember! You showed everybody the height of your passion and your flames of youth!"

"Karin, go and heal Neji-kun! Sakura, help me treat Sasuke-kun!" Shizune instructed.

"Right!" Karin obediently said as she rushed towards her boyfriend, kneeling before his fallen body, and started to heal his injuries, not with her innate ability, but with the Mystical Palm Jutsu. It seemed that, despite the intensity of the match, Sasuke made sure not to make any irreparable damage.

Neji himself didn't deal any crippling blow to Sasuke either. Gai was a bit worried that, even after all this time, the Hyuga prodigy would be hungry for payback.

"So...how was I?" Neji asked Karin.

"You were impressive, honey," Karin earnestly told him as she treated his wounds. "I wish you could have seen yourself."

"I couldn't be that impressive, given that I still lost," Neji bemoaned.

"You didn't lose, it was a tie," Karin pointed out.

"I didn't win, hence I lost," Neji insisted.

"Sasuke didn't win either," Karin countered, sounding a bit annoyed now.

"Well, in that case-AW!" Neji yelped after Karin pressed one of his wounds.

"You didn't lose, end of discussion!" Karin sternly stated. "Now shut up while I heal you!"

Neji let out a sigh, but smiled as well. "Of course, Karin."

Meanwhile, Sakura and Shizune were having a similar conversation with Sasuke.

"You did great, Sasuke-kun. Truly an amazing display," Sakura sincerely praised.

"I didn't so great if I was unable to win," Sasuke replied.

"You were holding back," Sakura justified.

"While I was with-holding my most powerful moves, I was still giving it my all," Sasuke insisted.

"You simply weren't fighting with the intent to kill, despite the magnitude of your attacks. You kept the fight to a level your opponent was able to follow, which is what we should do when sparring," Shizune interceded. "Hence, you should feel proud of your fight. Just as I am."

Like Neji before, Sasuke decided not to press the issue. So far, no Uchiha had ever won an argument against Shizune, and he didn't have any hopes of being the first one.

Realizing that there was nothing else to see, most of the onlookers – with the exception of Sasuke and Neji's respective teammates and sensei – quickly dispersed and went their separate ways to do their daily tasks and jobs.

…

It would be lunchtime soon, and thus, Naruto and Hinata were heading towards the latter's house. They had some free time during the afternoon, and Hinata wanted to spend it training alongside Hanabi, and asked Naruto if he wanted to tag along, and naturally, he agreed. She also asked him to have lunch with her family.

"Hanabi's finally starting to get the hang of elemental manipulation," Hinata commented. "In less time than I did, might I add. Not that surprising, since she has far more talent than I."

"Come on, don't sell yourself short. You also had the inventiveness of combining the Gentle Fist with Lightning Release," Naruto reminded her. "If it wasn't for you, Neji wouldn't have had the idea of combining it with the Celestial Gates."

"But I did it because of my inability to master the proper Gentle Fist," Hinata replied.

"So? That just meant that your talents laid elsewhere. You turned a weakness into a strength," Naruto insisted.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle. She loved when Naruto praised her like that, even if she felt sometimes it was undeserved.

"Speaking of which, Hinata, I know you want to focus on Hanabi, but I'd also like to continue with my training on Lightning Release," Naruto told her.

"I don't know why you're so insistent about it. You already have mastered wind and water. Isn't that enough for a Jonin promotion?" Hinata asked.

During the past year, Naruto asked Haku to teach him how to use Water Release jutsu, given that wind's weakness was fire. After he mastered Water Release to an acceptable level, he then went to Hinata with the same request. And while Hinata was happy to oblige, she always thought such thing wasn't necessary.

"For a promotion, yes, but for me? Not in the slightest," Naruto sharply replied. "The Old Man mastered all five elements, and I'm not going to be any less. But don't think I'm doing this out of pride, having all five elements at my disposal will make me a force to be reckoned with."

"With that Sage Mode of yours, I think you already qualify as that," Hinata pointed out, giggling a bit.

"What about you, Hinata? You're pretty good with lightning already. Don't you plan on learning a second element?" Naruto asked.

Hinata put her finger on her lips, as she started to think. "Mmmmm...I didn't think about that until you mentioned that. So far, I've been good with what I already have."

"Remember that if you want that Jonin promotion, you'll need two elements," Naruto reminded her. He left the part about having an outstanding mastery of another discipline unsaid, since he felt it wouldn't be nice to point out his girlfriend's shortcomings.

"Well, first I want to focus on being promoted to Special Jonin. I mean, we're still young, there's no hurry, right?" Hinata asked him.

"Kakashi-sensei was a Jonin when he was twelve," Naruto stated.

"Naruto-kun, this isn't a competition. While your desire to surpass yourself is admirable, you shouldn't be concerned about what Kakashi-sensei or other people did. Other people's accomplishments don't diminish your own," Hinata sagely said.

"Guess so. Still, can't help to feel like that," Naruto replied. "By the way, you didn't answer my question."

"I believe I can afford learning a second element now. Besides, with how much I've been helping Hanabi-chan with her training in Fire Release, I believe I have a good base to start with that," Hinata stated.

"Besides, fire is wind's weakness, which is lightning's weakness," Naruto pointed out.

…

 _Memorial Stone_

"You know Kakashi, after all what happened, I thought I'd stop seeing you here."

Kakashi turned around, and saw his friend and rival Gai, standing there with his arms crossed, shooting him a mildly disproving stare.

"I know it makes no sense, but what can I say, some habits are hard to break," the silver haired Jonin replied. "I just...I can't believe that the two of them are still alive."

"Yes. People don't come back from the dead like that. Even the Impure World resurrection doesn't work that way," Gai continued. "While what happened to Obito is indeed tragic, I'd expect you to be a bit happier to have Rin back."

"I am happy," Kakashi pointed out.

Skeptical, Gai raised an eyebrow. "You don't look all that happier to me."

"You know Gai, people have different ways of expressing happiness. Not all of us go around screaming about youth at the top of our lungs," Kakashi softly but mockingly said.

"WHOA! Don't say anything you might regret! You may be my rival, but there are lines that are never meant to be crossed!" Gai angrily shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the Copy Ninja. Kakashi merely chuckled. "I think you should spend some time with Rin. She needs you more than ever."

"I know. I do spend time with her whenever I can. We all do," Kakashi replied. "Kurenai took her to eat out today," Kakashi told him.

"How is she doing?" Gai asked.

"Good, I think, but I couldn't really tell," Kakashi replied, sighing. "She looks like she's getting used to her new life and how everything changed since the day she died. But there's something that disturbs her, I know that. But when I ask her, she tells me everything's fine."

"Rin was –is– a very selfless girl, she probably doesn't want to worry you, or anybody," Gai concluded. "Then again, it's obvious that what bothers her is Obito. It's what bothers you as well these days, am I right?"

"Guess that there's no point in denying it," Kakashi conceded, and sighed. "I just can't imagine what did he go through in order to end up part of Akatsuki. And not just that, but the fact that he was behind so many tragedies, starting with the Nine Tails' attack..."

"You know what this means, Kakashi?" Gai asked, now in his usual boisterous tone. "We need to train even more now! No doubt we will meet Obito again in combat, and when that day comes, we need to be ready in order to protect our village, and make sure to knock some sense into that empty head of his!"

…

Meanwhile, in Konoha's downtown, just as Kakashi said, Kurenai and Rin were having lunch together. Even if Rin didn't really need to eat, she liked to do so, since it made her feel more human and less...whatever she was now. So far, they two of them had remained silent, but the red eyed Jonin decided to break the ice.

"So, how was your day at work?" Kurenai asked.

"Good, I guess. Nothing worth mentioning happened. And quite frankly, I'm starting to enjoy the monotony," Rin admitted, as she took a bite of the hake she was eating. "It's relaxing, and leaves me time to think."

"So you're not planning to return to active duty anytime soon," Kurenai concluded.

"I don't think I'm ready yet," Rin replied.

Kurenai smiled emphatically. "It's okay, just take all the time you need. All of us we'll be here to support you."

Rin smiled back at her. "Thanks. I don't think I could have done this alone."

"You came back from the death, girl. I'm sure there's little to nothing impossible to you now," Kurenai said.

That made Rin chuckle. "If only that were true. You know, you became quite the motivational."

"What do you mean 'I became'?" Kurenai asked, mildly indignant. "I have always been like this! But I admit that being a Jonin-sensei allowed me to hone my skills in that area."

"You know, I always wanted to become a Jonin-sensei. I think I'd make a good teacher. Minato-sensei was a very good reference," Rin mentioned. "And you got to teach his son."

"Naruto's a hard worker, and quite eager to learn. The dream of any teacher. But he sometimes can exhaust me," Kurenai said, chuckling lightly. "Not to say my other two pupils aren't great either."

"I always wanted to meet Naruto. But whenever I plan to do so...I don't know what I can tell him," Rin confessed.

"I can introduce you to him if you want. To my whole team, really. I'm sure you'll like all of them," Kurenai suggested.

"I think I already met one of them, if briefly. The girly looking boy with the Ice Release. Haku was it, right?" Rin asked. Kurenai nodded affirmatively. "He seemed nice."

"He is. Like you, he also went through a lot. In fact, all of them had their own share of past tragedies, yet they didn't let them to define who they are," Kurenai replied. "So, how about if you come with us the next time we have a training session? I'm sure it'd be good for you. You should make a few friends your age." That last comment made Rin to lower her head in sadness, and Kurenai realized too late what she just said. Her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay. It has to be just as weird for the both of us, you and the others being adults, and me still being a teenager," Rin replied.

"At least, you won't stay like that forever. I notice you're getting taller," Kurenai pointed out.

"Obito said that he did something similar to whatever they did to him in order to save his life. I was expecting to grow up into an adult, given that he did. But truth be told, I was a bit scared to be stuck like this forever," Rin told her.

"Look at the bright side. Eternal youth!" Kurenai pointed out.

Rin chuckled, and rolled her eyes. "Eternal life isn't all that great if you can't enjoy it to its fullest. For example, you wouldn't be able to drink."

That comment made the Genjutsu Mistress to rethink what she said. While she wasn't a drunk, she did enjoy alcohol regularly, and she wouldn't be so eager to give up such a pleasure.

"And I wouldn't be able to marry and start a family. Speaking of which, when do you plan to marry Asuma?" Rin cheekily asked.

Kurenai was a bit taken aback by the question. But then again, he had to admit that she and Asuma weren't exactly subtle.

"There's still time for that," Kurenai hand waved. "What about you? Did you meet any boy worth pursuing?"

"I don't think I'm ready for a relationship just now," Rin admitted. "But I think you're right in that I should try to get to know some people my age."

"Good! My students would love to meet you!"

…

 _Senju Residence_

That afternoon, Hagane and Kaida were in the house's backyard, entertaining a small, few months old baby boy with both black hair and black eyes. They were using small scale ninjutsu to create spectacular visuals that the baby would enjoy. The baby would giggle and clap whenever he saw something he liked, which was often.

The house's back door opened from the inside, revealing a smiling Shizune. The baby smiled and tried to stand up upon seeing the medic-nin.

"Aw, there you are!" Shizune happily cooed as she held the baby in her arms. "Did you miss mommy, Shiro-kun? Because mommy misses you a lot when she's at work,"

Six months after her wedding, Shizune gave birth to a baby boy, which they named Shiro. This caused a lot of people to groan and roll their eyes, but neither Shizune nor Shisui paid them any attention.

"So, did he gave you much trouble?" Shizune asked.

Both twins shook her head in unison.

"Not at all. Thankfully he didn't cry today," Hagane mentioned.

"Because he's a good boy, isn't he?" Shizune cooed again, making Shiro giggle. "Anyway, now that I'm done for the day, I can take him out of your hands."

"Will you bring him tomorrow?" Kaida asked, almost pleading.

"Probably, yeah," Shizune replied. "I didn't see Tsunade-sama, is she still at work?"

"Nope, she is home. I think she's upstairs taking a nap. Let me check," Kaida took a deep breath. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

A second later, a window in the second floor opened, revealing a very angry Tsunade.

"Goddamn it Kaida, what the hell did I say about yelling like that!?" Tsunade angrily shouted back. Then she noticed Shizune and Shiro, and her murderous expression changed into a happy one. "Oh, Shizune, didn't see you! And you brought Shiro-kun! Wait a second!"

Not wanting to waste a moment, Tsunade jumped out of the window, shattering the earth upon landing, leaving a small crater with spreading cracks.

"Kaida, honey, fix that, please," Tsunade told her.

Kaida groaned and rolled her eyes, but complied. Making a few hand seals, she used her powers to repair the damage to the grass and the ground.

"I'm the closest thing Konoha has to a princess, yet I always find myself doing gardening jobs..." the white haired girl angrily groaned.

Tsunade ignored her daughter's complaints and took Shiro from Shizune's arms. Shiro giggled as he started to pull Tsunade's bangs.

"Ow!" Tsunade cried.

"Come on Shiro-kun, don't do that to grandma," Shizune said, grabbing the baby's hand.

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, as she shot her former apprentice a murderous look. "Shizune, what did we say about the G-word?"

"Awww, it isn't cute, Shiro-kun? Grandma hates being reminded she's not young anymore," Shizune cooed in an incredibly mocking way.

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but she didn't do anything else. Of course, Shizune was more than aware that, if any other person sassed Tsunade the way she did, the Slug Princess would shatter every bone in their bodies without mercy. Even then, Shizune still knew not to push her luck.

"Any progress on the investigation regarding the cursed seal?" Shizune asked.

Tsunade shook her head. "Some, but not as much as we would want. There are elements in the seal we are unaware of its nature, though one of my researchers think there's a key component based on an unknown Bloodline Limit."

"And the investigation regarding Orochimaru's possible hideouts?" Shizune asked again.

"We did locate some of them, but they were mere laboratories and glorified storage warehouses, nothing big so far," Tsunade replied.

"Orochimaru uses a ninja village to gather funds, we should be able to track that," Shizune pointed out.

Once again, Tsunade shook her head. "Jiraiya and I thought the same, but Orochimaru already thought of that. Rather than having the customers come to his village, if it ever exists, he sends his ninjas to offer their service to potential customers. And those ninjas more often than not never come from the same place. Basically, just like how his Akatsuki friends operate."

"Drats. At this pace, we will never find again until he decides to stop hiding. And by the time he does that, he might have a whole slew of nasty surprises prepared for us," Shizune lamented.

Tsunade sighed. "If he succeeded in kidnapping my children, we may had never seen them again. We were lucky Naruto and his friends tracked them in time."

"I prefer not to think what would have happened," Shizune then looked at the blissfully unaware Shiro in Tsunade's arms. "Shisui and I are constantly afraid that somebody might want to target our son as well, given he's the first Uchiha born after the insurrection."

"You know what happens to people who target out family. I'm sure Obito will never forget the beating she got from us that night," Tsunade stated.

…

 _Hokage's Office_

"Well, this is the last meeting of the day," Jiraiya told his predecessor turned advisor. "I can't wait to get back home with my wife and kids."

"A feeling I'm familiar with, much to my distaste," Hiruzen agreed. "Then again, today hasn't been a particularly busy day."

"If only all days could been like this one," Jiraiya mentioned.

The office's door opened, revealing Shisui Uchiha. He was holding a folder in one of his hands.

"Hokage-sama. Sarutobi-sama," the black haired man respectfully greeted.

"Look at that, my son-in-law!" Jiraiya heartily said. "So, what bring you here, Shisui?"

"I've been working on a project for this past year, and I believe it's ready to be implemented. Said project would benefit Konoha immensely," Shisui explained as he handled the folder to Jiraiya.

"Let's see it then," the Toad Sage replied, as he opened the folder and took a look at its contents, an action Hiruzen mimicked.

However, as they read Shisui's proposal, their cheerful and relaxed expressions morphed into tense and disapproving ones, much to the Uchiha's discomfort.

"So you want to...revive the Military Police?" Jiraiya asked, shooting an skeptical look at the young man.

"I know the implications, but listen to me on this one. There are a lot of ninja, mostly people with families and small kids to take care such as myself that would love to have a job that doesn't require them to leave the village for long periods of time. Not to mention that it would release most Chunin from doing the job the Police used to do in the past," Shisui explained.

"I understand your concerns, Shisui, but even with the benefits you exposed, the matter is far more complex than it appears," Jiraiya replied.

"The Military Police was strongly associated with the Uchiha, to the point that it incorporated the clan's crest into its logo. Many people may see this as a ruse for your clan to recover their lost power and influence," Sarutobi explained, trying to sound as reassuring as he could.

"I know about that, but here's the thing: everybody will be able to join the Police, not just the Uchiha. Which was kind of a given, since even if we count Shizune-chan as an Uchiha, there's only four of us to man it," Shisui added with an awkward laugh.

"You raise good points. And I do agree that Konoha would become more efficient with the Police back," Jiraiya agreed, much to Shisui's joy. "The hard part is how are going to implement it without reopening the old wounds of the Uchiha Insurrection."

"I think I may have an idea," Sarutobi interceded. "We can do a survey, asking both the ninja civilian population about it, but trying to push into the forefront the benefits of having the Police back in force in order to gain support."

"Good idea. However, in order to placate those who distrusts the Uchiha, I think it should be run by somebody other than you or your clansmen. I mean, you planned to become its new chief, am I right?" Jiraiya asked.

Shisui nodded. "Indeed, but trust me, I don't mind giving up that if the Police can be reinstated."

"Very well then, tomorrow I'll get the survey started. I'm sure we can make this project into reality," Jiraiya stated as he closed the folder, and handed it to Hiruzen, who placed it inside one of the shelves.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama! You won't regret this!" an enthusiastic Shisui stated.

"I'm sure I won't. Now everybody, let's get the hell out of here! It's closing time!" Jiraiya eagerly said as he got up from his chair.

…

Next morning appeared to be just another uneventful day like those in the past few months. The night shift guards on the north gate were finally able to leave their posts as their replacements for the morning shift, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji, appeared to take their place.

"Boy, I hate gate duty," Ino said with a yawn. "It's even worse than the worst of Asuma-sensei's training."

"Eh, it's not so bad," Shikamaru replied. "I mean, after all the deadly missions we got as Genin, I learned to appreciate the joys of a monotonous chore."

"Of course you'd say that. I can't believe you find checking passports and interrogating merchants who come into the village enjoyable," Ino said as she rolled her eyes.

Choji, who had been silently eating from a bag of chips, spoke for the first time. "Somebody is coming,"

"This soon? We barely opened the gates," Ino groaned.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes as he focused his eyesight on the newcomers. It was a rather large group, much larger than usual, composed of a dozen people at least. Upon getting closer, they noticed they were ninja.

"They're ninja," Shikamaru warned his friends. "Mist ninja, if their forehead protectors are any indicators."

Worry spread among the trio, as they thought what they should do. Having a group of ninja from a non-allied village were never good news.

"Should we warn anybody?" Choji asked.

"Let's wait a bit. If they were enemies, they wouldn't be walking towards the gate like that," Shikamaru replied.

"Maybe they're a distraction," Ino conjectured.

"I'll deal with this, you two stay behind. In case it's a ruse, run back into the village and alert everybody," Shikamaru instructed. Ino and Choji nodded.

Minutes turned into hours as the group of Kiri ninja got closer. Shikamaru now could see that it was being led by a very tall and attractive redheaded woman. Upon getting closer, the woman noticed the Nara, and shot him a smile that could melt any man, regardless of his sexual orientation.

"Halt," Shikamaru told the group, trying to sound commanding, who promptly stopped in front of him. "State your name and purpose."

"Of course, handsome," the redheaded woman said with a tender smile, making Shikamaru blush. "My name is Mei Terumi, leader of the Kirigakure Liberation Movement. As for why I'm here, I wish to have an audience with your Hokage, if it's not asking much."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yep, this new arc will cover the Kirigakure Civil War! Props to...well, nobody in particular, since nobody guessed it. Then again, I didn't leave any kind of clue asfor what this arc would be about. And as you can expect, this arc will focus on Zabuza and to a lesser extent Haku.**

 **I hope you liked the Sasuke vs Neji fight during the first half. It's my delayed apology for the admitedly lackluster match they had in the Chunin Exams preliminaries. I hope I made Neji justice with his new abilities. I mean, in canon we only saw the Celestial Gates applied to normal taijutsu, so I wondered how other arts, such as the Gentle Fist or Ninjutsu would benefit from the boost granted by the gates.**

 **Like I said in the secondary title, I want to flesh out the other villages before the Five Kage Summit/Fourth Ninja War begins. I'll flesh out Suna way more during the Gaara Resuce Arc, and I have other arcs that will focus on Taki and Kumo. I'm still planning how to bring Iwa into the forefront without disrupting the flow of the story too much. The hardest part is that Iwa is the village with the least amount of canon characters to use, and i'm very reticent to add even more OCs.**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, hope you liked this chapter, as well as the arc that is to come, and don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	43. Mists of the Past

**Author's Note: I'm quite happy to see how eager most readers are about this arc. Truth be told, I was afraid that most people would react negatively and prefer if I went directly with Part II. Not that this arc is filler by any stretch of the imagination, since the events that are going to take place will affect future arcs in rather meaningful ways, but still.**

 **Also, after more than a year of silence, "True Potential" is updating again! I think I recommended this story before, but I'm going to do it again, since it's one of the best and overall better written Naruhina fanfics out there.**

 **Now, enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 43:**

Mists of the Past

 _or_

 _Zabuza can't catch a break_

…

 _Training Ground 21_

When they traveled together, Zabuza had Haku woke up before sunrise so the two of them could have a good training session before they moved onto other matters. Such habit didn't change since they were forced to live in Konoha.

They were practicing some water jutsu at the edge of a lake before the Jonin decided to stop and rest for some time. Zabuza also decided to ask his protégé a few questions.

"You've been Chunin for quite some time now. How do you find the higher rank missions you're getting?" Zabuza asked.

Haku simply shrugged. "Not that difficult from the missions I did as a Genin, truth be told. Many missions ended up being way more dangerous than we believed. But in the end, I think it was for the better. I wouldn't be as strong as I am now if it wasn't for that."

"Indeed. You survived, and that meant that you were strong enough to deserve to continue living," Zabuza stated. "All you need is a little more experience before you can be of real help in my endeavor."

"How long until we can leave Konoha?" Haku asked.

"Given how long I've been here, I'd say it can't be longer than a couple years," Zabuza wondered, as he thought about it. "My track record is pretty much flawless. So flawless that I think Jiraiya doesn't want to let me go. But so far, he has proven to be a man of his word, and I trust he'll honor his end of our bargain."

"If Naruto-kun is anything to go by, I can say that the Hokage is the same as him," Haku agreed.

There was something about Haku, however, that didn't go unnoticed by Zabuza.

"You surprise me, Haku. I wasn't expecting you to be so eager to leave Konoha. You have friends and even a girlfriend here. Would you ditch them for me?" the swordsman skeptically asked.

"You know my answer. My loyalty will always lay with you, Zabuza-sama. If you didn't take me in, I would be dead right now. I have a debt I will never be able to repay," Haku replied.

While such a statement would make Zabuza feel proud and satisfied in the past, it made him feel rather conflicted. On one side, he didn't want to lose Haku, since he was a useful asset. On the other hand, he did care for the boy, regardless how much he wanted to deny it, and the idea of forcing Haku to abandon the life he had built here made him feel uneasy.

However, before the former Kiri ninja had more time to ponder on his conflicted feelings, a lizard-masked ANBU appeared behind them.

"Zabuza, Haku. Your immediate presence is required by the Hokage. He's waiting for you in the Hokage Tower's Council Room," the ANBU stated in a cold and neutral tone before vanishing.

"Alright then, let's see why he wants to see us," Zabuza said as he and Haku headed back to the village.

…

Upon arriving to the Hokage Tower, the two Land of Water natives were greeted by an unsettling sight. Several Kiri ninja were in front of the Tower, being watched over by several Konoha ninja. Needless to say, this didn't bode well for the duo.

"Zabuza-sama, I have a bad feeling about this," Haku whispered to his master. "What should we do?"

"For the time being, let's play nice, and do what we're told to do. I don't think Jiraiya plans to hand us to Yagura like that," Zabuza reassured him.

"And if you're wrong?"

"Then prepare to fight like you never did," Zabuza grimly replied.

While they were restless on the inside, Zabuza and Haku entered the tower as if nothing weird happened. They reached the Council Room, where two ANBU stood guard, and opened the doors for them. What awaited for them there was certainly surprising.

"Well, here they are," Jiraiya stated, pleased, as he saw the duo enter the room. "Now that we're all here, we can finally begin."

The Council Room was a large room where most meetings were held. There was a long and large table in the middle, surrounded by several cushy chairs and cushions, with several drawers full of scrolls and thick folders resting against the walls. Jiraiya, Tsunade, and their sensei and former Hokage, Hirzuen Sarutobi, were the only Konoha ninja present.

There were other three ninja, two women and a boy, sitting around the table. The youngest two were a nervous looking young man with light blue hair who wore glasses, and an angry looking short girl with dark red hair. Zabuza didn't know who those two were –but the fact that they were carrying two of the seven swords didn't go unnoticed– he did recognize the third one, a woman in her late twenties with long, spiky dark red hair with a bang covering half her face, given that she was almost like a celebrity in Kirigakure.

"Mei Terumi," Zabuza dourly stated. "I must admit seeing you here is a surprise."

"Am I a good surprise, or a bad one?" Mei asked in her trademark sultry voice.

"That would depend on your reason to be here," Zabuza replied, before staring at Jiraiya. "Hokage-sama, I think I deserve an explanation for this."

"And you'll have it, Zabuza. But first, take a seat and let's hear what Miss Terumi has to say," Jiraiya replied.

Begrudgingly, Zabuza did as he was told, with Haku doing the same.

"And given that you two know each other, we can skip the introductions. Now, let's begin," Jiraiya said.

Mei cleared her throat before beginning. "Like all of you probably know, Kirigakure has been involved in a civil war these past few years. The war was a result of our village's increasingly bloodthirsty customs, which reached such point that civilians grew to hate us ninja as if we were demons. After our original leader died, I took the duty to continue the fight," Mei recounted.

"And let me guess," Zabuza interrupted. "You want me to help you with your rebellion?"

"Yes, that's why I came here," Mei confirmed. "I'm aware of your current predicament, and want to negotiate with Hokage-dono the terms so you can be released from your probation and go back with us to liberate our home."

"You can't do that!" an outraged Zabuza shouted at Jiraiya. "I might have a debt with Konoha, but you can't sell me as if I was a slave!"

"Nobody's a slave here, Zabuza," Mei told him in a reassuring tone. "You'd work for me as any other ninja of Kirigakure. I don't plan to put you in chains and whip your back. Unless you're into that kind of stuff," she added with a giggle.

Zabuza didn't find that funny.

"What if I refuse?" Zabuza tentatively asked.

Mei looked slightly surprised, but overall unimpressed. "Well, I don't know why you should. We have common goals, wouldn't be for the best if we joined forces? You started a coup against Yagura years ago, the same coup that inspired this rebellion. However, we managed to amass way more resources than you did. Now you have a chance to finish what you started all those years ago."

"And once Yagura is deposed, who'll take his place? You?" Zabuza asked.

Mei looked as if the swordsman asked something glaringly obvious. "Well, yes. I'm leading the rebellion, and so far all my followers support me as the next Mizukage."

"That's where the problem lies. I threw that coup so _I_ could be the next Mizukage, not somebody else! I fight to see _my_ ambitions become a reality, not _yours_!" Zabuza angrily shouted.

"It isn't tradition for the strongest ninja to be the leader of a village?" Mei asked in a faux-innocent tone.

Zabuza's eye twitched upon catching the implication of that question.

"Are you implying that you're stronger than me?" Zabuza asked in a threatening tone.

Once again, Mei looked as if he said something obvious. "Well, yes. I mean, I know the extent of your capabilities, and they're impressive," Mei shoot him a condescending smile. "But compared to me, you don't even reach the sole of my boots."

Zabuza slammed his fist on the table. "Enough! I won't allow you to keep me insulting like that! You think that having two Bloodline Limits already makes you that strong? You have no idea of what true strength means!"

"Is that a challenge?" Mei asked, raising her visible eyebrow. "You want to fight me?"

"You can bet it is," Zabuza seethed.

"Okay then, let's make this more interesting. If you manage to defeat me, once I negotiate the terms of your release, I'll step down and appoint you the leader of the rebellion. All my resources and assets will be yours. But if I win, you'll join my forces and fight for me against Yagura and his minions. Deal?" Mei asked, showing a conciliating smile.

"You have no idea what you got yourself into, miss," Zabuza said as he stood up.

"Whoa there, calm down everybody!" Jiraiya asked, raising his voice. "Miss Terumi, you said the matter at hand was urgent. Can't this wait?"

"Don't worry, Hokage-dono. It won't take more than ten minutes," Mei replied as she stood up.

"Let them fight," Tsunade told Jiraiya, repressing a small giggle. "Seeing them argue and bicker is way funnier than any of the soap operas I watch."

"Zabuza-sama, is this really necessary?" Haku asked as he followed his master outside.

"Yes. We have to make clear who's in command here," Zabuza stated.

…

 _Outside the Tower, Five Minutes Later_

Zabuza laid in the ground, trembling. His trusty Executioner's Blade was stabbed into the ground a few meters from him. His clothes were charred and had several burns across his body.

Mei, on the other hand, didn't look any worse for the wear. To make her obvious victory even more evident, she planted a foot on Zabuza's chest.

"Well, that was a fun spar, Zabuza-chan, but now we have a village to liberate," Mei then looked at the staring Jiraiya. "Once somebody heals Zabuza-chan, we can continue the meeting."

"Zabuza-sama," Haku called. "Now that it's clear who's in command here, what do we do?"

…

Ten minutes later, after Tsunade healed Zabuza and the swordsman was given new clothes to wear after the ones he was wearing were damaged, the Konoha and Kiri parties resumed their meeting inside the tower. And after a few minutes of bargaining, Zabuza's probation was finally over and he was free to leave Konoha if he chose to.

"Is Zabuza that important to you? I admit that he's a good ninja, but I doubt that a single man will be able to give you such an edge over your enemies," Jiraiya questioned. "Given how much you're willing to pay to have him back."

"Is not about him, but what he represents," Mei replied. "The Seven Swordsmen are the pride and joy of the Hidden Mist, and keeping their loyalty is a must for any Mizukage. Of the current wielders of the seven swords, three of them still serve Yagura, while other two are loyal to the rebellion. Of the two remaining, Kisame Hoshigaki joined the mercenary group Akatsuki, while Zabuza became an independent mercenary. At least, until a few years ago. After taking part in the Uchiha Insurrection, he vanished. Rumors said that he was now working for Konoha, but they were just that, rumors."

"And you decided to check if those rumors were true?" Hiruzen inquired.

"Oh, no. If I came here with such unreliable information, you could have claimed that Zabuza wasn't here. I came here once I had irrefutable evidence about Zabuza's change of allegiances," Mei replied.

"And that would be...?" Zabuza asked.

"It's a long and really funny story, but I guess I can tell," Mei replied, as she began. "You see, our main tactic to win this war is to target the ships that supply Kirigakure and steal them for us. Tracking the ships, however, was the hardest part, since they're manned by the best sailors money can buy, and often changed their sea routes in order to avoid us. About a year ago, this changed. The ships weren't so careful, and we were able to plunder plenty of them. Not just that, but we also found out the business who owned those ships: The Gato Corporation."

All of them were aware of who Gato was and how he met his end. That was a very good lead that would take her to Zabuza.

"We decided to track and kill Gato in order to disable Yagura's main supply lines. My spies eventually tracked him in the small island nation of the Land of the Waves. But when we got there, it turns out that somebody beat us to the punch: Gato was already dead, and the company's board members have been trying to cover his demise, while they all fought to become the next CEO, which explained the company's poor state.

"The locals told my ninja everything: turns out, Gato wanted to take over the small country, and to do so bought all the ports and harbors. However, a man named Tazuna challenged Gato and started building a bridge to connect the island nation with the continent. Of course, Gato wasn't going to have any of that, and sent a squad of assassins to kill him. Tazuna managed to avoid them and escape to the continent. A month later, he returned with a Konoha ninja escort, who by all means fit Zabuza's description, who kept Gato's assassins at bay while the bridge was being built. When the bridge was close to being finished, Gato himself showed up, leading an army of thugs, in order to kill Tazuna and his ninja. None of them got out of there alive. The bridge was complete, and his job done, the ninja left."

Mei smiled widely as she leaned back on her chair as she put both hands behind her head. This was going to be really good. "My spies decided to follow this lead and go to Konoha. So imagine their surprise when they were about to cross the bridge, and saw 'The Great Zabuza Bridge' written in big, capital letters on it."

Zabuza's eyes opened so wide, they looked they would pop out of their sockets. "WHAT!?"

"You made such an impression there, that the villagers decided to name a bridge after you. So cute," Mei cooed.

"I'm going to kill that old man and his whole family!" Zabuza growled as his hands violently strangled an imaginary victim.

"Save all that killing intent for when we go back to fight Yagura's ninja," Mei calmly told him, as she stood up from her chair. "When the news of Zabuza joining my ranks spreads, not only it will provide a morale boost for my troops, but it will encourage others to join us as well. With three swordsmen supporting the rebellion, people will see we have more chances at winning this than what they initially thought. But let's not dwell in the past anymore. As the most experienced member of my swordsmen, you shall be their captain. Now I believe you should meet your kohai."

Mei made a hand motion, and the two young swordsmen walked towards Zabuza. The bespectacled boy introduced himself first.

"It's an h-honor to finally m-meet you, Zabuza-sempai. My name is Chojuro," the boy stammered as he made a polite bow.

"You have the Hiramekarei? What the hell happened to Mangetsu?" Zabuza asked in disbelief.

"Mangentsu-senpai sadly-"

"Shut up, it was a rhetorical question. If you have his preferred sword, I can figure out what happened to him," an irritated Zabuza growled. He then stared at the intimidated young man a bit more. "You're a kid. How old are you, ten?"

"A-Actually, I'm seventeen," Chojuro meekly said before returning to Mei's side.

The other swordsman, the redheaded girl, walked to Zabuza, ready to introduce herself.

"Another little kid? You've turned the Seven Swordsmen into a nursery!" Zabuza said, before the girl could introduce herself.

"I'm eighteen, you moron! And what I lack in height, I make up for in sheer deadliness! I bet killed more people than you!" the kunoichi protested.

"I find that unlikely, brat," Zabuza scoffed.

"Now, now, Zabuza-chan, don't be like that. Ameyuri Ringo proved to be worthy of the blades she carries, and so did Chojuro. Don't let their youth make you underestimate them," Mei interceded.

"Will you stop call me Zabuza-chan!?" Zabuza shouted indignantly.

"Absolutely not, Zabuza-chan," Mei replied with the most condescending and mocking smile she could.

Deciding the discussion was over, Mei then walked towards Haku, who so far had remained silent for the whole meeting.

"Reports said Zabuza had an apprentice of the Yuki clan. Is that you?" Mei asked.

Haku looked at both Zabuza and Jiraiya. The two of them nodded at him.

"Yes, Mei-sama, it's me. My name is Haku Yuki. A pleasure to meet you," Haku said, as he made a slight bow.

Mei smiled tenderly. "Such polite boy. Can I see a demonstration of your powers?"

Haku nodded and placed his hands in front of each other, as if grabbing an invisible object. Suddenly, a small ball of ice appeared between his hands, rotating around itself.

"Impressive. Good to see that at least one clan survived the Bloodline Purges," Mei stated in satisfaction.

"Do you want to hire Haku too for your campaign?" Jiraiya asked, a bit uneasy. While he was okay with letting Zabuza go, he wasn't so eager to lose the chance to give Konoha a new Bloodline Limit-bearing clan.

"Yes, but not just him," Mei replied, much to Jiraiya's confusion. "So far, we've been fighting a guerrilla war due not having enough numbers for a proper assault, but that's going to change soon. You see, my pirate fleet is very lucrative, and has amassed quite amount of wealth during the past years. Now is the moment to put that wealth to good use, and use it to expand our forces. Konoha made quite a display of power during the last few Chunin exams, especially the one that took place here. I'm very interested in the ninja of that generation that Haku-kun here belongs to. But I know that Konoha has a lot more to offer than that as well."

"Why us? Konoha and Kiri have always been enemies. Why do you think we should help you?" Hiruzen asked.

"You answered yourself: none of Kirigakure's allies would help me oust Yagura, so of course going to their enemies would be the best option," Mei explained. "Besides, given the way you stopped both the Uchiha Insurrection and Orochimaru's invasion, I'd say Konoha's ninja have a lot experience when it comes to warfare."

"I think I'll take that as a compliment," Jiraiya unsurely replied. "Anyway, how much money are you willing to spend, Miss Terumi?"

Mei's smile curved even more. "I was expecting you to ask that, Hokage-dono, and I'm sure that the answer won't disappoint you."

Turns out Mei was right. She was willing to spend A LOT of money. The money she spent to have Zabuza released from probation was nothing compared to all the money she brought with her. And while all that money could allow her to hire literally hundreds of Konoha ninja, the Mizukage hopeful decided that she preferred quality over quantity.

Her first choices were the squads formed by the generation known as the "Konoha 15", of which Naruto and Haku were part of, as well as their respective sensei. Her next choice were Jiraiya and Tsunade themselves. Jiraiya had to decline the offer, since he was a Kage, he didn't do missions and was needed at the village. Tsunade also disagreed, not just because her responsibilities at the Konoha Hospital, but because she was no longer a ninja. Still, she ensured Mei that the medics of the Medical Squad were the next best thing after her.

Mei wanted to recruit Itachi Uchiha as well, but unfortunately he was out of the village doing a long term intelligence gathering mission. Fortunately, Shisui was available to go –the fact that his wife was going was a big boon–. That means that little Shiro would be left under Jiraiya and Tsunade's care until the two of them returned.

By the time Mei ran out of money, she had hired one hundred and twenty two Konoha ninja, forty seven Jonin and Special Jonin and seventy five Chunin. Many people might think it was an insignificant number, given the scale of the campaign the rebel leader was embarked on, but if Jiraiya's word that those ninja were the best Konoha had to offer at the moment, she had high hopes they would be enough to tip the balance in her favor.

Lastly, Mei also asked for Zabuza's other two accomplices, Goizu and Meizu, the so called "Demon Brothers". Given that they weren't as big of a threat or an asset as Zabuza, Jiraiya agreed to hand them to Mei.

"Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Terumi," Jiraiya stated once the contract forms had been filled and signed. "When do you plan to go back to the Land of Water?"

"As soon as possible. Tomorrow morning we shall return to the ships, so make sure your ninja are ready to go by then," Mei replied.

"They will, I can assure you that. Now, is there anything else you'd want to discuss before you go?" Jiraiya asked.

"As a matter of fact yes. There's an important fact about Yagura that you and your ninja need to know," Mei began.

"If you're going to tell me that he's a Jinchuriki, I already know that," Jiraiya replied, as he crossed his arms.

Mei was taken aback. Her visible eye was wide open in shock, her mouth agape. "How...how did you know?"

Jiraiya smirked. Despite being a married man, he loved whenever he managed to impress or surprise beautiful young women .

"Before being Hokage, I used to run Konoha's spy and intelligence network. Due a certain...series of events, I had to conduct an extensive research on Tailed Beasts and their Jinchuriki. Said research was rather fruitful. Konoha knows the identity of all nine Jinchuriki, as well as what Tailed Beast they hold," Jiraiya explained, though it was more of a boast.

"Really impressive," Mei conceded. "And do you know the level of control said Jinchuriki have over their beasts?"

"In some cases. I know that one of Kumo's Jinchuriki, the Raikage's brother, has perfect control over his Tailed Beast. The rest all have a varied range of control, though they aren't that big of a threat by themselves," Jiraiya replied.

"Well, in that case, let me provide you with some additional intel: Yagura also has perfect control over his Tailed Beast," Mei stated.

This time, it was Jiraiya, Tsunade and Hiruzen's turn to be surprised.

"What?" Hiruzen asked in surprise.

"That is troubling news," Tsunade interceded. "If the enemy has a perfect Jinchuriki, then your war has become much harder to win."

"I know. That's why I was banking on your son the Jinchuriki to balance things out," Mei replied, and before the others could have any chance to ask, she added: "Yes, I know your son is a Jinchuriki. Of the Nine Tails, no less. Is not that hard to guess if one connects the dots, starting from the eponymous beast's attack on Konoha almost fifteen years ago."

"Sadly, while I did train Naruto to the best of my ability, and he has grown into a fine and powerful ninja, we've made little progress when it comes to control the Nine Tails' chakra," Jiraiya sadly admitted. Mei visibly deflated.

"Then we don't have any means to match Yagura's power. Still, we have to keep trying-"

"Actually, Naruto might be of help. He might not be able to use the Nine Tails' chakra on his whim, but he is a master of Senjutsu," Tsunade interceded.

That piece of information caught Mei's attention, who seemed to grow hopeful once again. "Senjutsu? Your son is a Sage? How? He's so young!" Mei asked, clearly surprised. "But if what you say is true...then we might still have a chance!"

"By the way, Miss Terumi, I noticed something. If you were interested in Naruto-kun, then that means that there are no jinchuriki among your ranks," Hiruzen deduced. "Does that means the jinchuriki of the Six Tails is also loyal to Kirigakure?"

Mei shook her head. "Utakata is loyal to no one. He refused to serve Yagura, and thus he left the village, becoming a missing-nin. My spies managed to locate him before Yagura did, and I personally tried to persuade him to join us, but he refused to get involved in the war."

"Well, that's one thing less to worry about," Jiraiya stated. "Are you sure he will remain neutral?"

"That's the impression I got the time I spoke to him. In fact, he was planning to leave the Land of Water altogether," Mei replied.

"Alright then, if there's nothing left to discuss, then we're finished here," Jiraiya stated.

"I agree. I'll go to prepare for the journey back," Mei replied.

…

 _Konoha Hospital, that afternoon_

Rin had just finished to check the last patient for the morning, and decided to go to the hospital's cafeteria in order to have some light snack before resuming her shift. However, before she could get there, an old friend of hers made himself known.

"Yo."

Rin turned around and saw Kakashi perched on an open window.

"Oh, hello, Kakashi," Rin greeted, showing a hint of a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm going to leave for a long term mission. I don't know how long it will last, but it can be weeks, even months," the Copy Ninja gravely said.

"Oh..." Rin held her hands a bit worried. "What is this mission about?"

"My team and I, as well as many other Konoha ninja, have been hired to take part in the Kirigakure Civil War," Kakashi announced.

The mere mention of Kirigakure made her heart stop for a second. The Hidden Mist. It was the ninja of that village who started everything. The ones who turned her into a jinchuriki, forcing her to commit suicide, which was unfortunately witnessed by the still living Obito, which in turn pushed him to join a terrorist organization that eventually resurrected her.

She still had nightmares in which Kiri ninja returned to take her back and do unspeakable things to her.

She did learn about the still ongoing civil war when she was catching up on all the events she missed the years she was inside that cocoon. Truth be told, she didn't care much which side won, and hoped that conflict wouldn't splat Konoha. Her hopes had been cruelly crushed.

"Well, I wanted to tell you that if you see that time passes and we don't return...so you don't think the worst has happened," Kakashi tried to reassure her.

Rin looked pensive, but still worried. She bit her lip while trying to figure out what to say, but Kakashi beat her to the punch

"So...how have you been?" Kakashi asked, even if he knew what her answer would be.

"Okay, I guess. I think I'm finally getting used to this new future Konoha, even if it took me some time," Rin replied. "Thankfully, I don't need to go to any of those seminars to update my medical knowledge anymore. I can't believe how much our medicine has advanced since I was...absent."

"Well, you can thank Tsunade-sama for coming back to the village. Thanks to her, we now have the best medic-nin of the whole Elemental Nations," Kakashi stated, then he added: "Of which you are part now."

"I may be a medic, but I'm not a ninja anymore," Rin sadly said, her statement being followed by an awkward silence.

Feeling the mood was way too somber, the Copy Ninja decided to change the topic. "I see you're getting taller. Whatever Obito did you, it didn't hamper your natural growth."

Rin chuckled, as her body visibly relaxed. "Yeah. I've never been so happy to see that my clothes didn't fit anymore."

"It's a good thing, because otherwise you would never be able to go out to drink at night with me and the others," Kakashi replied awkwardly, placing his hand behind his head.

Rin giggled a bit as well. "Well, I can still hang out with you guys, even if I can't drink yet. And even if it's kind of weird for a teen to hang out with grown men and women."

"Hopefully in the future, we'll look back at this moment, and we'll all laugh. Anyway, I better get going. Wish me luck," the silver haired Jonin said before leaving.

"Actually..." Rin said too late. She groaned, and resumed her way to the cafeteria.

Once there, she sat in one of the tables, and tried to push what Kakashi had told her out of her mind. However, it wasn't possible. She wouldn't have given any thought if it was any other village, but Kiri? The memories were too strong, and too painful. It was partially thanks to what happened during her final mission that she has been unable to return to active duty.

And now, Kiri came back to her doorstep, to finish what it started so many years ago.

"It's okay. I don't need to get myself involved in this," she said aloud. "Kakashi and the others will come back safe and sound. There's no need to worry."

But she was worried. Very worried. It couldn't be a coincidence that Konoha was once again involved with that accursed village. Then again, it may had never stopped being involved, since there was one of the infamous Seven Swordsmen working for the village for a couple years now.

And she had the dreadful sensation that something horrible was going to happen.

Pushing her fears aside, she stood up, and took a decision.

…

 _Hokage's Office_

"Come in!" Jiraiya said after somebody knocked on his door.

The door opened, revealing Rin Nohara, better known as the girl who came back from the dead. So far, she had kept a low profile while working at the hospital. Kakashi hoped that, by giving her space, maybe one day she'll feel ready to return to active duty. According to the silver haired man, she had the potential to be almost as good as Tsunade-hime when it comes to medicine.

"Ah, good afternoon, Rin," Jiraiya greeted the girl with a sincere grin. "What can I do for you."

"Hokage-sama. I came here to ask you for a favor," Rin politely asked.

"Well, I'm all ears."

Rin took a deep breath, as if she needed to mentally prepare what she wanted to say. Jiraiya suspected it would be something big, and he wasn't wrong.

"I wish to take part in the mission to Kirigakure," the medic-nin finally said.

Jiraiya was taken aback. For a girl who spend so much time away from battle, and her history with that village, it was rather shocking.

"Uh...I think there may be a problem," Jiraiya replied, after the shock wore off. "You see, the leader of the rebels has already spent all her money hiring other ninja. You weren't part of the selection process since you weren't in active duty."

"I don't care! I'll go for free!" Rin pleaded. "Please, Hokage-sama, I need to go!"

"Isn't this too much of a leap? I mean, you've been off duty for more than a year, and now you want to get involved in a war? Especially in Kirigakure. Given your history with that village, I never imagined you'd want to get involved," the Toad Sage told her.

"I know. It sounds so nonsensical but...that's exactly why I need to go," Rin asked. "I need to face Kirigakure again if I ever want to move on."

Jiraiya didn't say anything, as he pondered what to do, before he finally took a decision. "Alright then, you can go. Given you used to be teammates, you'll be a temporary aggregate to Kakashi's Animal Squad. Stay close to him and do everything she says, understood?"

Rin beamed with joy. A weird way to react to know you're going to a war, but then again, she asked for it in the first place.

"Understood, Hokage-sama. Thank you for this," Rin said as she repeatedly bowed before him.

…

The next day, as Jiraiya had promised, all the Konoha ninja Mei had hired for her rebellion were already in Konoha's northern gate, ready to go to the Land of Water. Some of the ninjas there, such as Kakashi, Rin and Gai, were veterans of the Third War, while most of them weren't, and their closest experience to war were either Orochimaru's invasion attempt a year ago, and/or the Uchiha Insurrection.

Regardless of this, all of them couldn't help but feel nervous. Going to war was way above the average mission, even those ranked as S. Many of them were talking among each other, mostly to entertain themselves before it was time to go.

"Haku-kun, given that you're from the Land of Water, how do you feel about going back?" Hinata asked her teammate.

"Guess that you'll be happy to return to your previous home and help to liberate it," Naruto added.

"Truth be told, I hardly think in the Land of Water as my home anymore," Haku began. "I've been living in Konoha for so much time, coupled with the fact that that place was where I lost my original family...you can imagine my feelings towards that place are mixed at best."

"That's really sad. I can't imagine myself having such feelings for Konoha," Hinata mentioned. "Even with all the bad things that happened here."

"Konoha had the luck of being ruled by just men, and not bloodthirsty tyrants," Haku observed. "Something that wasn't always the case in Kirigakure's case."

"But thankfully our help to the rebellion will put an end to that," Naruto optimistically stated.

"Haku-kun...in case everything goes fine...what are you going to do?" Hinata fearfully asked. "I know Hokage-sama allowed you to leave with Zabuza-san the moment the latter finishes his probation."

"Honestly, I don't know," Haku admitted. "I don't want to leave Konoha. I made many friends and even have a girlfriend here. But my loyalty will always be with Zabuza-sama. If he returns to Kirigakure and wants me to go back with him, I have no choice."

"Why don't you tell Zabuza you're happy here, and ask him to stay?" Naruto asked.

"I can't do that. My debt with Zabuza-sama is one I will never be able to repay. Asking more is simply unthinkable," Haku replied.

While Naruto and Hinata were unable to understand such train of thought, they decided to respect it nonetheless, even if they really wanted to tell Haku to make his own decisions regardless of what Zabuza said.

"What about Tenten? Aren't you going to tell her about this?" Naruto asked. "You might have to break up with her."

Haku sighed again. "I've been trying to bring up the topic but...I just can't bring myself to have this conversation with her. I know I have too sooner or later but...it's really hard for me."

"I hope Zabuza allows you to stay here once the war ends," Naruto said. "Or else, the team will be down to Hinata and I. And I don't want some newbie upstaging your place."

"I hope that too. But for the time being, we should focus on the mission at hand," Haku declared.

The three ninja saw their sensei walking towards them, with a small smile on her lips.

"I heard we'll be going soon. Are you guys ready?" the raven haired woman asked her students.

"Yup! You bet we are!" Naruto proudly declared. "You know, I've always wanted an opportunity to test everything I learned during the past years. The missions we got weren't all that big."

"You might find this way too big for your taste, Naruto," Kurenai advised. "Even if I do agree that you've grown powerful, there are always enemies out there ready to show you how weak you are."

"Besides, Mei-san wants you to help her fight the Mizukage, who is a perfect jinchuriki. Even with your Sage Mode, he's an opponent not to be underestimated," Haku warned him.

"I know, and I'll be ready. I have a new jutsu capable of harming even a Tailed Beast," Naruto boasted.

Hinata then turned around noticed something. "Oh look, there's Mei-san!"

Everybody's attention was drawn to the woman who would be their new boss for the foreseeable future. She was flanked by the three of the Seven Swordsmen loyal to her. Everybody stood to attention as she was ready to give a speech.

"It seems that all of you are here, good," Mei began, as she inspected the ninja in the front rows. "I know you're Konoha ninja, but as long as this campaign lasts, you will only be loyal to me. Fear not, since I won't test your loyalty by making you go against your village's interests. Your only enemies will be Yagura's men.

"Time is of essence, so we need to move fast. We will travel to the east until we reach the coast. There, I have a transport ship prepared to carry all of you to my base. Once we reach there, we will plan our next move. Now if somebody has any questions..." several hands were up. "...I suggest you to keep them to yourselves until we reach my main base."

All hands went down, as some ninja started to murmur.

"Well, I hope you guys are ready, because we're leaving NOW! So everybody, move!" Mei ordered as she and her entourage began their march towards the west coast.

While they took a couple seconds to react, the large group of Konoha ninja quickly began to move, following their temporary boss into the thick forests of the Land of Fire.

…

 _Back in Konoha, Hokage's Office_

After seeing the Konoha ninjas hired by Mei, his son among them, finally leave for Kirigakure, Jiraiya returned to his never-ending pile of work. Of course, it didn't last long until the monotony of his work would be disturbed. An ANBU appeared in front of him.

"Hokage-sama, there's somebody who wants to see you," the ANBU informed.

"Hm? Weird. I don't have any appointments until one in the afternoon," Jiraiya replied. "Tell that person to ask for an appointment like everybody else."

"It's not some random person, Hokage-sama, but Danzo Shimura," the ANBU uneasily clarified.

Now that was something that got Jiraiya's attention. Despite being part of the Council of Elders, Danzo rarely showed up to the meetings, nor voiced any concerns over the way the Toad Sage ran the village. Until now, that's it.

While reluctant, Jiraiya decided that he could spare a moment to hear him out. "Tell him to come in."

"As you wish, Hokage-sama," the ANBU said before vanishing.

A couple seconds later, the door of his office opened, revealing the crippled one eyed man that was both his sensei's longtime friend and sworn rival.

"Danzo, what a surprise. Take a seat, please," Jiraiya said in a painfully fake polite tone. Not paying attention to that, the Elder did as Jiraiya told him. "What do I owe this visit?" Jiraiya asked. Albeit deep down, he knew the answer.

"I've recently been informed that you allowed a contingent of some of our best ninjas be deployed to intervene in Kirigakure's civil war," the war hawk began. "I wish to know why I haven't been told the moment this decision was made."

"Last time I checked, the Hokage doesn't have to answer to anybody, so I don't think I owe you any explanation of what I do," Jiraiya replied.

"Quite fooling around, Jiraiya," Danzo snapped, without losing his usual cool. "Getting involved in another village's affair is something that needs to be discussed with the council, so the best decision can be reached."

"First of all, it's Hokage-sama to you," Jiraiya gravely replied, as he fixed a hard glare on the war hawk, who wasn't perturbed. "Second, I didn't randomly decide to have Konoha be part of their civil war. The leaders of one of the sides hired some of our ninjas to boost their forces. It's a job just like any other."

"That's a lie, and you know it," Danzo replied. "A group of ninja of such scale, coupled with the skill of many of its members, can easily tip the balance of the civil war."

"And that's a bad thing because...?" Jiraiya asked, clearly not following the elder. "The faster the civil war ends, the more lives won't be senselessly wasted."

"Those lives are of foreign people, and thus not our concern," Danzo coldly dismissed.

Jiraiya chuckled. "See? That line of thinking is why you were always passed over the title of Hokage."

Despite such a shot, Jiraiya failed to get a reaction out of Danzo.

"And are you so willing to save lives even if it comes at the cost of our ninja?" Danzo questioned.

"I know many ninja won't come back home, but that's a risk they are aware of," Jiraiya rebutted, as he crossed his arms. "But like I said, this isn't an humanitarian mission. Mei paid for the ninja she took with her. We never discriminated any client before, and I see no reason to start now."

"Don't you see it? The longer the civil war continues, the more Kirigakure will be weakened. And if they don't end up destroying themselves, we could have easily finished off the winner, erasing a longtime enemy and competition of Konoha," Danzo explained. "And then Konoha would have reaped the benefits of their chaos, such as any survivor with a bloodline limit, and some of the swords of the Seven Swordsmen. Given what you did with Zabuza and Haku, I thought that was your long-term plan, but it seems you're not as interested in strengthening Konoha as much as I thought."

Jiraiya found Danzo's accusation insulting, but thought it would be better not to let him be carried away by his emotions. "I wouldn't have accepted this job if I didn't have Konoha's best interest at heart, and if you had a more open mind, you'd see the benefits of this transaction."

"Such as?"

"If we manage to help Mei overthrow Yagura, we will gain a powerful ally, given that, even if she did pay for our help, she will owe part of her victory to us," Jiraiya started to explain. "With Suna and Kiri as our allies, Iwa and Kumo won't be as eager to start wars against us like they did in the past. Incidents like the Hyuga Affair won't happen again."

"Alliances cannot be trusted. A friend today can become an enemy tomorrow. What will be of us if any of our so called allies betray us? We have to learn to be self-reliant, or else destruction will be our only fate," Danzo stated.

"Trust me, I made everything in my power to make Konoha strong, but alliances are never to be dismissed. That's why, even if we encourage all of our ninja to train to become stronger, they go to missions in squads and not alone," Jiraiya replied. The Sannin was starting to lose his patience. "You wanted to know why I allowed Mei to acquire the services of our village, and now you know it. As a Hokage, I'm a very busy man, so if you don't have any more grievances to discuss, I'd like to resume my work."

Danzo seemed to accept the end of the discussion, as he stood up and moved towards the door, but before opening his mouth one last time.

"You'll regret this decision, Hokage," Danzo gravely told him.

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed, as he glared at Danzo. "Is that a threat?"

"It's a warning. And it's not me I'm warning you about," the head of Root stated before leaving the room.

…

 _Root's Headquarters, sometime later_

While the old war hawk was an expert at suppressing his emotions, there were times, such as now, in which he wished he could scream into the sky and let all his rage away. But he knew from experience that such actions brought short term relief at the expense of long term consequences. Not that it made him feel any better.

Days like today make him lament losing Shisui's Sharingan to the Akatsuki. With the power of that unique eye, he could have manipulated all the right people in order to get himself promoted to Hokage.

But alas, fate had a different plan, and favored the enemy that day, in more ways than one. Jiraiya was pretty much a follower of Hiruzen's philosophy of seeking peace and creating bonds with other villages, instead of crushing them when they're down so Konoha can reign supreme. And it wasn't the first time that he was told that his refusal to adhere to such way of thinking cost him being Hokage.

Danzo had to admit there was some truth to Fugaku Uchiha's words regarding the clan's reasons to launch a coup d'état. Every Hokage was related to the previous one in some way. Tobirama was Hashirama's brother. Hiruzen was Tobirama's apprentice. Jiraiya was Hiruzen's apprentice, and Minato was Jiraiya's. And given Naruto's meteoric rise in power and prestige, it was more than likely that he will become the next Hokage once Jiraiya retired.

He wouldn't say Hiruzen was a bad Hokage, at least on paper. His old friend was powerful, experienced, wise and knowledgeable. He had all the desirable traits a Kage should have. However, his childlike naiveté and delusions about forgiveness and peace made him a wrong choice. The ninja world was cruel, with no place for childish ideals, and no way to be changed. The only way to survive was to be more cruel than your enemies.

As soon as he entered his lair, his two strongest and most loyal agents appeared besides him.

"Danzo-sama," Fuu, the Yamanaka redhead, greeted him. "How was the meeting with the Hokage?"

"As fruitless as I had feared. I'm afraid that there's nothing we can do now," Danzo replied.

"Maybe we can send some agents to sabotage Kirigakure while they're fighting?" Torune, the masked Aburame, suggested.

Danzo shook his head. "For such idea to work, would have needed to know about Konoha's intervention well in advance. However, not everything is lost. Fortunately, I managed to sneak an infiltrator among the group which left with the Kiri ninja. At the very least, we'll obtain some valuable information about our enemies."

…

 _Three Days Later, aboard Mei's ship_

The Konoha ninja managed to reach the coast in two days, just as Mei was hoping. Thanks to their celerity, they were able to board the ship in no time and head towards the Land of Water. Then, it would be an estimate of three days until they reached Mei's main base and planned the offensive.

Sadly, three days was too much, and the ship was too small for sparring, or even doing any kind of exercise. So the only way to pass the time was talking with others, eating, or, if you were lucky enough to have a significant other aboard, making out.

Unfortunately for Sakura, the latter option wasn't available to her, despite the object of her affections being on board. Oh well, since she had nothing better to do, she might as well try to change that.

Like most people, Sasuke was in the deck, resting against a railing with his arms crossed and his usual "I don't give a damn about anything" expression. Without saying anything, Sakura walked towards him, and rested her arms on the railing while she gazed at the expanse of water before her eyes.

"I've never seen the ocean before. So much water..." Sakura casually mentioned. Even if Sasuke appeared to pay her no mind, she had learned that the Uchiha was indeed listening. "It's so beautiful, don't you think?"

"Maybe at first, but it gets boring really quickly," the Uchiha replied. "Hope we can get to Land of Water as soon as possible."

"Where's the hurry? You should try to enjoy the trip a bit more. I mean, it's not every day we can get a sea trip, right?" Sakura asked.

"I've never been a fan of this kind of things. But at the very least, it gives me time to think," Sasuke replied, as his eyes sharpened.

Sakura turned around, resting her back on the railing, and looked at Sasuke with a sincere smile. "And do you mind sharing what are you thinking right now?"

"See that guy over there? The one drawing a picture?" Sasuke mentioned.

Sakura scanned the crowd before her, until she saw the boy Sasuke was talking about. A pale looking, black haired boy, dressed in black, sitting on a chair, working on a picture.

"What about him?" Sakura asked, as a dreadful thought crawled up her back. _"Oh please, don't tell me you're into guys, Sasuke-kun..."_

"That boy appears to be the same age as us, yet I don't remember seeing him in the Academy," Sasuke mentioned.

Sakura inwardly sighed in relief, and addressed Sasuke's worries. "Well, maybe he graduated before us?"

"Then how is that we didn't see him in the Chunin Exams? Neither the ones who took place in Konoha, nor the ones in which you and Karin graduated," Sasuke observed. "And before you said that maybe he's still a Genin, remember that this is an S-Rank mission. No Genin would be allowed."

"You think there's something fishy about him?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke nodded. "It's a gut feeling, but there's something about that guy that makes me distrust him."

"I see. Do you want me to go and talk to him? Maybe I can get something out of him," Sakura offered, knowing very well that for all his talents as a ninja, Sasuke wasn't the most social person.

"I'd appreciate it," Sasuke replied.

Sakura nodded, and headed towards the drawing boy. Walking to him from behind, she took a look first at the picture he was drawing. While it appeared he was drawing the oceanic scenery, it was an abstract picture. That would be an excellent topic to break the ice.

"Nice picture," Sakura praised, her tone soft enough as not to startle the pale boy. "I don't know much about art, but it looks really pretty."

The boy turned around, and smiled at her. "Thank you."

"I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way," the pinkette said as she extended her hand at Sai, which he took. "Nice to meet you."

"My name is Sai, and the feeling is mutual, " Sai replied, keeping that smile all the way. The stiffness of his obviously fake smile was making Sakura a bit uncomfortable.

"Uh, you can stop smiling now," Sakura awkwardly said.

"Oh, sorry. I read in a book that a smile is a good way to show others your friendliness," Sai explained, much to Sakura's bewilderment. "But if I'm making you feel uneasy, I'll stop… ugly."

Sakura's eye twitched, as her teeth gritted. "The hell did you call me!?"

"Oh, I also read in a book that giving nicknames is a good way to connect with people, and the best nicknames are those who define the-"

 **"SHANNARO!"**

Sai suddenly found himself at the opposite end of one hell of a right hook, which sent the pale boy flying out of the ship and into the ocean.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

 **So, the Civil War is about to kickstart. Next chapter will mostly develop a bit most of the Kiri characters before the action can begin.**

 **Boy, I love writting Mei being so condescending towards Zabuza. It's almost as fun as Shizune being sassy to Tsunade. But don't worry Zabuza, your partnership with Mei will be very fruitful. And well, Mei overall is a pretty fun character, and I enjoyed a lot writing chapters in which she's prominent.**

 **Some people asked for him in the reviews, so I'm going to say it now: Utakata isn't going to have a big role in this fic. Mostly for three reasons: first, fleshing him out and giving him a large role would slow down the story's pace a lot; second, this arc is going to introduce quite a lot of new characters, mostly canon and a couple of OCs, and is getting very crowded as it is; and lastly, I don't find him terribly interesting, so I have no incentive to write for him. Sorry to all the readers who were expecting to see him.**

 **And Sai also makes his debut. He won't be an important character during this arc, but he will in a future original arc of Part II that will deal with Danzo and Root, so I thought I'd introduce him now in order to lay the groundworks for that future arc. Sorry if I suck at writing him, but I find writing for Sai quite hard, and while I saw other writers that are able to grasp what makes him funny, so far I've been unable to, besides his usual lack of tact.**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Alright, end note. Next chapter will focus on fleshing out the rest of the Kiri characters before the action can truly begin. In the meanwhile, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	44. Kirigakure's Hope

**Author's Note: I'm so glad Mei and Zabuza's interaction got such a good reception. I was afraid that people would think I was making a disservice to the character by havinh Mei whipping him like that. Glad to see you find it as hilarious as I did.**

 **Also, the story just broke the 500K hits! Yay!**

 **Nothing much to say here. Enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 44:**

Kirigakure's Hope

 _or_

 _Ready for the Prison Break_

…

 _Land of Earth, Undisclosed Location_

The mountains of the Land of Earth are one of the most inhospitable places of the entire Elemental Nations, with only the Land of Wind's Demon Desert managing to be close in such terms.

The mountains had everything that made them unfit for humans being to live there: no trees to harvest lumber, no fertile land that could be farmed, very little available water, an extremely strenuous terrain difficult to traverse, much less to build a village on, and the only animals who dared to live there were large, ferocious beasts that were constantly fighting each other, usually for food, who didn't mind the collateral damage their fights could cause. Yes, such combination of factors made the mountains a place completely devoid of human beings.

Just like Han wanted.

Han, known as Han of the Steam Armor, while technically being an Iwa ninja, preferred to live alone, far away from civilization. He was an extremely tall man, wearing a crimson armor that covered most of his body, and his face being obscured by both a mask that covered his mouth and nose, and a red conical straw hat. Being a jinchuriki, the man had faced discrimination and scorn from his peers most of his life, that's why he chose a life of quiet solitude.

While he was preparing some food, Han could hear the footsteps of several men. Whenever the Tsuchikage had a mission for him, he would send a squad of ninja with the news and details for his mission. It was an agreement he reached with Onoki, the current Tsuchikage; he would be allowed to live alone in peace, but he would work for Iwa whenever they needed him. It was a better alternative that being a missing-nin. Besides, that way he could get the supplies he needed to survive in such an hostile environment.

However, there was a problem: these men, the four of them, weren't Iwa ninja. In fact, they didn't look like ninja at all. They were wearing robes akin to religious men, had their head shaved, and their skin was dyed pitch black with white patterns, almost emulating bones. Han deduced they had to be some sort of cultists.

"I don't know who you are," Han calmly said as he stood up. "But if you value your lives, you should leave this place immediately."

The weird looking men grinned, and unsheathed ritual daggers. Such a strange weapon to bring to a fight.

"Sorry, you sinner, but our High Priest has asked us to get you," one of the cultists said, grinning widely.

"Alive, unfortunately. Janshin-sama won't be happy, but the word of our High Priest can't be denied," another cultist said, as he menacingly advanced towards Han.

"So make our jobs easier and-"

The third cultist never got to finish his sentence. In a blink, Han appeared before him, and blew a hole in his chest with a brutal punch, his fist bursting though the man's back. Han shook the man's lifeless corpse from his arm, and shot a murderous glare at the other three.

"Who wants to go next?" he asked.

A moment of silence. Then, the three remaining cultists' face contorted with rage, raised their daggers, and charged at Han.

"FOR JANSHIN-SAMA!" They yelled in unison.

Meanwhile, hidden above them, two men wearing black cloaks with red clouds observed the fight. One was a young man with slick silver hair combed backwards, who carried a large, three bladed scythe. The other was a taller man whose face was covered by a mask, leaving only his bloodshot green eyes visible.

"Your cultists are so inefficient, it's almost hilarious, Hidan," the second man commented.

Hidan just shrugged, and chuckled. "I know. But I didn't bring those fuckers here to do our job for us, Kakuzu. It was you who wanted to asses our target before taking him on. Who cares if they die?"

"We aren't going to do much assessment if they die so quickly," Kakuzu noted, as he observed how Han cooked a cultist alive with an attack that involved steam. "Look, he already killed three of them."

"We aren't going to kill him, and Jashin-sama demands sacrifices. It doesn't matter if it's a faithful or a heretic, even if Janshin-sama prefers the latter. It will grant us a swift victory," Hidan explained.

Kakuzu frowned, and glared at his partner. "Do not let those superstitious beliefs of yours make you think you're invincible and fumble the mission. It took us way too long to locate Han to fail now."

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING BY SUPERTITIONS, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Hidan yelled at Kakuzu as he grabbed his scythe. "Fucking take back those words or else-"

"Hey, who the hell are you!?" Han asked from below, after noticing the two Akatsuki.

Kakuzu's glare intensified. "Way to go idiot, he saw us. Now we lost the element of surprise."

"Oh, who the hell needs that! I'm sure this fucker ain't that strong! Come on Kakuzu!" Hidan shouted as he leaped at Han.

Kakuzu groaned loudly. "One day, Hidan, I'll find a way to kill you. "

…

 _Seas of the Land of Water, Mei's Transport Ship_

Sasuke and Sakura moved to the latter's cabin, of which she shared with Karin and their sensei, Shizune, to discuss the pinkette's less than stellar attempt at getting closer to Sai.

"You know, the point of asking you to go talk to Sai instead of me is because you are better suited for this kind of situations," Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura groaned. "I know...but the guy called me ugly! We just met, and he called me that! And he had the gall to claim it was an 'affectionate nickname'!"

"Anyway, while the guy was being fished back to the ship, I asked some questions to the others, mainly if they knew about him," Sasuke told her.

"And what did you find out?"

"Apparently, he's an ANBU. And not just that, but he had been trained as an ANBU all his life, " the Uchiha revealed.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "That's...odd. ANBU or not, all ninja are required to graduate the Academy."

"I thought that as well. But apparently, he's part of some sort of experimental training in order to produce agents better suited for black ops," Sasuke explained.

"No wonder the guy is so socially awkward. I didn't know the Hokage allowed for this kind of brutal methods. Isn't that the reason there's a rebellion in Kiri?" the pinkette asked.

"Yes. But you can voice your concern when we get back. As for the time being, we should keep an eye on him," Sasuke decided.

"Shouldn't we focus on the mission at hand instead?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke snorted. "We're not Genin anymore. We can do both things."

Sakura blushed a bit in slight embarrassment. "Right, sorry."

"By the way, where is Karin? I haven't seen her in all day," Sasuke wondered.

…

To answer Sasuke's question, Karin was with Neji on the latter's cabin, of which he also shared with the other male members of their team. As previously stated, there was nothing much to do on a plain transport ship other than talk with others, eat or make out, and Karin and Neji decided to do the latter.

However, after their make out session, they decided to just relax, and remain snuggled on Neji's small but comfortable bed.

"I don't know how can I resist being far away from you for so long," Karin moaned, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to stay with Neji once the mission began.

"They say absence makes the heart to grow fonder," Neji replied. "The longer we are apart, the more we want to see each other again."

"Even then. Sometimes I envy Naruto-niisan so much. He gets to see his girlfriend all the time. How I wish you were on my team," Karin continued.

"Maybe, but it was our fate not to be teammates," Neji replied. "That doesn't mean that our bond is any weaker, though."

Karin smiled, "Of course not," she said as she kissed him in the lips."But maybe once this mission is over, we can ask for some vacation days. To spend it together, you know."

"While that sounds enticing, I'm afraid I will still be busy preparing my promotion to Jonin. Leisure time will have to wait," Neji replied.

Karin frowned, and crossed her arms over her chest, and pouted a little. "You're no fun. You already train and a lot, and are among the strongest ninja of our age. Isn't that enough for you?"

"No, not until I don't achieve the Jonin rank," Neji replied. "There's always room to get better. What about you Karin?"

"What about me what?" Karin asked back. "Are you implying that I'm weak or I don't train enough?"

"Far from it. But I wonder if you plan to stay a Chunin forever," Neji asked.

Karin raised an eyebrow. "I just got the rank not even a year ago. I don't think I'm ready to go for another promotion so soon."

"Why not? You're strong, and one of the kunoichi with the greatest potential I've ever seen. You could easily become Jonin before reaching adulthood," Neji observed.

Karin blushed a bit. "Y-You think so?"

"I wouldn't say that if I didn't think it. You only need to push yourself further," Neji advised.

"Hey! I do push myself really far, thank you very much!" Karin protested, as she fixed a hard stare on her boyfriend.

Neji, however, smirked. "You think so? In that case, you wouldn't mind training with me and my team one of these days?"

"Oh, please. Sakura trained with you guys. If she can do that, then so can I," Karin confidently replied.

"You sound very sure of yourself," Neji noted.

Karin smirked at him. "Of course I am. I'm very strong and have a lot of potential, right? And since I'm so sure, let's make this more interesting: if I manage to resist everything your training routine throws at me, you'll take a few days off to spend with me. No missions, and no training."

"And what if you fail?" Neji asked.

"How dare you suggest I'm gonna fail," Karin stated, sounding half-indignant. "Let me think...if I fail, I'll admit you're right, and I'll continue training alongside you until you deem me worthy."

"Both outcomes involve getting closer to me," Neji observed.

Karin frowned once again. "And you're complaining?"

This, time it was Neji who smirked at her. "Not in the slightest."

Neji then moved closer to Karin, and the two teens continued kissing. That's it, until somebody knocked the door.

"UGH!" Karin groaned. "Go away! We're a bit busy here!"

"I'm sorry to tell you that make out time is over. We arrived at Mei-san's base," a voice the two of them recognized as Tenten informed them.

"Awesome timing," Karin snarked, as she rolled her eyes.

"I feel you, sister. Haku-kun and I were getting intimate too when Lee told me to look for Neji," Tenten replied.

…

When they said that the first stop would be Mei's base, everybody imagined that they would go to some sort of town, small city, hidden fortress, or even a campsite. Yet instead, looming over the transport ship was an even bigger metal ship, way bigger than the one that hosted the preliminaries during the Chunin Exam finals at Konoha.

The huge ship was also surrounded by a thick layer of mist, probably created by the ninjas on board, in order to keep the ship hidden from any kind of sea patrol.

Once the smaller ship was closer to the bigger one, a gangway was placed between the two of them so the Konoha ninja could access Mei's base.

"That...that's your base?" an incredulous Kiba asked.

"Of course," Mei replied. "The Land of Water is not exactly big, and if I had a base on land, it would have been found and razed sooner or later. But by establishing my command center in a ship, my forces and I can be constantly on the move and avoid Yagura's trackers.

"I do have a few decoy bases in the mainland in order to distract the enemy, though," Mei added.

"That's a very intelligent thing to do," Kakashi praised.

"Aw, thanks. But I have to admit this idea was born out of experience and necessity rather than wit or intellect," Mei conceded.

Ameyuri took a step forward. "Everybody, get on board the ship! There's much to discuss and prepare, so time is of essence!"

"Our personnel will show you your new cabins, as well as all of the ship's place of interest. And unlike this one, it has places where you can spar and train," Chojuro continued. "We hope that you find the Kirigakure's Hope to your liking."

After a few minutes, all of Konoha's ninja were aboard the Hope, and the smaller transport ship took a different direction.

"All of the Jonin, come with me to the War Room so we can discuss your first mission for the rebellion. Everybody else will be briefed once a plan had been devised. For the time being, feel free to roam the ship and see everything she has to offer," Mei instructed the Konoha ninja.

…

Everybody took on Mei's offer, and decided to explore the ship. Much to their joy, the ship had multiple training and sparring rooms where the idle ninja could blow some steam and keep their skills honed. Plus the rooms were extra reinforced so the fights wouldn't damage the rest of the ship. Made sense for the ship to have such rooms, since Mei's ninja needed a place to train.

Naruto and Hinata wondered if they could resume the make-out session that was tragically interrupted when Haku told them they had arrived, but neither of them were in the mood after such a jarring interruption.

The blond jinchuriki then suggested to continue his training in Lightning Release, something Hinata didn't mind at all.

"Lightning Release: Spark shot!"

After doing the required hand seals, Naruto pointed two fingers forward, releasing a ridiculously small electrical bolt.

"Dammit!" he yelled, as he stomped his foot in frustration.

Spark shot was a D-Rank jutsu, and the weakest and most simple Lightning Release jutsu. Yet Naruto was having trouble mastering it. His other thirty nine clones weren't having a much better time either.

"Calm down, Naruto-kun. Frustration rarely leads to success," Hinata wisely advised.

"I can't help but feel like that when I fail to master such a simple jutsu as this! I mean, I completed a jutsu my biological dad was unable to! I'm better than this!" Naruto replied.

"Even with clones, you can't expect to master everything the first try. I mean, you told me it took you weeks to combine elemental chakra with the Rasengan, right?" Hinata pointed out. Naruto reluctantly nodded. "This is the same. Now, let's continue, shall we?"

"Maybe you could give me some advice? There's something I must be doing wrong," Naruto told her.

Hinata looked pensive. She brought a finger to her lips. "Hmmm...oh, I know! I'll use my Byakugan and see how you mold your chakra before using the jutsu. That way I can see if you're doing something wrong."

A devious smile appeared on Naruto's face. "Hinata-hime, if you wanted to see me without clothes, you only need to ask."

Hinata turned incredibly red. "W-WHAAT!? T-That's not what-I mean, I would never...!" she started to babble.

"Relax Hime. You should know that I'm joking," Naruto laughed.

"W-Well, it wasn't funny, I don't like when people insinuate that about me or my clan," Hinata protested, her normally pale face still pink. "And I wish you stop doing it."

"I do it because you're adorable when you get that flustered," Naruto replied, still showing that roguish smile.

"Well, do you want me to help you, or not?" Hinata huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay, okay, sorry," Naruto replied. 'Boy, I think I did that way too many times already. Hinata-hime doesn't anger easily, but I better do something to make up for that just in case.'

"Byakugan!"

Naruto and his clones repeated the jutsu a couple times, under Hinata's watchful gaze. They didn't need to go it a third time.

"Okay, I think I know what you're doing wrong," Hinata said.

All clones looked at her, expectant. "And that would be?" the original asked.

"You release the chakra way too early. You need to let it build up for a while before casting the jutsu," Hinata stated.

"Oh, I see," the original Naruto replied, and both he and his clones proceeded to do the jutsu as Hinata advised. "Like this?"

This time, the lightning bolt was thicker, even if it still didn't have enough power.

"Yes, like that! Good job!" Hinata cheered.

"Hey, wait a minute," a clone said in realization. "Both you and Sasuke use lightning jutsu instantly. How's that?"

"Practice," Hinata said, as she shrugged. "When I started, I also had to spend a couple seconds building up the chakra so I could release the jutsu properly. As time passed, my skill improved so I needed to do it less and less."

"Of course," the blond replied, then he turned at his clones. "Alright guys, let's work on this so by the end of the day, we can do it instantly just like Hinata-hime does!"

A chorus of "Right!", "Yeah!", and "Sure!" replied, as the army of clones began to work on the jutsu with even more enthusiasm and energy than before.

Hinata giggled as she kept watching over the clones trying to master the jutsu down. However, it seemed like the training would come to a stop, since her Byakugan saw somebody who was about to enter the room. Somebody who was rather close to Naruto for personal reasons.

"Naruto-niisan?" Karin asked as she entered the training room. "Oh."

"Oh, Karin-neechan, hi!" the original Naruto said, while the clones were still focused with the training at hand.

She looked around, and saw Hinata among the army of clones. "Is this a bad moment? Are you busy?"

"I'm training with Hinata-hime, don't worry!" the original Naruto said, as he created an additional clone. "I hope you don't mind talking to a clone."

"I guess not," Karin said as she shrugged.

"Cool then!" the new clone said, as he left the original and his "siblings", and went to talk with Karin. "So, what's up?"

Karin and the Naruto clone exited the training room, so the original and his girlfriend could train alone.

"Naruto, I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to answer honestly," Karin started, looking at Naruto in the eyes. "Do you think I'm strong?"

"What? Of course you are!" Naruto replied. "Why ask me that? You think you're not?"

"Well...Neji pointed out that I could be stronger than what I'm now. That I'm not 'fulfilling my potential'," she said, making air quotes. "Do you...agree with him?"

The clone looked pensive. "Well...you do have a lot of untapped potential. But I'd say you should improve at your own pace. Neji is a genius. Guys like him improve at an insanely fast pace. Normal people like you and me should take it easy."

Karin raised an eyebrow. "You, normal? I think you're actually closer to him than you're to me."

"Well, I kinda have the clones, so my case is special, hehe," the clone laughed. Then, he remembered something. "But then again, you do have Shadow Clones too, right? You can use that to get stronger faster than normal."

"I can't make as many clones as you. My limit used to be four, and with a lot of training I managed to push it to five," Karin explained.

"Hey, even then, it's still something," the clone replied. "My dad's limit is six, yet he still used them to great effect. You should try that too."

"Alright, I will," Karin replied, as she let out a weary sigh.

Something the clone noticed. Worriedly, he deiced to press on a little. "Is everything between Neji and you alright?"

"Neji-kun is as loving as ever. Is just that recently..." Karin began, and paused for a bit, before sighing again. "Neji-kun nowadays seems to be overly focused on his ninja career. He's been working on his promotion to Special Jonin like crazy, and now he wants to be Jonin."

"And you think he's neglecting you?" Naruto asked.

Karin rubbed her arm. "A little bit, yes. But I can't blame him for wanting to look for his future. Is just that I'm afraid that I might be a load to him. I don't want to drag him down."

"Well, you can always train more. Push yourself to-"

"It's not that," Karin interrupted the clone. "I worked very hard for my Chunin promotion, and I'm very happy with it. While I don't plan to stay a Chunin forever, I wasn't looking forward any further promotion anytime soon. But after talking with Neji it made me feel...inadequate."

"If you're happy with the way you are, then you shouldn't try to change that. Let Neji progress at his preferred pace, and you progress at your own," Naruto said with a shrug. "Funny, I got a similar conversation with Hinata. She seems to think the same as you."

"She has to, given that you're her boyfriend, and I know that she isn't a genius," Karin replied, placing her hands on her hips. "So, anyway, what do you think I should do?"

"Try to get a promotion whenever you want it, and most importantly, whenever you feel you're ready. If you're not ready, it won't matter how much you want it," Naruto told her. "I'm sure Neji will understand your reasons."

"Let's hope he does," Karin replied. "Anyway, thanks a lot for talking with me. Now I feel a bit better about both myself and my relationship with Neji."

"Hey, what's family for?" the clone heartily replied, and chuckled. "I'm sure I can always talk with you if I ever have a problem."

"You can, but I don't have your spirit, so don't expect me to be of much help. Other than having somebody listen to you," Karin replied.

"Sometimes, having somebody to listen to you is all what you need," the clone said before dispelling in a cloud of smoke, leaving Karin alone.

…

 _Ship's Cafeteria_

Feeling she could get some food after doing some light training, Rin decided to head to the ship's cafeteria. As expected from such a place that served as the rebel's main base, the cafeteria was a huge place, full of long tables and benches attached to the ground.

It was relatively early, so there were only a few people scattered through the many, many, tables.

"Well, at least I'm not going to have any problems finding a place to eat," she chuckled.

After picking her food, she headed towards the nearest table, until a shout followed by laughter caught her attention. Looked around, she saw that the commotion came from one of the tables towards the middle, where a trio of Konoha ninja were also eating while chatting a bit. Taking a better look at them, she realized that they weren't some random ninja, but Kakashi's Animal Squad.

The silver haired Jonin did talk to Rin about his "cute little Genin" (now cute little Chunin), but she never met them properly. Maybe now there was a chance to do so, and also befriend some people of her age group. From what Kakashi had told her, they were very friendly. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards their table. None of them seemed to notice her presence until she opened her mouth.

"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit with you?" Rin politely asked, putting on her best smile.

"Sure! The more the merrier!" the brown haired girl cheerfully replied as she patted the empty seat next to her. "I'm Tamaki, and these are my friends and teammates, Kiba and Shino!"

And indignant bark came from under the table.

"Oh, and Akamaru. Sorry for forgetting about you, boy," Tamaki replied, as she handed the now visible dog a treat, which he happily munched.

"Hi there," Kiba replied, just as energetic as Tamaki.

"Hello," Shino said in his usual monotone.

"Nice to meet all of you. My name's Rin Nohara," the medic-nin introduced herself as she took a seat.

"Wait,, Rin Nohara? THE Rin Nohara?" Kiba asked in shock. "As in, Kakashi-sensei's deceased teammate who came to life by mysterious means!?"

Rin chuckled awkwardly. "Yup, that's me."

"Awesome! What does it feel to be dead?" Kiba asked. Tamaki's mouth curved into a frown, and kicked Kiba under the table. "Ow, what was that for?"

"Don't be so rude! That was such an insensitive question, you jerk!" Tamaki chastised him. "Rin clearly had a really bad time, and she doesn't need us to remind it to her!"

"While I agree that Kiba could have used a bit more tact in his question, his curiosity is not misplaced," Shino calmly interceded. "So far, Rin is the only person we know to come back from the dead."

"What about the Hokage Orochimaru revived with that forbidden jutsu?" Tamaki asked.

"They don't count, since not only were they zombies, but according to official reports, they had no knowledge of what happened to them or where did they go after death," Shino explained. "Knowing with exactitude what awaits us after death is something everybody sought to know."

"I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, but I don't remember anything after my death either," Rin admitted, then she smiled. "And while I appreciate your concern, you don't need to walk on eggshells around me. I already came to terms to what happened to me, and accepted my new situation."

"That's something good to hear, Rin-san," Shino praised.

"Okay, let's change the topic to something less grim, then," Tamaki leaned close to her, and smiled wickedly. "Given that you were Kakashi's teammate, can you tell us stuff about him when he was our age?"

Rin smiled back. "Oh, plenty! What do you wish to know?"

"Was Kakashi always late to the team meetings?" Kiba asked.

Everybody eagerly awaited for the answer.

"Actually...no," Rin said, to everybody's surprise. "He used to be pretty diligent back then. He was never late to a meeting, and often chastised those who did."

"Unbelievable. And what happened to make him change like that?" Tamaki asked.

Rin sighed, as her expression darkened. "Well...Obito happened." The mood immediately grew much somber when the female medic-nin mentioned her fallen teammate turned Akatsuki. "Did Kakashi...tell you about him?"

"No, he didn't," Shino replied. "And given the circumstances, I find understandable that he prefers not to reminisce of events regarding him."

"Yeah, sorry for unintentionally bringing that up," Tamaki apologized.

"No, it's okay. I think if I talk about it with somebody...I think I'll have an easier time getting over it," Rin replied.

"Even if talking about a traumatic event is indeed good for the psyche, do not feel pressured to do so if you don't feel ready," Shino continued.

"Yeah, what he said. You owe us nothing," Kiba added.

"No, no. I want to do this. I need to do this," Rin said once again. "You see, Kakashi back then was nothing like you described. He was always punctual, took his missions very seriously, followed the ninja code to the letter, and believed the mission was more important than your teammates."

Needless to say, the Animal Squad was taken aback by such revelation.

"Kakashi? The same 'those who abandon their teammates are trash' Kakashi?" Kiba asked in disbelief.

Rin nodded. "Actually, that line wasn't from Kakashi, but from Obito. Obito used to believe that your teammates were more important than the mission. You see, Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, forsook a mission to save his teammates. When the repercussions of such actions were felt, everybody shunned and ostracized Sakumo for his decision, including the very same people he saved. It was so bad, he was eventually driven to suicide. That's what made Kakashi adopt such a mindset regarding missions."

"What happened then?" Kiba asked.

"During a mission in the Third War, I was captured by enemy forces. Kakashi wanted to complete the mission, while Obito wanted to save me. Eventually, Obito went to save me on his own, but was outnumbered and outmatched. He would have died there if Kakashi didn't appear to save both of us. However, we weren't safe. The enemy made the cave we were in to collapse. Kakashi tripped and fell, and he would have been crushed by an avalanche if Obito didn't push him out of the way, and took his place," Rin explained.

A somber silence followed. Given their sensei's usually carefree attitude, they would have imagined that Kakashi had such a harsh background. They had to admit that the silver haired Jonin was really good at masking his emotions.

"Before the cave collapsed completely, Obito had one last request: to have his left eye removed and implanted on Kakashi, who lost his own left eye on the mission. After that, Obito died. Or we thought he did," Rin finished her tale.

"So that's how Kakashi got his Sharingan," Tamaki commented.

"Yes. Obito's death affected him deeply. He believed it was his fault that he died to begin with, even if he really didn't. But given that he's part of a terrorist organization now...well, I don't think that will cheer him up much," Rin commented.

"I'm sure your and your sensei's death also affected him as well," Shino deduced.

"How can a man keep going after so many loved ones die like that?" Kiba asked bitterly, as his mind started to think in his loved ones. "When this mission is over, I'm going to tell my mom and sister how much I love them."

"Careful Kiba. People who say that in stories usually end up dead," Tamaki pointed out.

"Yeah, but this isn't a story, this is real life," Kiba retorted, crossing his arms.

"You know...I never imagined Kakashi being a sensei," Rin interceded, changing the topic.

"Why do you say that?" Tamaki asked.

"Well, from how he used to be when were teens...I don't think he'd had the patience to teach. Kakashi is a genius who pretty much got everything right the first try. He might have had exceedingly high expectations of his students, and would have tossed the towel in frustration when he saw that wasn't the case," Rin told them.

"Well, you're not that far off," Kiba admitted.

"We were the first team Kakashi-sensei passed," Shino began. "We don't know the exact number, but a few other teams were assigned to Kakashi-sensei before us. He tested them, found them unworthy, and sent them back to the academy."

"That's it, until we came and passed that test!" Kiba proudly boasted. Akamaru happily barked in agreement.

"That sounds more like it. You three must be really skilled if you managed to pass a test from Kakashi," Rin praised them.

"Actually, I don't think you're following. You see, Kakashi didn't want to test our skill or strength, but our teamwork," Tamaki clarified.

Rin raised an eyebrow, and a memory came to her mind. "Wait, are you talking about the Bell Test?"

"Yea! You know it already?" Kiba asked.

Rin nodded. "Minato-sensei made us take that test as well."

"And how well did you do? I'm sure you passed since you became their students, but was it difficult?" Tamaki asked.

"Did the Fourth had to tie somebody to a log?" Kiba asked as well, bitterly remembered that moment.

"Actually...Kakashi got the two bells in less than five minutes," Rin stated.

A deafening silence ensued as the Animal Squad processed Rin's words. They knew Kakashi was one of the strongest ninja Konoha had at the moment, but to do something like that...

"Wow. And you said your sensei was the Fourth?" Kiba asked in disbelief, his eyes open wide.

Rin giggled a bit. "Minato-sensei said that he was going to go easy on us since we were newbies. Well, Obito and I were, Kakashi had been a ninja for some years already. Guess he didn't think Kakashi could be so good."

"Thank goodness Kakashi doesn't expect that level of skill from us," Tamaki said in relief, not realizing how lucky she was. "Not that we don't give our all."

"Guess he knows he's the exception rather than the rule," Rin replied. "Anyway, now that I told you all this, I hoped it help you understand Kakashi a bit better."

"It was. I could never imagine how much suffering that man went through. Now that we're armed with this knowledge, we can give him proper support of any kind," Shino concluded, as he adjusted his shades.

"Good, because he's going to need it," Rin agreed. "I believe that our return, and especially what happened to Obito broke him even further."

"Anyway, enough to talk about Kakashi-sensei. Tell us about you!" Tamaki interceded, changing the topic.

"Me? Well...there's not that much to say. What do you want to know?" the medic-nin asked.

"For starters, what have you been doing since you're back among the living. I don't think we've ever seen you once," Kiba pointed out.

"I've been working at the hospital. I wanted a quiet and calm job away from everything so I could think about all what happened to me after my death and resurrection, and get adjusted to this new era. A lot can change in fourteen years," Rin replied.

"Understandable. And what made you change your mind? Given that you're in a mission to a civil war," Shino asked.

Rin took a deep breath, and sighed. "Because Kirigakure had a big role in my death, and I need to face that."

…

 _War Room_

Mei, her inner circle, and most of Konoha Jonin were standing around a large rectangular table with an equally large map of the Land of Water on top of it. The map had several figurines that represented several points of interests. Kirigakure was the biggest. There was also a boat figure that symbolized the ship they were all on.

"Alright, let's get down to business," Mei began. "During these past months, the rebellion have been preparing to invade Kirigakure and end this civil war already. The invasion should have happened already, but a certain event became a major setback to my plans.

"Ao, my spymaster and head of my intelligence network, was captured during a skirmish. Ao knows almost everything about the rebellion. Our future plans, which of our bases are decoys and which are the real ones, the location of our secret hideouts...everything. As you can probably imagine, the invasion can't happen as long as Ao is in the hands of the enemy," Mei concluded her explanation. "Unfortunately, I don't have enough forces to liberate Ao, so that's the main reason for coming to Konoha for help."

 _"So, Ao defected to the rebellion? Interesting,"_ Shisui thought. He had clashed with Ao quite a few times during several skirmishes following the Third War, and wondered if he would have to fight him again.

"If you don't have enough troops to assault a mere prison, what hope do you have to take over a major village?" Asuma asked. Other Jonin started to murmur, many of them apparently agreeing with Asuma.

Mei, however, smiled at the question. "Most of my forces are spread around the Land of Water, hidden, keeping on tasks vital for the rebellion in secret. If I make them come out of the shadows and join me this soon, they won't be able to work undercover again. If I do that, it has to be when we invade Kirigakure, not earlier. Besides, that way Yagura thinks that our forces are much smaller than they really are."

Her explanation seemed to satisfy the Jonin's doubts about Mei's chances in the war. The rebel leader continued.

"This is the Crimson Citadel," Mei used a pointer to refer to a castle figurine on a small island. "During the Second War it was a military outpost, but it was later converted into a prison. My spies report that Ao has been taken there for interrogation. We need to liberate him, as well as the rest of the prisoner rebels there, as soon as possible."

"How do you know Ao didn't spill the beans already?" Kakashi asked.

"Like most spies and intelligence gatherers, Ao has been trained to withstand the worst forms of torture. It will take a lot of time to break him, if they break him at all," Mei replied. She clearly had a lot of faith in that man's ability to remain silent. "And even if they have mind reading jutsu, they won't work since there are protective seals carved into his head."

"So, what's the plan?" Kurenai asked.

"The Crimson Citadel only has one entrance: a dock that's heavily guarded, and only opens its doors whenever a ship carrying supplies or prisoners enters or leaves the place. Unfortunately, no such ship is scheduled to arrive in a long time, so if we try to pretend we are going to bring prisoners or supplies into the prison, we'll raise suspicions, and our plan will be foiled," Mei told them.

"How are we going to enter, then?" a Konoha Jonin asked.

Mei smiled once again. "That's when you guys enter. One of the reasons I contacted Konoha, and hired several specific ninja, is because they have summoning contracts of flying animals. We'll employ some of those animals to infiltrate a small team whose task will be to open the main gate. Once the mission is a success, the rest of the forces will invade the prison on small but fast boats, kill the guards, and release the prisoners.

"Lastly, it's imperative that news of the prison break does not reach Kirigakure. If Yagura realizes what happened, he will be waiting for us. Any questions?" Mei asked, scanning the small crowd. Upon seeing no raised hand, Mei smiled once again. "Good. You're dismissed. Now we'll decide which ninja will form part of the infiltration team. For security's reasons, we'll use the standard four man squad. Anything bigger would draw too much attention. You'll receive further information shortly."

With the briefing concluded, everybody left the war room, and prepared for the incoming battle.

…

Like with the other ship, Sakura would have loved to go to the dock and admire the vast oceanic sight, but there were two major reasons stopping them from doing that. The first one was the constant veil of mist that followed the ship everywhere, making sightseeing impossible. And the second was that dock access was heavily restricted for security reasons, forcing the pink haired kunoichi –and nearly every Konoha ninja– to remain indoors.

Fortunately, the ship had quite a few living rooms made for a comfortable stay. Going to one of them reserved for Konoha ninja, Sakura saw Ino in the one she entered, sitting on one of the cushioned benches.

"Ino!" Sakura called her blond friend as she walked towards her.

"Oh, hey," Ino replied. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I heard we're going onto our first mission soon, and decided it would be good to rest and relax a bit, in order to be at one hundred percent," Sakura replied, as she took a seat next to Ino.

"You read my mind," Ino replied. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"Why did you punch that guy into the sea? What did he do? Did he insult you or something?" Ino asked.

"You can say that. It was literally the first thing he did and, well...even with my flawless lady-like behavior, something like that can bring out the worst of me."

Ino chuckled. "You don't have to tell me. Anyway, what made you approach him in the first place?"

"I wasn't that interested, but Sasuke-kun was suspicious of him. He has our age, yet we never saw him in the Academy nor the Chunin Exams. We did some research, and found that he started his ninja career as an ANBU."

"As an ANBU?" Ino parroted, raising a visible eyebrow. "I thought that you had to be at least a Chunin to be admitted there?"

"My thoughts exactly. But if he's truly an ANBU, I'm afraid I won't be able to get anything out of him by simply asking, or tricking into giving me the answers I want, is not going to work," Sakura complained as she slumped a bit.

"I hope you don't expect me to probe his mind, do you?" a very wary Ino asked.

"I would never dream asking you that unless it was a life or death situation," Sakura replied, but Ino remained tense. "And no, this is not the case."

Ino finally relaxed. "Good. But you know, you got me curious. I'll see if I can talk to this guy, just to see if he's as bad as you describe him."

"He's even worse, but you don't have to take my word for it," Sakura replied with a shrug.

"Huh? Sorry for intruding, but who are you talking about?" a new voice said, making Sakura and Ino to turn at the newcomer, and saw Hinata walking towards them.

"Oh, hey, Hinata. Just some guy who got on Sakura's nerves, and she and Sasuke think he's up to no good," Ino quickly summarized.

"I see," Hinata replied as she not so much took a seat as she let herself fall on the bench, letting out a tired moan.

"You look exhausted. Were you training?" Sakura asked.

Hinata nodded. "Mmhmm. I don't know where Naruto-kun gets so much energy. Well, I do, but you know what I mean. Says he wants get promoted to Jonin as soon as possible."

"Let's hope he doesn't get exhausted too much. I heard we're going to launch our first attack on Kiri forces in less than a day, and we're going to need him," Ino said, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Trust me, someone who is able to exhaust Naruto has not been born yet," Hinata replied, with a tired smile. "He'll be fine."

"Sasuke-kun is the same. He wants to do nothing but train and get stronger as soon as he can. I don't know why he needs to be so much power so soon," Sakura added, raising her arms in frustration. "He'd be more happy if he learned to relax."

"Well, Sasuke-san lost many loved ones..." Hinata looked at Ino warily. "...that night."

"It's okay, Hinata, you can say it," Ino replied. "It's not like I'm going to have a meltdown if you mentioned that day by its name. What kind of kunoichi I would be if I had such a fragile psyche?"

"Anyway, due to what happened to the Uchiha back then, maybe he wants to get stronger to make sure he can save the loved ones he still has, should something happen to them," Hinata explained. "In a way, I feel the same. I know that I couldn't have done anything to save my father, but I want to become stronger, even if it takes me a lot of time, so I can protect my loved ones."

"That's...a very good reason," Sakura replied, then she looked down at her lap. "Guess I was among the lucky ones who didn't lose anybody important that night."

"Your parents are civilians, so of course nobody would want to target them," Ino pointed out.

"You know...I just realized that we're going to do with Kiri what the Uchiha tried to do with Konoha," Hinata realized.

Sakura and Ino stared at her in mild shock, realizing that there was some truth to her words. This made them feel a bit uneasy.

"But then again, it's not the same. The Mizukage's such a bloodthirsty tyrant, it inspired half the ninjas of Kiri to rise against him. The Uchiha wanted to take over due having an imaginary chip on their shoulder. We're still the good guys, and we're helping the right side win the war," Sakura argued.

"And what if we were hired by the Mizukage to help him crush the rebellion?" Ino pointed out.

Sakura was taken aback by such a harsh question, but nonetheless managed to come up with what she believed was a satisfying response.

"Then I'm sure Hokage-sama would have turned their request down, no matter how much he was willing to pay us. Shizune-sensei said that, even if we're professionals and not a charity, Konoha and its ninja are devoted to make the world a better place, and I don't know how helping Yagura keep the hat would align with that," Sakura replied. "Besides, if Hokage-sama wanted to gain favor with the Mizukage, he could have deported Zabuza-san and Haku-san back to the Land of Water, but he didn't do that."

"That's a fair point," Hinata conceded. "After all, the First Hokage created the village system as a way to pave for an era of peace."

"And now we're helping spread that peace even further by helping the right side of this conflict to end a years long civil war!" Sakura enthusiastically declared.

"Let's hope you're right. I'd hate to see that, after we help them win, the rebels turn out to be worse than Yagura ever was," Ino mentioned.

"You're actually getting ahead of yourself. We didn't help the rebels win yet," Hinata pointed out.

Sakura smirked at her. "'Yet' being the key word here."

…

Meanwhile, in one of the ship's private training areas, Zabuza was in a sparring match against Ameyuri and Chojuro, the two of them against him. So far, the older swordsman was doing a good job keeping them at bay, and making it look as if fighting his two younger colleagues was a boring task.

Ameyuri charged forward, her swords crackling with electricity, and thrust them towards Zabuza, who used his much larger blade to block them, then pushing back, using his superior strength to knock the redheaded swordswoman on her back.

"Somebody should have told you that direct confrontation with an enemy that surpasses you in both height and muscle is a bad idea, little girl," Zabuza sneered. Ameyuri snarled, baring her sharp teeth.

While Zabuza was taunting Ameyuri, Chojuro sneaked from behind, and tried to slash Zabuza with his Hiramekarei, but the moment the blade descended, Zabuza casually sidestepped, and used Chojuro's momentum against him by tripping him on his legs, making him tumble on top of the still fallen Ameyuri.

"And you, I'll give you credit for sneaking on me from behind like that. However, your silent killing would be far more effective if you didn't breathe so hard," Zabuza pointed out, as he rested his Executioner's Blade on his shoulders.

"Get away from me, four eyes!" Ameyuri snarled as she pushed Chojuro away.

"S-Sorry!" the bespectacled swordsman stammered.

Ignoring Chojuro, Ameyuri's eyes focused on Zabuza once again.

"Let's see how well you like this!" Ameyuri crossed her swords in front of her face in an X, producing a white electric flash. "Thundersword Ninja Art: Eye of the Storm!"

Ameyuri spread her arms wide, and started to spin at a rapid speed, turning herself into an electric sharp twister, which quickly moved towards Zabuza.

"I kill dozens of enemies with this technique alone! Let's see how well you fare against it, 'demon'!" Ameyuri boasted.

Zabuza wasn't impressed. The moment Ameyuri got close to him and was about to tear him to shreds, Zabuza instantly vanished and reappeared behind the spinning kunochi. The taller ninja then kicked her in the back of the knees, sending Ameyuri back to the floor.

"AUGH!" she cried, unwillingly dropping her swords.

"Let me guess, those enemies were all cluttered and with little space to move, am I right?" Zabuza asked. "As you can see, that move is pretty much useless in a battle with few people and plenty of space to move. Not to mention that you could possibly harm your allies with that as well."

Chojuro, meanwhile, remained locked in place, watching Zabuza dissing Ameyuri once again.

 _"I always thought Ameyuri-san was so strong, yet Zabuza-sempai is toying with her like that...what chance do I have...no! I can't think like that! Mei-sama says that I can be strong, and I'll show her faith in me is not misplaced!"_ Chojuro thought, as he raised Hiramekarei above his head, and charged once again, letting out a battle cry. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Zabuza turned around, and looked at the now emboldened Chojuro unamused. Making display of his uncanny speed, Zabuza vanished and reappeared centimeters away from the blue haired swordsman, who let out a shocked yelp.

Zabuza grabbed Chojuro by the neck, and raised him in the air, making him drop the Hiramekarei, falling to the ground with a loud clang. Zabuza then proceeded to slam Chojuro against the ground on his back.

"Owwwww...!" Chojuro cried in pain.

"If you two are the best Mei has to offer, then the future of the Seven Swordsmen, as well as the rebellion, is pretty bleak," Zabuza chided, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Don't flaunt yourself as all that! We all saw how Mei-sama wiped the floor with you back in Konoha!" Ameyuri fired back.

Zabuza smirked, walked towards Ameyuri, and crouched before her in order to look at her in the eyes. "Yet here I am, wiping the floor with you two. What does that say about you?"

Ameyuri couldn't say anything but angrily snarl at her fellow swordsman.

"Come on, you two, we're not done yet! I might not have much time, but I'll make sure to whip you up into shape by the time we have to invade the village!" Zabuza shouted, slamming his sword into the ground for added emphasis.

Watching the spar from above, on a special box, were four people. One of them was Mei, the rebel leader, admiring her newest investment. The remaining three were three of her ninja, two men and a woman.

The first one was rather young, the same age as those who belonged to the group called "Konoha 15". He had shoulder length white hair with a light blue tint at the tips, purple eyes, and a pointy tooth sticking out of his mouth. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with blue stripped wrist warmers and leg warmers.

Next to him was a rather tall and fit girl, with long dark blue hair that fell down her back, with a long bang covering half her face. Her eyes, or at least her only visible eye, was also dark blue. Like the young man besides her, she was wearing the same type of attire, only with a Chunin flak jacket over it.

Behind the two of them was an even taller man of unknown characteristics, given that his whole body was covered by a black hooded cloak, and his face was obscured by a Kirigakure ANBU mask.

"So, what do you think?" Mei asked the others.

The white haired boy showed a toothy grin. "I did hear a lot about Zabuza-sempai, but seeing him in action is even better."

"Of course you'd think that, Suigetsu," the woman replied, crossed his arms over her chest. "Let's hope Zabuza-sempai is just as good in the battlefield."

"You seem to doubt him, Miyako," Suigetsu pointed out.

"Zabuza-sempai already tried to depose the Mizukage once, and his plan was an utter failure. I think we'd be better off without him," Miyako insisted.

"Zabuza-chan is impulsive, yes, but also skilled. And his failure to depose the Mizukage didn't detract from his reputation, far from it," Mei pointed out. "Just for that, it's more than worth it to have him here. Besides the obvious fact that he has one of the seven swords."

"What about you, Kumori? What do you think?" Suigetsu asked the masked man, who merely moved his head to acknowledge the question, but remained silent. Suigetsu frowned. "You know, you may think that being all silent and mysterious makes you cool, but I know for a fact that everybody thinks you're a pretentious asshole."

"Enough chitchat, I think it's about time for Zabuza-chan to meet you, given that you'll be under his command," Mei stated, as she jumped from the box, followed by the other three.

The moment the foursome landed, Zabuza turned around, and glanced at them inquisitively. Mei merely smiled, and started clapping.

"Impressive, Zabuza-chan. I knew I did the right choice by bringing you with us," Mei earnestly said.

Zabuza growled irritatingly. "Could you stop calling me Zabuza-CHAN!?"

"Of course not, Zabuza-chan," Mei replied, keeping that beautiful but unbelievably smug smile. "Anyway, now that you've already met Ameyuri and Chojuro, and tested their capabilities, I thought that maybe you should meet the rest of the next generation of the Seven Swordsmen. This handsome young man here is Suigetsu Hozuki."

"Glad to meet you, Zabuza-sempai. I've always been a great admirer of your work, and hope that one day I can equate your body count" Suigetsu greeted him with one of his unnerving smiles.

"Hozuki? Are you related to Mangetsu?" Zabuza asked.

"Mangetsu was my brother. Most of our clan, Mangetsu included, was killed because we sided with Mei-sama. I'm all what's left," Suigetsu replied, though he didn't sound especially hurt or mournful.

"If you're his brother, how is that you didn't inherit the Hiramekarei?" Zabuza asked. "Weren't you his apprentice?"

"No. Chojuro was Mangetsu's apprentice. Due his untimely demise, Chojuro's training is incomplete. Hopefully, you'll put a remedy to that," Mei interceded. "Suigetsu was training to become a Swordsman one day, but he wasn't assigned a sensei yet."

"And you want me to train all these brats?" Zabuza asked, almost groaning.

"By virtue of being the only Swordsman who completed his training, yes," Mei replied with a shrug. "Anyway, this lovely young woman here is Miyako Kiui."

"Mei-sama has faith in your abilities despite your track record, so guess that I'll follow your orders," Miyako replied, not too thrilled to meet Zabuza.

"And lastly, this man over here is Kumori Nashi," Mei said, pointing at the masked man.

Kumori didn't say anything, just nodded.

"A talkative one, huh?" Zabuza snarked. "I like those the most. So, where are the remaining two?"

Mei looked confused. "Which remaining two?"

"You know, for both Samehada and my sword. I'm sure you had a backup plan in case you weren't able to get me back into the fold," Zabuza said.

"Oh, I was pretty sure I could get you back 'into the fold'. I have a lot of confidence in my diplomatic skills, so preparing a replacement for you wasn't necessary. As for Samehada...well, you know that sword is different from the others, since it's the sword who chooses its wielder, not the other way around. But I hope to have it back one day."

"You'll certainly need something better than what you have gathered here if you hope to kill Kisame one day. He wasn't Fuguki-sama's apprentice for nothing," Zabuza retorted.

Mei smiled once again. "Zabuza-chan, soon you'll see that what I've gathered here has way more to offer than you think."

…

Later that afternoon, all Konoha ninja were summoned to one of the ship's largest rooms, which was mostly devoid of all furniture, with the exception of a small platform. Mei Terumi and some of her closest allies were on top of it. The rebel leader took a step forward, and began talking.

"Are all of Konoha's ninja here? It looks to me nobody's missing," Mei stated, smiling once again. "Anyway, we've been talking with your commanding officers, and you're about to do your first mission working for us. Our first endeavor will be taking over the island prison named the Crimson Citadel.

"The plan is a simple one, but it has to be done as fast as efficiently as possible. Using the night's darkness as a cover, a team composed by four ninja will sneak into the prison from air. The infiltration team will proceed to disable the guards manning the dock gates, and open them. Once they're opened, the rest of our forces will board the prison, killing all the guards, and releasing all the war prisoners.

"One last thing: once the attack begins, they will try to send a message to the village warning them about what we're doing. Such thing can't happen, so keep your eyes open for possible birds or small boats trying to leave the prison.

"Your commanding officers know all the finer details of this operation, ask them to debrief you even further if you still have any doubts. Time is of essence, and we need to act as soon as possible. Meaning that the attack will take place this midnight."

Naturally, such announcement caused many of the Konoha ninja to murmur among themselves, some of them even wondering if they can get ready in such short notice, while the most veteran ninja told them that they've been training for such unexpected situations like this one. Thankfully, the whispers didn't last long.

"The infiltration mission will be lead by Ameyuri Ringo, one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist currently serving the rebellion," Mei motioned her arm, and the younger kunoichi took a step forward. "As for the rest of her squad...can those Chunin belonging to the Tactical Squad, I believe that was the name, take a step forward, please?"

Again, more murmurs ensued as Shikamaru, Ino and Choji left the crowd and came closer to the platform.

"You three? Good," Mei smiled. "Ameyuri will explain the finer details of your mission now. You could also try to get each other acquainted a bit better." Mei then turned at the rest of the crowd. "Several smaller ships should arrive soon. My men will organize you in several larger squads and tell you which ship you need to board.

"That's all. Good luck, and I hope all of us can make it back in one piece."

The short briefing finished, the crowd dissolved as the Konoha ninjas left the room and got ready for the incoming mission. Chojuro then walked towards Mei

"What do you think, Mei-sama? Do you think we can pull this off?" the young swordsman asked.

Mei turned at him, and smiled. "I have to think we can. But something tells me that I did the right thing by asking Konoha for help. I think we're in for an spectacle."

…

 _Land of Earth, Undisclosed Location_

Enveloped in cloak of Tailed Beast Chakra, Han dashed towards Kakuzu at an almost lightning fast speed. Kakuzu then made three hand seals, and channeled chakra.

"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"

However, it wasn't Kakuzu who fired the jutsu. A monstrous masked being made of a pulsating mass of threads and tendrils opened its mouth, breathing a massive firestorm forward. Han's speed was so great that he was unable to change course, and he was engulfed by the wave of fire. However, despite the great devastation caused by the attack, when the fire and smoke dispelled, Han didn't look any worse for the wear, and resumed his charge.

As Han got closer, he wound a fist back.

"Erupting Propulsion Fist!"

Steam started to come from his gauntlets' holes as Han delivered what it would be a devastating attack towards Kakuzu. However, the strange creature that used that fire jutsu appeared between Han and the Akatsuki, taking the brunt of the attack. Its mask shattered in contact, and the mass of tendrils and threads lost all form and shape, and fell to the ground.

 _"Damn, that's the second heart I lost to this guy,"_ Kakuzu inwardly cursed. Besides his Fire Heart, he had also lost his Wind Heart. Now only Water, Lightning and his own Earth Heart remained.

"You're strong, I'll give you that," Han admitted. "That won't make me any more merciful towards you once this fight ends."

Hidan chose that moment to appear from behind and tried to slash the jinchuriki with his three bladed scythe. However, like it happened the previous three times, it harmlessly bounced on the Iwa Ninja's thick armor.

"You know Hidan, it'd be great if you could stop being so absurdly useless," Kakuzu groaned.

"Oh shut your mouth! It's not my fault! Who the fuck wears an armor this heavy nowadays?" the Jashin priest complained. "This shithead has to be as old as you are, Kakuzu!"

"Erupting Strong Foot!"

Hidan found himself at the receiving end of what it could be easily considered the most brutal kick ever delivered.

"FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuu...!" Hidan screamed as he was sent flying into the air, before he crashed against a large rock.

"That one isn't very strong, but for some reason he refuses to stay dead," Han observed. "Which wouldn't be so bad if he could remain silent for more than ten seconds."

"Trust me, if I knew a way to kill him, it would be long since that man drew its last breath," a resigned Kakuzu said. "Then again, you're my current target."

Kakuzu made a hand seal, and his two remaining monsters attacked Han. The masked monsters opened their mouths, releasing a stream of water and a bolt of lightning, respectively. This forced Han to fall back, as he made several hand seals.

"Boil Release: Heat Cutter!"

Han created a long blade of pressurized steam, and threw it forward like a javelin. The monsters jumped aside, but that's what Han expected. His true target was Kakuzu, since he knew that if he was able to take him down, then those strange beasts would go down with him.

But when the monsters moved aside, Kakuzu was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he-?"

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

Han turned around to see Kakuzu in front of him, his fist, now blackened, wound back. He wasn't fast enough to dodge it, and much to his shock, the punch packed enough force to crack his armor. Not letting his enemy time to breathe, Kakuzu then delivered Han a kick to his face. Han, however, managed to grab Kakuzu's foot before the attack could connect.

"I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaack!" Hidan shouted as he landed near the two, and delivered a swipe of his scythe to the armor's cracked zone.

This time, the armor gave in, and Hidan's scythe managed to slash Han's flesh. The jinchuriki disengaged Kakuzu, and jumped backwards a few time, as he clutched his wound on one hand.

"Sorry, kid, but you've already lost," Kakuzu stated.

Han couldn't help but chuckle. "You made me bleed once, and you think you already won? You guys are sure confident."

"Trust me, that's all what we need," Hidan said as he licked the blood of his scythe.

The Janshin cultist then transformed. His skin turned black, as white, bone-like patterns appeared across it, giving him an appearance similar to the other cultists Han fought before. Except this time, it was obvious it wasn't body paint. Hidan then cut his hand, and used his own blood to draw around him a circle with a circumscribed triangle.

"Kakuzu, would you kindly...?" Hidan asked, almost in a submissive tone.

Wordlessly, Kakuzu's hand clutched Hidan's throat, and started to strangle his partner, much to Han's confusion.

Han then noticed that something was very wrong. He started to feel as if somebody was strangling him as well. Han's hands instinctively flew towards his neck in a vain attempt to break free from the strangling, but he was unable to do anything. He struggled as the lack of oxygen started to take its toll.

 _"Wait a minute...his jutsu! Whatever happens to him, it happens to me too! I have to stop them!"_ Han realized at last.

But it was too late, and before the jinchuriki could do anything, his entire world turned into darkness...

* * *

 **Author's Note: So yeah, goodbye, Han. Sorry if you were expecting him to have a bigger role in this story. And the thing is, I actually added the parts with Han pretty much right before I sent the chapter to betaread, since Han was going to be caught offscreen. There are two reasons for this:  
**

 **-The first one, some reviwers asked for the jinchuriki who weren't going to appear in the story, that there was at least an implication that they gave the Akatsuki a big fight before they went down.  
-The second one was a rant from DryBonesKing, an author from one of my favorite Naruto fanfics, "True Potential", who made a plead for other authors to use the jinchuriki other than Naruto, Gaara and B a bit more.**

 **So that's why, even if some jinchuriki won't play big roles in the story, they will at least be shown giving their would be captors some hell before they go down, so I hoped you enjoyed Han's fight. Conversely, I will try to give some jinchuriki a bigger role in the story than I had originally planned. Then again, I won't promise anything, since this story is getting way too crowded as it is now.**

 **An added benefit is that it allows me to include some action in the slower chapters like this one. But hey, fleshing out relationhsips is important too! This chapter has Naru/Hina, Neji/Karin and a little Sasu/Saku, Rin meeting Kakashi's team and they learning more about their sensei, more Naruto/Karin family moments, and Hinata, Sakura and Ino having some friendly chat. I'm really proud how many interactions and relationships I managed to put into this chapter.**

 **Once again, thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, the next two chapters will be far more action packed as the rebellion assaults the Crimson Citadel. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	45. The Crimson Citadel, Part I

**Author's Notes: Hmmm...the latest chapter got much less reviews than usual. Wonder if it was because people thought it wasn't up to par, or because the website was acting up and notifications didn't work properly. Here I'm hoping is the latter. Anyway, hope this chapter is far better received then. Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 45:**

The Crimson Citadel, Part I

 _or_

 _Mission: Maybe Possible_

…

Midnight came sooner than expected, and everybody was ready for the attack. But first, the infiltration team needed to do its job.

Through the dark sky of the night, two large animals flew above the sea. They would have been seen if there was a moon, but thankfully, it was in its waxing crescent phase, so there was little natural light that could betray the infiltration team's presence. That's why it was so important for the attack to be carried out as soon as possible.

The two animals in question were a giant hawk, and an equally large beetle. Riding the bird was Sasuke Uchiha, its summoner, and he was carrying Ameyuri and Shikamaru on its back as well. Shino was the one riding the giant beetle, and behind him were Ino and Choji. All six of them quickly saw the Crimson Citadel.

The prison in question was a rather large military base that encompassed nearly the whole island. It was surrounded by a rather tall and thick wall, with only a single entrance in the dock. Many ninja patrolled the walls, and multiple searchlights scanned the area with powerful beams of light. However, they only scanned the surrounding water, and paid no attention to the sky. It was obvious why Mei had chosen an aerial drop.

"Fly closer to the southeastern wall. We'll land there," Ameyuri instructed Sasuke.

"The gates are east of the island. Don't you want me to drop you closer to the dock?" Sasuke asked.

Ameyuri shook her head. "There are far too many searchlights there, and the risk of being seeing is too big."

"Alright then," Sasuke agreed.

The two flying beasts headed towards the area Ameyuri instructed, and as expected, it was the safest zone to land.

"Alright, let's go!" Ameyuri said as she jumped from the bird.

Shikamaru softly groaned, and followed her. Ino and Choji joined them a couple seconds later. With their job done, Sasuke and Shino returned to the rebel fleet located not far away from then.

The four infiltrators, upon landing, immediately hid in a dark alley between two small buildings.

"Everyone accounted for? Alright then, listen up. See those two towers at each side of the dock? According to our intelligence, that's where the gate switches are. We will also place a bunch of explosive notes on the towers and some sections of the walls for additional damage. Both of them need to be activated at the same time in order to open the gates, so we need to split up in two groups of two. Choji, you'll come with me. Shikamaru, Ino, you'll be the second team," Ameyuri stated.

"Actually," Shikamaru began. "I believe that you should go with either me or Ino, and have the other go with Choji."

The redheaded woman raised an eyebrow. "And you say that because...?"

"Choji's abilities are more combat focused, as are yours. On the other hand, Ino and I fill a supporting role better. That's why the ideal teams should have one combat specialist and one support," Shikamaru reasoned.

Ameyuri fixed a hard stare on the Nara genius. "I don't like being contradicted, pineapple head. On the other hand, you make a good point, and given that it's your team, I'll take your word. Blondie, you come with me, and help me take the northern tower. You two can go together, and take the southern one."

"What do we do with the guards? Should we kill them?" Choji asked.

"Not yet. If those manning the searchlights don't see any guards patrolling the wall, they'll get suspicious. Try to avoid confrontation until you're close to the towers. And even then, try not to cause a ruckus," Ameyuri advised. Then, she shot them an unnerving smile. "But once the gates open, the fun will begin and you can go all out."

Choji and Shikamaru laughed a bit awkwardly.

"Can I go with Choji instead?" Ino uneasily pleaded.

"Nope! Enough chitchat, we can't waste anymore time, go, go, go!"

The group of four split in half. With Ameyuri and Ino taking the northern tower, and Shikamaru and Choji taking the southern one.

…

Now on their own, Shikamaru and Choji proceeded to cover the place in explosive tags. So far, Shikamaru watched the surroundings, while Choji placed the explosive notes. While doing so, Shikamaru also learned quite a few things from the guards and the searchlights.

One, the guards were in groups of two or three. Some of the groups of three were made of Chunin, while some Jonin made half of the groups of two. The groups of three patrolled the longest sections of the wall, while the groups of two the shortest. Also, he noticed that the searchlights illuminated the area not currently being patrolled.

 _"Not to blind the patrollers, or to keep the least amount of area unwatched? Probably both,"_ Shikamaru deduced.

"Alright, explosives placed here, let's move towards the next one!" Choji whispered, then he made a hand seal. "Reverse Multi Size Jutsu!"

Choji shrank to the size of a marble, allowing Shikamaru to pick him up and place him inside one of his flak jacket's pockets. Just as he did, Shikamaru heard a patrol coming his way. The lazy Nara rushed to hide behind a couple of wooden crates, which were big enough to barely cover his lithe body.

 _"Thank goodness for this jutsu. Otherwise, trying to hide somebody as big as Choji would have been nearly impossible,"_ Shikamaru thought in relief, as he watched the guards passing by. There were two, and one of them was a Jonin.

Choji brought up the idea of using Transformation to turn into a pair of generic Mist ninja and pass as guards, but while the idea was good, Shikamaru turned it down, since there was a chance that they were asked something, and unable to respond, their disguise would become apparent. No, they couldn't be seen.

Once the guards were far enough, Shikamaru continued advancing, not as fast as he'd wish if he wanted to remain hidden. The fact that a patrol had just passed meant that he had some time before a searchlight would illuminate the area. However, upon reaching a certain point, Shikamaru found an obstacle impossible to surpass.

Two searchlights cast two beams of lights over the wall at specific intervals, in a way that it was impossible to avoid the light and thus being discovered.

"Troublesome lights," Shikamaru groaned.

"What's wrong?" Choji asked from his pocket.

"We're so damn close to the tower, but this section of the wall will be nearly impossible to watch due those searchlights. And we can't disable them without alerting our presence," Shikamaru explained his shrunken teammate.

"Hmmm...maybe we could use my size to our advantage? Even if the search lights illuminate me, at this size the guards from the towers will think I'm a rodent or something like that, if they see me to begin with," Choji explained.

"Not a bad idea, but at your size, it would take you forever to cross this section," Shikamaru pointed out. "Not to mention that a guard that saw you closely wouldn't mistake you for a small animal."

"Then what do we do?" Choji asked.

An idea started to form in Shikamaru's mind. "The fact that we haven't been found yet means that none of those guards are sensors."

"Sensors are rare. What about it?" Choji asked.

Shikamaru smirked in return. "Do you think that somebody will notice that one of the guards has a little stowaway inside their ninja pouch?"

"So it will be guards themselves who will bring me to the tower. Great!" Choji replied, smirking in return. "But how are you going to get into the tower then?"

"Don't worry, I'll think something," Shikamaru replied, as he took Choji from his pocket, "Okay, here comes a patrol, get ready!"

From his hiding spot, Shikamaru waited until the guards passed him. Then, silently, Shikamaru approached the unsuspecting Kiri ninja from behind, and let Choji latch onto the guard's ninja tool pouch on his back. The guard suddenly stopped. Shikamaru's heart skipped a beat before he returned to his hiding place.

 _"Dammit, did he notice me?"_ Shikamaru worriedly thought.

"Are you okay?" one of the guards asked the one carrying Choji.

"Well, I just noticed as if somebody was trying to pick my pouch," the guard in question replied.

 _"Please do not grab your pouch, please do not grab your pouch,"_ Shikamaru mentally begged.

"But there's nobody here and my pouch doesn't feel any lighter, so guess it was just my imagination," the guard replied with a shrug, as he and his partners continued their patrol.

In the background, Shikamaru silently sighed in relief. When the guard passed in front of the tower, he saw something -presumably Choji- jumping out of the guard's pouch -and the guard once again complained about feeling something- and successfully infiltrated the tower.

 _"Okay, got an idea, it's a bit risky, but it's the best I have,"_ Shikamaru thought.

Once the guards were out of sight, Shikamaru started to run as fast as possible while trying to remain silent. The searchlight's beam of light came dangerously close to him. The Nara then stopped, and made a hand seal.

"Transformation Jutsu!"

In a poof of smoke, Shikamaru turned into a pile of crates just as the searchlight illuminated him. Thankfully, it didn't raise any suspicions. Once the light passed, Shikamaru turned back to normal and rushed towards the tower, in order to rejoin Choji.

 _"Once they notice those crates are no longer there, or that they weren't there before, it will be too late,"_ Shimamaru thought, mostly to try to relieve himself from the stress he was enduring.

"Shikamaru!" Choji whispered from inside the tower. He was still in the lower floor. "Good job!"

"We haven't finished yet. We need to disable those guards and open the gate," Shikamaru reminded Choji.

"Yeah, but that part shouldn't be hard. We no longer need to be stealthy, and we have the element of surprise," Choji replied. "So, you immobilize them, and I knock them out?"

Shikamaru smirked. "Sounds like a plan."

…

Meanwhile, to the north, the kunoichi proceeded as well with their side of the mission. However, their approach wasn't as subtle as Shikamaru and Choji.

"I'm sensing a patrol. Two ninja. Do you think you can take them out?" Ino asked.

Ameyuri smiled evilly, showing those scary sharp teeth. "Just watch," the redhead said as she unsheathed her trusty twin swords.

"Remember to leave one alive!" Ino reminded her.

"Don't sweat it," Ameyuri casually replied.

The Mist kunoichi silently walked behind the patrolling duo. In an instant, she grabbed one of them from behind, and slashed his throat open, preventing him from shouting. His partner reacted too late.

"What the? We're under-!" But before he could give the alarm, Ameyuri slammed the pommel of one her swords into the man's throat, rendering him mute. She then hit him in the bridge of his nose, knocking him on his back. She then proceeded to immobilize the man, who struggled against the rebel swordswoman.

"Come on, blondie, I can't keep him like this for long!" Ameyuri protested.

Ino rushed towards her, and placed her two hands on the man's head.

"Mind Yokel Jutsu!"

Suddenly, the man stopped struggling. Ameyuri tentatively released him. The man then stood up, and remained there, almost as inert as an inanimate object.

"What did you do to him?" Ameyuri asked, as she waved a hand in front of the hypnotized ninja, who didn't react.

"The Mind Yokel Jutsu pretty much turns an opponent into a puppet of mine. He won't do anything unless I order him to. I can also speak through him. Sadly, the effect isn't permanent. The stronger is the target, the shorter the jutsu will last," Ino replied. "I also have access to most of his memories, so if they interrogate us, there won't be any problem."

"That's some killer jutsu you have there, blondie. Not just for intelligence gathering, but you can also force somebody to commit suicide," Ameyuri praised.

Ino shook her head. "I do receive sympathetic damage from the jutsu. If my target is harmed when it's under my control, I do suffer the same harm. Lethal injuries mean I go down as well."

"Well, you can always force them to jump off a cliff, then undo the jutsu before they hit the ground. Easy and clean," Ameyuri suggested.

Ino crossed her arms, and frowned. "You do have a terrible mind, anyone ever tell you that? I'm afraid what I'd find if I scanned your mind."

Ameyuri merely shrugged, not affected by Ino's critics. "I like to think myself as being efficient at my job. Anyway, enough chit chat, time is of the essence."

Both of them made the same hand seal.

"Transformation jutsu!"

Ino transformed into the ninja Ameyuri just killed, while Ameyuri herself transformed into a random Kirigakure ninja.

"Okay, let's go," Ameyuri said.

The two disguised kunoichi and the mind controlled ninja walked towards the tower, trying not to look suspicious. So far, whenever they crossed another patrol, or a searchlight illuminated them, no alarms were raised, so their plan was working so far.

"These guys have red uniforms. I always thought that Kirigakure's clothes were blue?" Ino asked, while looking at the mind controlled guard's uniform.

"It was. To represent water and all that. Guess that it's red now to represent blood," Ameyuri replied with a shrug. "Well, it works to our advantage. That way, you Konoha guys won't mistake one of them for our own, or vice-versa."

They continued their walk in silence, though when no one was watching, they tried to hurry a bit, since Ino's mind control would end anytime soon. Eventually, they managed to reach the tower without much incident.

"Okay, I'm going to release the jutsu," Ino said, making a hand seal.

After undoing the mental link, the guard reacted as if he just woke up from a very strange dream.

"What? Where am I?" the guard asked, looking dizzy.

The answer came in the form of two blades piercing his gut, killing him in a couple seconds. After hiding the body, Ameyuri and Ino stormed the tower.

"Alright, stealth is no longer an issue, let's cut loose!" the redheaded kunoichi said as she rushed upstairs.

…

Back in the southern tower, Shikamaru and Choji had already disabled the few ninja inside the tower, and were waiting for Ino to contact them, since they had to open the door at the same time. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait much.

 _"Shikamaru, Choji, are you there?"_ they heard Ino's voice in their minds. _"Ameyuri and I have taken over the northern tower, what's the situation?"_

"Wow, that was fast, given that your tower was much farther away than ours," Shikamaru commented. "On our side, Choji and I also took over the tower as well, and we're waiting for your signal."

 _"In that case, let's open the dock gates so the mission can begin,"_ Ino replied.

"Don't forget the fireworks," Choji asked. Both he and Shikamaru smirked evilly.

…

Not far away from there, but far away enough not to be seen by the searchlights, a fleet of transport boats awaited. The sea was thankfully calm, and silence filled the air, something that greatly benefitted the rebels. Unfortunately, the ansty troops aboard the boats weren't as calm, as expected from somebody who was about to storm a high security prison.

Of all the rebels, none was more restless than Mei Terumi. While she was trying her best to maintain a cool and collected facade, the rebel leader was stressed. She risked a lot on this operation, and if the Konoha ninja weren't up to par, then the rebellion would end there. Then again, she didn't get far by playing it safe.

Her mission was to liberate Kirigakure from Yagura and his reign of blood, not to simply survive as outlaws.

The redhead woman walked towards the prow, where one of her ninja was scouting the prison with a spyglass.

"Nothing yet?" Mei asked.

"I'm afraid not, Mei-sama," the scout replied, not taking his eyes from the target.

"I see. I thought we'd have news from them by now," Mei replied, sighing.

"The infiltration team just departed. It will take long to complete their mission. I think it's best not to get too impatient and-"

But the scout was interrupted by a chain of loud explosions that illuminated the night sky. Several of the watchtowers crumbled down, while at the same time the dock gates started to open.

Mei and her scout watched the display with their mouths agape.

"...incredible!" was the stunned guard's reply.

Mei, however, quickly recovered, and smiled in satisfaction. "I knew those Konoha ninja were good. Now is time to show them that we're just as good as well! Everybody, sail forward to the prison!"

A wave of cheers and shouts erupted in response to Mei's orders, and as she instructed, the fleet of boats quickly sailed towards the island prison. The chaos ensued made sure that the defenders would be unprepared to stop their arrival. Mei's boat was the first one to invade the prison, and the rebel leader herself was the first one to set foot on the island.

"Attack! We need to push them out of the dock!" Mei commanded as she rushed to meet the first wave of defenders. Her hands flew through hand seals as she was ready to spill the first blood. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"

Mei released a cloud of burning mist from her mouth, instantly burning a trio of unfortunate defenders. The others, seeing what Mei was capable of, wisely fell back, and attacked from afar. Mei merely smirked.

"The end of the Blood Mist begins tonight!" she shouted.

…

Meanwhile, atop the highest floor of the main building inside one of the offices, was the warden. The warden had already seen and heard the rebels' attack, and was getting ready to respond. At that moment, the door of his office burst open, and a shaken ninja barged in.

"Warden-sama! Mei and her band of criminals are attacking the prison!" the ninja informed, panting heavily.

"I noticed. Now calm down. They caught us by surprise, but we'll show them what mistake they made coming here," the warden replied, as he picked his iconic weapon. "Try to hold them as much as you can, while I go and activate our special defense mode."

The guard grinned when he heard those three words. The rebel trash won't know what hit them.

…

Loyalist and rebel forces clashed for the control of the dock, trading blows, kunai, shuriken and elemental ninjutsu. However, it was clear that the rebels, with the surprise factor on their side and their -for the moment- superior numbers proved to be too hard to keep contained, as more and more rebel ninja came out of the still arriving boats.

"Don't let them pass!" cried a prison guard.

"They're too many!" replied the other.

"Don't dare to let them advance a single millimeter!" the first guard angrily replied.

But those failed to inspire the defenders to fight with more ferocity or determination, as the Rebel-Konoha alliance soon broke through the defenders' line, forcing them to fall back, and taking over the dock. Cheers soon ensued.

"Mei-sama, they're retreating to the innermost zones of the prison," Chojuro noted.

"Just as expected," she then turned towards her army. "This isn't over, far from it! Now we will be forced to split and fight on several fronts, but I believe we can do it. Fifth division, secure the dock and start setting up an infirmary! Second division, to the armory! Third and fourth divisions, to the barracks! Everybody else, with me to the prison blocks!"

…

Meanwhile, under the main building cluster, the warden reached his destination, a small, empty room, with a complex seal pattern drawn on the wall in front of the door. He placed his hand in the exact center of the pattern, and send a pulse of chakra. The seals started to glow with a blue light.

The warden smirked as chains of seals started to glow, leaving the room and spreading through the whole prison.

"Let's see how much you like these, you rebel scum," the warden said as he left the room, ready to meet those daring enough to storm his prison.

…

Befitting their role, Kurenai's Assault Squad was leading the charge against one of the points of interest Mei had deemed a priority, the barracks, where most of the ninja who guarded the prison lived and slept. Accompanying them was also Miyako, one of Mei's best swordfighters, and hopeful for the new Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Taking over it would provide an additional foothold for the rebel forces. Of course, the loyalist Kiri ninja weren't going to surrender it without a fight, and a large contingent of them rushed to met the rebel forces mid-way.

"So, the rebel scum has brought some Konoha trash in a pitiful attempt to bolster their strength? Pathetic!" a masked ANBU Kiri ninja sneered, as he unsheathed his katana. "Kill them all!"

One of them made a hand seal. "Water Release: Hidden in the Mist Jutsu!"

Soon, a thick mist formed, covering the battlefield. The rebels stuck to each other, expecting the enemy to resort to a silent attack.

"I'll take care of this!" Naruto said as he started to make hand seals. "Wing Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

The jinchuriki cast his hands forward one over the other, and a horizontal tornado shot from them, dispelling the mist.

"Keep the mist active!" the same ANBU as before ordered, and other two Kiri ninja proceeded to recast the mist jutsu. "Somebody kill that blond brat! He's a Wind Release user!"

Several Anbu leaped into the air, and unleashed a barrage of shuriken and kunai at the blond. Hinata appeared just in front of him.

"Naruto-kun, stay behind me!" Hinata asked, as she activated her Byakugan. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

 _"Huh? That's new!"_ Naruto thought, not recognizing the jutsu's name.

Hinata started to move her palms forward in a pushing manner, so fast they became blurry, releasing thin streams of chakra from the palms of her hands, deflecting every one of the steel projectiles that were falling at them.

"Whoa, amazing jutsu, Hinata-hime!" Naruto praised.

"Thank you. I created it because I realized that, with the Heavenly Spin, I can only protect myself, and I can hurt my friends and allies if they're too close," Hinata explained.

"Good thinking, Hinata-san," Haku praised as well. He then started to make hand seals. "But you aren't the only one with something new to show. Ice Release: Ice Dragon Crystal Blast!"

Haku made the same hand motion Naruto did a few seconds ago, but instead of wind, he created a large, serpentine dragon made of ice, which flew at the cluster of enemy Kiri ninja, letting out a roar. The dragon then crashed headfirst into them, exploding into multiple sharp icicles, which seriously injured many of them.

"And that one has Ice Release? I thought that that bloodline was extinct!" an enemy ninja cried, as he removed an ice shard from his arm.

"Don't stay like that looking like idiots! Counterattack already!" the head ANBU ordered.

The loyalist Kiri ninja started to made hand seals of their own, as the rebels prepared for the incoming barrage of attacks.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

Several watery projectiles and waves flied at the rebel group, merging into a massive, chaotic water torrent.

"Counter that quickly!" Miyako ordered.

This time, it was Kurenai and Haku who took a step forward, as both started to make hand seals as fast as they could.

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

A large wall of stone erected behind a smaller wall of ice. The wall of ice was broken by the incoming barrage, but the stone wall successfully absorbed them without breaking. At least for the time being.

"Thank Kami you're an Earth Release user," Miyako told Kurenai. "Are there many more among you?"

"I'm afraid not," Kurenai replied. "Earth affinity is rare in Konoha. Most of them there have fire affinity."

"Yet none of your students are, as I can see," Miyako pointed out. She then heard something, and turned around, her katana in front of her. "Watch out, I think there are some ANBU hidden in the mist ready to strike us!"

"Hinata, can you see them?" Kurenai asked.

"I'm trying, but this mist is laced with chakra, and it's interfering with my Byakugan!" Hinata replied, as she forced her eyesight as much as possible. "But the chakra is more concentrated in many points around us, I think that's them!"

The whistling sound of several kunai flying at them filled the air, but so far, nobody reported being hit. Yet everybody had the feeling that they did miss on purpose. And, indeed, Kurenai managed to see one of the Kunai embedded into the ground, and the Jonin's eyes widened in shock.

"Explosive notes! Take cover!" the genjutsu mistress warned.

Everybody fell back as explosions surrounded the battlefield, sending rebel ninja flying into the air, and briefly dispelling the mist before it reformed itself again. Seconds later, it was followed by the sound of blades clashing, and people crying in pain.

"Dammit, they used the explosions to scatter us and kill us one by one!" Miyako cursed as she stood back on her feet.

Her acute hearing picked up somebody sneaking behind her. An ally wouldn't do that. Turning around, she raised her katana in return just in time to block a swipe from an enemy Kiri ninja. The two of them struggled a bit, until the blue haired woman forced him back with a kick to the gut. She gripped her katana tightly as she delivered her counterattack.

"Water Release: Razor Stream!"

She swung her blade while she moved at the enemy ninja, who jumped back further, avoiding the slash by mere centimeters. He smirked at her for missing, but soon he felt a sharp pain crossing his body, and a bleeding scar formed across his chest.

"H-How...?" the surprised ninja asked.

"A sharp, condensed blade of water cast through my sword, so thin it's invisible to the eye, but any less lethal," the blue haired girl explained, before slashing his throat. "Did knowing that make your death any better?"

Meanwhile, Kurenai's team was also fighting against a group formed of standard prison guards and masked ANBU that had them surrounded.

"Give up, you're outnumbered!" an ANBU taunted therm.

Naruto smirked in return, as he made a hand seal. "You think so? Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

An army of orange and green clad blonds emerged from thin air, pushing the Kiri ninja backwards, as they engaged in combat, but not without retaliating with their kunai, shuriken and mostly water jutsu.

"Good one, Naruto! Everybody, keep pushing forward!" Kurenai shouted as she placed a couple enemy Kiri ninja under a genjutsu.

Then, that moment, several circular sealing patterns started to appear all around the prison. The patterns were black at first, but they started to glow with a blue light.

"What's this? A trap?" Haku asked, taking a step back.

"Probably some sort of defensive measure. Stay alert!" Kurenai warned.

Naruto, however, opened his eyes wide upon recognizing some of the seals.

"Wait a minute...those are Uzumaki seals!" Naruto indignantly pointed out.

The seals produced multiple smoke explosions, which dispelled quickly, revealing something the rebels weren't expecting. Across the battlefield, multiple metallic golems had appeared. While not as large as the one summoned by Jirobo, they still towered over any normal human. Like Jirobo's golem, they also had a stocky build, with massive upper body and shoulders, long arms ending in massive, gauntlet-like forearms, a small head with a v-shaped visor, a small but armored midsection, and short legs ended in massive boot like feet.

They were covered in red plating, with multiple sealing patterns craved around their bodies. Their heads had a small gray metal plate with Kirigakure's symbol, as if they were wearing forehead protectors.

"Ha! The Warden activated the Chakra War Golems! You're so screwed!" an enemy Kiri ninja laughed.

The two nearest golems identified Team Kurenai and Miyako as enemies, and stomped towards them.

"The seal on their bodies, they are also Uzumaki seals!" Naruto realized in shock, but also in anger.

"It seems that Kiri didn't returned as empty handed from the invasion of Uzushiogakure as we thought," Kurenai bitterly said. "Anyway, we haven't been ordered to retreat, so keep fighting!"

"I plan to!" Naruto stated as he started to form a Rasengan in his hands. "I'm going to teach those assholes to use stolen knowledge from my clan!" Once complete, Naruto rushed towards the nearest golem, and smashed the orb of chakra against its chest. "Rasengan!"

The sphere of chakra exploded, but rather than shatter the golem to tiny pieces, some seals on the mechanical construct started to glow, and the golem began to absorb the chakra of Naruto's attack, much to the blonde's bewilderment.

"The hell!?" an indignant Naruto asked, and jumped back before the golem could smash him to pulp.

"The golem used the attack to empower itself!" Hinata noticed. "Don't use ninjutsu, or you'll make them stronger!"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Those thing are made of metal!" Haku pointed out.

"We'll do what we can, Haku. Hinata, see if you can find a weak spot," Kurenai asked.

"Maybe we should attack the articulations. Those parts can't be armored if they have to move," Miyako deduced.

"Alright, I don't think we'll need it so soon, but time to ask for reinforcements, " Naruto bit his thumb, and made five hand seals, before slamming his hand into the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto summoned a huge, aquamarine toad with yellow eyes and a green back. His only piece of clothing was a orange sash around his stomach. He was also carrying two katanas to his back.

"Hi there, Naruto. What can I do for you?" the sword fighting toad asked.

"Gamahiro, I need you to help us deal with those annoying golems, as well as the Kiri ninjas dressed in red. Can I count on you?" Naruto asked.

"Sure!" the toad replied as he unsheathed his katanas. "Let the fun begin!"

With Naruto standing on his head, Gamahiro jumped into the battlefield, just in front of Naruto's friends and allies, creating a shockwave that knocked those near him back., and started to deliver multiple swipes at the prison defenders.

"Golems, fire upon that creature!" an ANBU ordered.

The few golems present cast one hand towards the large toad. A hole opened in their palms, releasing a stream of fire from it. Gamahiro was forced to step back.

"Ouch! Ouch! It burns!" the large toad complained.

"Don't worry, I'll help you!" Naruto said as he started making hand seals. "Water Release: Water Gun!"

Naruto fired several water missiles at the golems from his mouth, reducing some of the fire.

Following Naruto's example, Miyako rushed forward while making hand seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

The blue haired kunoichi expelled a huge wave of water from her mouth, countering a couple of the golem's flamethrowers. Other Kiri rebels followed her example, and did as well, saving the giant toad.

"Thank you!" Gamahiro replied, as he slashed a nearby golem in half with one swing of his massive katanas.

"The toad can clear the path for us! We must defend him from the enemy attacks!" Miyako ordered.

"Right away, ma'am!" several Kiri rebels replied.

…

Not far away from there, Kakashi's Animal Squad, alongside Rin, were fighting against a group of enemy Kiri ninja, with neither side pushing the other back.

"Aburame Secret Art: Swarm Spear!"

Shino extended his arm forward, and from his sleeves shot a spear made of bugs compressed together in a tight formation. The spear pierced a Kiri ninja, who vanished in a cloud of smoke.

"A shadow clone," Shino pointed out. "Some of them must be using them to bolster their numbers."

"In that case, we should find those who create shadow clones and take them out. They should be the Jonin," Tamaki deduced.

"Good idea. Why don't you take Kiba and Shino go and try to find them?" Kakashi suggested. "I'll stay here with Rin."

Rin stared at Kakashi disapprovingly. "Kakashi...you don't have to be afraid to leave my side. Even if this is a war, I can take care of myself. It won't be a repeat of the last time."

"Oh, I don't do it for that, Rin. I don't think these three need me to hold their hand all the time, right? They're old enough to do some dangerous tasks without their old sensei," Kakashi jovially replied, before turning at his students. "Now go, I'll create an opening."

Rin continued staring at Kakashi with worried eyes. Certainly, there were a lot of issues that needed to be solved.

…

Meanwhile, in another part of the island prison, Shizune's Medical Squad was acting as support of the rebel division tasked with taking the armory. They mostly stayed behind the front line healing the injured, while Sasuke and other ninja protected them.

And just like it happened before, the prison guards got unexpected reinforcements in the form of chakra golems, who were making a number on the rebel forces.

"Alright, done! You're good to go! Give them hell!" Sakura told a Kiri rebel she just healed.

"I will! Thank you, medic-san!" the rebel gratefully replied as he returned to the battlefield.

"Unless we find a way to get rid of those annoying chakra absorbing golems...we'll we're not going to last long," Suigetsu complained, as he dodged a massive metallic fist from one of those mechanical monsters.

And to prove Suigetsu's words true, one of the golems managed to break the rebel's lines and stomped towards the medic-nin, busy healing the wounded. Fortunately for them, Sasuke cut his path, and forced the golem to engage him in a fight.

"Good one, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura praised.

However, the Uchiha didn't feel he was doing any good. Ninjutsu, his specialty, was out of the equation. Genjutsu was useless on a mechanical being, even if it had chakra, and his sword alone failed to make any dent on that metallic shell.

"Sakura, I'm not doing that good," Sasuke admitted, as he dodged a fist slam. "Maybe your fighting style might be better suited to deal with this thing!"

"You think so?" Sakura asked. If Sasuke was having trouble defeating an enemy, then what chances did she have? But then again, she couldn't deny his request of help. "Alright then, here I come!"

 _"Either that, or I'll have to use the Mangekyo Sharingan,"_ Sasuke bitterly thought.

The moment Sakura was at close quarter range, the golem tried to squash her with its fists, but the pinkette gracefully dodged them with a surprising show of speed, and jumped as she reared her fist back.

"SHANNARO!"

The effect was instant. The moment Sakura's fist connected with the golem, it made a huge dent on its chest plate, before sending it flying back a few meters.

"Just as I expected. These golems aren't meant to deal with overwhelming physical force. Sakura, you must join the front lines and help them out," Sasuke told her.

"But what about the wounded? I'm a medic-nin," Sakura replied.

"Don't worry, we can go on without you! Make sure those golems don't cause more wounded among our troops!" Shizune told her.

Sakura nodded. "Alright then, take care!"

And the pinkette joined Sasuke in the battlefield.

…

While the bulk of the rebel army fought on the ground, Ameyuri and Asuma's tactical squad remained in the walls, in order to disable the island's defenses, such as the searchlights and the kunai launchers.

"You know, we could take a few of these for the village," Ino commented, as she inspected one of the captured kunai launchers.

"Seal it inside a scroll if you wish, but don't waste much time on that!" Ameyuri told her, while she engaged on a couple enemy Kiri ninja, who suddenly stopped moving. The redheaded girl noticed that their shadows were linked to Shikamaru's. After quickly dispatching them, she turned at the Nara, and said: "Thanks, but it's not as fun if they don't move or defend themselves."

"Hey, look at that! What's going on?" Ino asked, noticing the Chakra Golems popping up across the battlefield.

"What are those things?" Choji asked.

"I don't know, but guess we're going to find out real soon!" Shikamaru pointed out as he stepped back, as two Chakra Golems had just materialized in front of them.

"Ameyuri?" Ino asked, a question unsaid but implicit.

"First time I see these things," the swordswoman said as she also cautiously stepped back.

"That armor looks strong," Shikamaru observed.

"There's no armor my Thunderfangs can cut through," Ameyuri boasted as she channeled lightning chakra through her trusty blades, making them crackle. "Cover me! I'll take them out!"

Ameyuri leaped at the closest golem, and tried to pierce its armor. A seal on the golem's plate glowed, and the lightning of Ameyuri's swords was absorbed, robbing them of their cutting power.

"What?" she asked in shock.

"So they can absorb chakra too. Boy, this is all kinds of troublesome," Shikamaru groaned.

"Let's try physical attacks then. Choji, your turn!" Ino told the Akimichi heir.

Choji nodded and clasped his hands together. "Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!"

Both of Choji's arms suddenly grew, as he reared one of them back, before delivering a devastating punch to the closest golem. The machine, however, managed to cling to the Akimichi's fist. He then proceeded to pound it with his other hand.

Shikamaru made a hand seal. "Let's take care of the other. Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Shikamaru easily bound the other golem, but soon he realized how strong the metallic construct was, forcing the Nara to spend large amounts of chakra to keep him in place.

"Damn! I don't think I can hold him for too long...!" Shikamaru warned.

"Make it walk to the edge of the wall! Let's toss it into the water!" Ino suggested.

Shikamaru nodded, and forced the golem to do as Ino said. When the mechanical creature was in the edge, the two kunoichi delivered a flying kick each to the chest, knocking it over the wall, before falling to the sea. Following his team's example, Choji also tossed the golem clinging his fist into the ocean.

Their enemies defeated, Ino looked at the battlefield below her, and noticed the amount of golems that had appeared, and were giving the rebel forces a hard time.

"I don't think we'll be able to bring all the remaining ones here and toss them into the sea," Ino commented.

"No, but we can't give up. Come on! We need to clear this section of the wall if we want to increase our chances of victory!" Ameyuri shouted, as she lead the Tactical Squad forward.

…

Mei herself was leading the offensive against the main prison block. Going with her was Gai's Close Combat Squad, Zabuza and Chojuro. Due to being the most numerous division, as well as the one with the most heavy hitters, they had the least problems making way through the enemy lines. That's not to say that they didn't had any trouble the moment the golems started to appear all around the prison.

"The hell? They absorbed my jutsu!" an enraged Mei shouted.

"My sword isn't doing as good against them either," Zabuza snarled. "And I doubt any of my assassination techniques may work on them either."

Gai, however, was feeling rather excited at such prospect.

"So, the enemy is immune to ninjutsu? Alright then, good thing the Youth Squad is here! Neji, Lee, Tenten, focus on the golems! Let everybody else deal with the human opponents!" the green clad jonin ordered. "Show them the power of your youth!"

The three of them nodded, and in perfect synchronization, they crossed their arms in front of their face, before spreading it downwards, releasing three overlapping bursts of chakra.

"Gate of Opening, open! Gate of Healing, Open!, Gate of Life, open!"

Neji and Lee slipped into their usual fighting stances, while Tenten unsealed a pair of katanas from a small sealing scroll.

"Go!"

Lee charged at a nearby golem, and started to throw punches and kicks at an extremely quick speed, not letting the mechanical construct counterattack and forcing it to step back. Neji did the same, with quick palm strikes that, even if it couldn't disable his opponent like a human, still managed to produce a similar effect.

Tenten started to channel an ungodly amount of chakra through her swords, which started to shine with a radiant blue glow, so bright, it was almost like looking directly into the sun. The ensuing aura made the swords look much longer and thicker than they were.

Two golems stomped towards the dango haired kunoichi. Tenten smirked, as she leaped above the mechanical monsters.

"Strong Sword: Armor Splitter!"

Tenten made two diagonal slashes forming an X, before falling behind the golems. At first, it looked like it didn't have any effect, but after a couple seconds, the slices made themselves known, and the golems fell apart.

"Good work, you three! Keep destroying the golems, and the prison will be ours!" Mei cheered, as she engaged a couple of enemy Kiri ninja.

Suddenly, the gates of the main building opened, and more guards and golems poured from them. However, they made a hallway in the middle, as if somebody of utmost importance was about to appear.

"The warden is here!" a Kiri ninja shouted.

"The warden?" Mei asked. "Good, if we take him out, we'll be much closer to winning!"

"Taking me out? While I admit that you're a strong kunoichi, Mei Terumi, I find that unlikely," the warden said, as he stepped out of the gates.

The battle came to a halt. Mei, Zabuza and Chojuro were frozen in shock when they saw the warden. A tall man, with a brown moustache and a beard, wearing a cap over his head, and a dark brown poncho over the typical Kiri Swordsmen attire. He was holding a strange weapon that appeared to be an axe linked by a chain to a hammer.

"Jinin Akebino," Mei said, astonished. "You are the warden?"

"Hello to you too, Mei-san. Zabuza-san, I'm not surprised to see you here. Come to finish what you started all those years ago?" Jinin asked, making Zabuza to grip his sword tighter. Jinin's eyes then rested on Chojuro. "I don't know who you are, but I see you have the Hiramekarei.. It's sad to see so many swordsmen turning on their village."

"What are you doing here? Being a warden is certainly a job below your capabilities," Mei pointed out.

"I spoke against Mizukage-sama's regime and way of ruling the village. He thinks I can't be trusted, so he sent me here. But I'll show him that I'm as loyal to Kirigakure as anybody else," Jinin replied.

"If you disapprove of Yagura, why are you still loyal to him?" Mei asked, taking a step forward. "I know you, Jinin-san. You're an heroic and honorable man, why are you still loyal to somebody so corrupt?"

"Because it's our duty as a ninja to remain obedient to our superiors. If not, chaos and anarchy will ensue. It's not my place, nor anybody else's, to judge the actions of our Kage," Jinin retorted. "Tell me, Mei-san, in case you succeed in your endeavor and become the new Mizukage, will you encourage people who don't support you and your ways to wage another civil war against you?"

"It's not the same thing! Yagura's reign of terror needs to end! People sees us as nothing but bloodthirsty murderers! It might not look like it now, but I'm doing this to save lives!" Mei protested.

"Sure, tell that to yourself. Why don't you-" but Jinin's question was left hanging when he noticed a certain green clad Jonin. "YOU! You're alive! No, it can't be...no, wait, you're not him. His son, perhaps?"

Gai took a step forward as well. "Yes, I am Maito Gai, son of Maito Dai. It seems you remember my father."

"Hard to forget the man who slaughtered the Seven Swordsmen on his own. You have no idea what we had to do in order to silence the rumors that the pride and joy of our village had been defeated by a mere Genin," Jinin bitterly said. "Did you come here to finish what your father started?"

"I came here because the rebels hired Konoha to help them in their campaign. Regardless of what happened in the past, I bear no ill will towards you," Gai sincerely said.

"Jinin-san, please," Mei begged once again.

"Enough," Jinin firmly stated, putting an end to the conversation. "You and your followers are traitors to Kirigakure, and the punishment for treason is death! Everybody, attack!"

"Zabuza, Chojuro," Mei took a step backwards. "I think you two should be the ones to deal with Jinin. Be careful, he's a hardened veteran who fought in the Third War."

Zabuza and Chojuro took a step forward. The former looked confident, the latter not so much.

Ninja from both sides left the three swordsmen some space to fight unmolested. Zabuza and Jinin stared at each other defiantly, while Chojuro attempted to hide behind Zabuza's back.

"You look good, Zabuza-san. It's true what they said? Were you in Konoha all these years?" Jinin asked.

"Not by choice," the masked swordsman replied, as he rested his sword on his shoulders. "But that's irrelevant now. Once the rebellion triumphs, I'll be closer than ever to realize my ambition of becoming Mizukage."

"You were always way too above your head, Zabuza-san. Youth these days..." Jinin then looked at the trembling Chojuro. "What about you, boy? What's your story?"

"I...I..." Chojuro stammered, before gathering some courage to speak up. "I fight under Mei-sama to end the Blood Mist!"

"You must think you're so noble, destabilizing a ninja village so our enemies can take us out easier. But that won't happen under my watch, you hear that!?" Jinin shouted, as he charged at the duo.

Zabuza and Chojuro adopted fighting stances. The fight of the swordsmen was about to begin.

…

 **OMAKE: SAI'S SECRET**

The Fourth Ninja War had taken a turn for the darkest. Despite Madara and Obito not capturing the last two remaining jinchuriki, Naruto and Killer B, they still managed to recreate the Ten Tails. The beast's power was so great, not even the whole Ninja Alliance was able to deal any lasting damage.

"This is hopeless!" Sakura cried. "No matter what we do, that monster just shrugs it off!"

"There's no such thing as an invincible foe. That thing must have a weakness. We need to find it and exploit it," Sasuke replied.

"Yes, we can't give up now! There's too much at stake!" Naruto said.

"If we did, all the people who died in this war would have died for nothing.." Hinata sadly said.

"That sounds pretty nice, but what can we do? That monster will kill us all!" Sakura shouted.

"I believe I can be of help," A new voice said.

Naruto turned around, and saw the ex-root agent, Sai, smiling as if the end of the world wasn't about to happen.

"You? No offense Sai, but I don't think you have enough power to tip the balance in our favor," Naruto dubiously said.

"Actually, I believe do. I have a secret power I haven't used yet, but I don't think I can keep holding it back anymore, given the circumstances," Sai said, before creating a giant bird out of ink, jumping on top of it, and ordering it to fly towards the Ten Tails.

"Sai, wait!" Naruto cried.

"That idiot is going to get himself killed," Sakura deadpanned.

Meanwhile, Madara and Obito looked at Sai, flying at them alone. The zombified ninja smirked, amused.

"Look at that, Obito. A single insect think it can take out a god," Madara said.

Obito chuckled. "Let him try to harm the Ten Tails. This is going to be fun."

When he was over the head, Sai jumped off of the ink bird, and delivered a single punch to the ten tailed abomination.

That punch was all what he needed.

The punch was so powerful, I created a shockwave that shattered the ground and rocks around it, generating a loud booming noise. The Ten Tails cried in pain, before it fell down to the ground, motionless, and lifeless.

Everybody stared at the scene with wide open eyes and mouths opened agape, as their brains tried to understand what their eyes just saw.

"The Ten Tails...it's dead!" Obito said in shock. "That guy killed it in one punch!"

"Who...who are you?" Madara said, experiencing fear for the first time in decades.

"People call me Sai, but it's not my real name. Well, it's more like a diminutive of my real name..." Sai then pulled out his hair, which happened to be a wig, revealing a shiny bald head underneath. He tore off his Konoha uniform, revealing that he was wearing a yellow jumpsuit, red gloves and boots, and a white cape that billowed dramatically despite the lack of wind. "...Saitama."

 _"ONE PUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCH...!"_ somebody cried in the background, as an epic guitar riff began to play.

Saitama then happily ran towards the amazed and terrified Obito and Madara, both of them knowing that this would be their end.

"I hate crossovers so much..." Madara muttered.

* * *

 **Author's Note: One of the good things of introducing Sai, is that I could finally use that Omake. Any One Punch Man fans out there? Because boy, it's a pretty enjoyable work.**

 **So, the attack on the Crimson Citadel begins, and the first roadblock our heroes have to face in the form of Jinin Akebino. By the end of this arc, all seven swords will make an appearance, and some of them will change owner.  
**

 **Some readers requested Hinata to have her anime only "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms" attack, so there you go. At first I thought that it was made redundant by the Heavenly Spin, but I realized that the former can be used in ways the latter is impractical. And don't worry, it won't be the last time she'll use that attack.**

 **Now, onto what I think is the biggest foreign element this arc has brought so far: the chakra golems. While I always played to introduce them, they wouldn't show up until much later. I had an idea for a future arc of Naruto and Karin (as well as more Konoha ninja) traveling to the ruins of Uzushio to recover some of the lost Uzumaki fuinjutsu knowledge, among them the chakra golems.**

 **What changed my mind? The Boruto anime Kirigakure arc. When Shizuma and the rest of the wannabe swordsmen broke into the vault where the Seven Swords were kept, they triggered a security mechanism that summoned several self moving puppets to stop them. Said puppets turned out to be hilariously ineffective, and their only purpose was to give the wannabe swordsmen a good target to test their swords and remind the audience what they could do. After seeing that, I decided that maybe I could combine both ideas, and have Kirigakure develop the chakra golems as a secret weapon from the fuinjutsu knowledge they looted from Uzushiogakure. That way, I could also make Kiri into a more formidable opponent. Anyway, hope you like and find them interesting additions.**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **I think that's all. In two weeks, the resolution of the Crimson Citadel mini arc. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	46. The Crimson Citadel, Part II

**Author's Note: So the previous' chapter review count is pretty similar to the last batch of chapters that came before that. So I'm going to assume that the unusually low number of reviews of the chapter before that was the website malfunctioning and not the quality of my writing slipping. Something my ego deeply appreciates XD**

 **Anyway, here's the conclusion to the Crimson Citadel mini arc. Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 46:**

The Crimson Citadel, Part II

 _or_

 _Hammer Down_

In front of the secondary prison blocks, Shisui Uchiha was leading a small squad in order to liberate it, since the prisoners would make for great reinforcements. At least those who were rebels or dissenters. He already had in mind all the criminals that would claim to be political prisoners just for the excuse to be free.

Turns out, despite the attack, no guard had left the secondary blocks unprotected in order to repel the invasion force. Of course, Shisui was going to prove that quality trumped quantity any time of day.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

Shisui breathed a huge fireball at a group of guards, while they countered with a volley of watery projectiles, clashing in the middle, cancelling each other out and creating a cloud of steam. Just as Shisui had expected.

Without giving the guards time to react, Shisui unsheathed his tanto and silently dashed towards his opponents. However, he soon found himself being pelted by shuriken, thrown with impressive aim even in the middle of the cloud of steam.

"What the...?" the one eyed Uchiha asked as he deflected the steel stars with his weapon.

"They must have a sensor among them! Watch out!" one of his ninja warned him.

 _"If they can sense me, then there's no point in stealth. I'll have to take them head on!"_ Shisui decided as he charged forward.

As Shisui charged, he also heard a second set of quick steps running parallel towards him, as a shadow blurred through the dispelling steam.

"Another one to your right! Watch out!" an enemy ninja warned.

Shisui smirked. "Found the sensor."

However, said sensor wasn't alone, as two more ninja were protecting the one he deduced was the sensor. One of them unsheathed a katana and lunged at the one eyed Uchiha while the other remained close to him.

"So, that traitorous whore got you of all people to help her with her temper tantrum? The nerve!" the red clad ninja scoffed as he delivered vicious swings at Shisui.

"Why the hate? My squad usually has the lowest body count. Did you lose a loved one to my blade or something?" the Uchiha calmly asked.

"You humiliated us by letting your defeated enemies get away! But you won't insult us any longer!" the Kiri loyalist angrily replied.

"Wait...you're angry over the fact that I spared your comrades? You guys have issues," Shisui replied.

"Dark Mirror Clone Jutsu!"

Suddenly, clones of the Kirigakure loyalists appeared alongside the originals, their skin and clothes having a dark blue tint that set them apart from the originals, which drew their weapons, and attacked them. Some of them were caught by surprise.

"ARGH!"

"What the hell is this?"

Shisui took no time to notice that the jutsu had been cast by a masked rebel kiri wearing a dark blue long cloak. The masked ninja swiftly attacked all the enemies fighting their dark replicas, and Shisui did the same. In no time, the block entrance was secured.

"Alright, entrance cleared, go inside and release all the rebel prisoners!" Shisui ordered. All men under his command nodded, and followed him inside.

"Good work out there. That's quite the jutsu," Shisui praised the masked ninja.

"Thanks. Unfortunately, it only works on small groups," the masked ninja replied.

"Hey, it get the job done. I'm Shisui Uchiha, by the way," Shisui introduced himself.

"Kumori Nashi," the man said. "Let's talk later, we have comrades to free."

…

"Forget about the humans, keep firing on that giant toad!" a Kiri ANBU commanded.

Given the damage it was causing, most of Kiri's forces were concentrating their fire on Gamahiro. While arriving at the barracks didn't prove to be too difficult, taking them was a different endeavor. The building was heavily fortified, as well as defended with several kunai launchers that sprayed the attackers with constant rains of kunai.

The golems kept aiming their flamethrowers at Gamahiro as well, and while the rebel ninjas tired to counter them with their water ninjutsu, the Kiri loyalists targeted them instead, keeping them busy. Other ninjas, having identified Naruto as the one who summoned the creature, decided to take the fight to him directly.

"Wind Release: Wind Wall!"

A tornado surrounded Naruto, which blocked the kunai, shuriken and ninjutsu a trio of Kiri ninja had thrown at him.

"Ouch! Watch out with what you do there, Naruto!" Gamahiro protested.

 _"Dammit, I forgot I wasn't on the ground. I have to be careful with my attacks or I can hurt Gamahiro!"_ the blonde thought. "Sorry! Force of habit!"

On the ground, the rest of Team Kurenai and Miyako tried their best to protect Gamahiro from the enemy Kiri ninja and the golems. One of them aimed its hand cannon at her and released a torrent of flames.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata turned herself into a spinning dome of blue chakra, deflecting the stream of fire. Haku took a step forward and made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

The Ice Ninja expelled multiple watery projectiles at the stream of flames, slowly pushing it back. Miyako rushed forward, seeing it as the perfect opening to attack.

"The mobile parts have to be unarmored, and thus vulnerable to my blade. They have to!" She exclaimed as she leaped into the air, katana above her head. But when she came down and delivered a vertical slash, her hit was parried by another sword. "What?"

Much to her shock, a blade had appeared on the golem's left hand, blocking the blue haired kunoichi's strike, before she was pushed backwards by the mechanical beast.

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

Multiple icicles rained from above over the golem, thought not randomly, as they embedded themselves into the articulations and other unarmored spots. The golem started to shake erratically as it tried and failed to move. Sparks of chakra started to jump from its body as it malfunctioned.

"Good work, Haku! This should put it down!" Miyako said as she tossed a bunch of kunai with explosive notes attached to them. Several explosions later, the golem was down.

"Good one. Let's see if we can repeat the process with the other golems," Kurenai said.

However, a new information about the enemy was about be known, much to a certain kunoichi's concern.

"Hey, somebody just told me that Mei-sama's group is facing the warden who is nobody but Jinin Akebino himself!" a Kiri ninja shouted out loud.

"WHAT!?" Miyako replied just as louder. Then, she turned at Kurenai. "Kurenai-san, I'm sorry, but if that's true, I need to go there!"

"I know you're an aspiring swordsman, but isn't somebody like Jinin a bit too much for you?" Kurenai questioned.

"Me alone, sure. But I won't be alone. I need to take part in that fight so when we have his sword in our power, Mei-sama will deem me worthy of inheriting it," Miyako replied.

"So you're putting your own ambition over the success of the mission?" Kurenai disapprovingly asked.

"If you think that my presence here will make a difference, or I can do something nobody else can, then I'll stay," the blue haired girl replied.

Kurenai was forced to admit that, truth be told, the Kiri kunoichi leaving wouldn't change the course of the battle too much.

"Alright then, I guess we'll manage without you. Good luck," Kurenai told her.

Miyako smiled at her. "Good luck to you two, and take care!"

And thus, the blue haired rebel dashed towards the entrance of the main prison block.

…

And in the aforementioned main prison block, the three Swordsmen of the Mist were about to begin their private duel.

"Let's get rid of the distraction first! You're in, kid!" Jinin shouted as he dashed towards Chojuro, Helmet Splitter in hand.

Chojuro yelped and held his sword in a defensive position. Zabuza's eyes shot open upon realizing what the blue haired teen was planning to do.

"Watch out, brat! That sword is not like the others! Don't-!"

But it was too late. The moment the axe half of the Helmet Splitter came down, Chojuro raised the Hiramekarei to parry it. Jinin smirked, and used the hammer half of his weapon to slam into the backside of the axe, overpowering Chojuro's defenses. It didn't break Hiramekarei, but it managed to blow it out of Chojuro's hands, and cause him some damage in the forearms.

"My sword can break through any defenses! Blocking or parrying is useless!" Jinin boasted, as he prepared to attack the downed Chojuro. "Now die, traitor!"

Fortunately for Chojuro, his death was delayed when Zabuza tossed the Executioner's Blade at the older swordsman, which forced him to parry it. In a second, Zabuza closed the gap and retrieved his sword, which he used to deliver a series of swipes, which Jinin dodged as he jumped backwards, but much to his chagrin, the size of Zabuza's sword gave it a lot of range.

"Your sword might be the ultimate offense, but it lacks in defense!" Zabuza said as he continued attacking. "Brat, kill him now that he's wide open!"

"R-Right!" Chojuro stammered as he recovered the Hiramekarei and rushed towards the struggling Jinin. Gripping the two handles of his blade, Chojuro delivered an horizontal slash that cut the senior swordsman in two. "Yes! What?"

Unfortunately, Jinin disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving a cleaved log behind.

"Not bad, definitely not bad," Jinin said from behind them. "It's about time for you to see what you're up against! Bluntsword Ninja Art: Earth Breaker!"

Jinin slammed the hammer half of the Helmet Splitter into the ground, shattering it, creating multiple quakes and sending a wave of rock and pebbles against the rebel swordsmen. Chojuro quickly stepped in front of Zabuza, raising his sword in a defensive position.

"Hiramekarei: Release!"

Chojuro's sword was engulfed by a cloak of glowing blue chakra, which expanded and took the shape of a shield. Said shield managed to absorb the impact of the rocks and pebbles aimed at them.

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "Not bad, kid. Seems that you're at least aware of some of your sword's abilities, even if you're ignorant of the others."

"Uhhh...thanks?" the bespectacled ninja asked, a bit confused.

Zabuza suddenly grabbed Chojuro by the shoulder and pushed him aside, while he himself jumped in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding Jinin's swing.

"God damn it brat, one compliment, and you get so distracted he almost kills you!" Zabuza angrily groaned. "This is why I never say nice things!"

Meanwhile, not far from there, Mei spared a glance to check how their duel was going on, and worry spread through her face as she saw that Jinin was proving to be a hard nut to crack. She was tempted to lend them a hand, but in the end, it wouldn't be a good idea. If she, a non-swordsman, disrupted their duel, then the enemy would aid Jinin in return, making the task of taking him down much harder.

There was also the fact that the Seven Swordsmen had a reputation to uphold. If she had to babysit them all the time, it would erode their prestige, and that would be seen as a disservice to Kirigakure's culture. No, she had to let them, and hope that they would come out on top.

The whirring sound of flying shuriken snapped her back from her admittedly brief trance. Gracefully, the rebel leader dodged the steel stars aimed at her, and faced the ones who tossed them, a group of elite ANBU.

"Look at that. The most wanted criminal in the Land of Water, coming right into our prison. That's what one would call irony," one ANBU mentioned.

Mei smirked at him. "Oh, trust me, I didn't come here to become a permanent resident. Pretty much the opposite."

"You have a 'Kill on Sight' order placed on you, miss. Spending your last days on a cold, damp cell is a comfort you won't experience," another ANBU replied as he unsheathed his katana, an action mimicked by his partners.

"Kill on sight? Wow, I'm flattered! My rebellion must be really more of a threat than what Yagura lets on, if he's so desperate to have me dead, don't you think?" Mei squealed in fake joy.

Under their masks, the ANBU growled. "Let's silence this whore already," one of them seethed.

Mei stopped smiling, and frowned. "Whore? Now that's being rude. It seems that not only ninjas under the Blood Mist lack compassion and empathy, but also basic decency. Guess I'll have to teach you some myself."

"The dead can't teach anything! Water Release: Water Shuriken!"

The ANBU created several water shuriken from thin air and made them fly at the rebel leader. Mei smiled as she made hand seals in quick succession, before slamming her hands into the ground. "Amateurish. Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

A wall of stone erected from the ground between Mei and her enemies, absorbing the water shuriken. However, while she was doing that, other two ANBU had flanked her, and were ready to slash her from two different angles. Mei, however, was unfazed.

"Not bad," Mei admitted as he made several hand seals. "But as you are going to find out, bloodlust isn't a good replacement for genuine skill and power. Water Release: Water Whip!"

Mei generated a whip made of water, and she twirled it around herself, expertly parrying and blocking the quick strikes of the enemy ANBU. Their fight was interrupted when a chakra golem tore down the wall, startling her a bit.

"Let's see what your ninjutsu can do against this!" an ANBU standing on the golem's shoulder taunted.

Mei smirked once again, as she started to make more hand seals. "You'll see it shortly. Water Release: All Devouring Maelstrom!"

Water appeared out of nowhere and started to spin around the golem, quickly forming a water tornado. The ninja riding the golem let out a loud laugh.

"You idiot! No matter how big you make your jutsu, the golem can absorb it!" the ANBU taunted.

"I know the golem can do that, but can you?" Mei asked, shooting him a condescending smile.

The ANBU stopped laughing. "Shit..."

When the water tornado formed, while the golem was left unharmed, the ANBU was sent flying high into the air.

"Thought so," Mei nonchalantly said. She saw the golem stomping towards her with predictable intentions. "Well, let's see what can I do with you, big guy..."

…

While Kiba, Shino and Tamaki went to deal with the enemy Kiri ninja spawning shadow clones to bolster their numbers, Kakashi and Rin were holding the rest in line. Most of the enemy forces focused on Kakashi, whom was deemed as the biggest threat, while Rin covered his back. Soon the Kiri ninja noticed that trying to take Rin out was just as hard as Kakashi.

As the brown haired girl clashed with the Kiri ninja, she started to notice something about her body. It was much more resilient and resistant. Despite all the time she had been fighting, she didn't feel tired in the slightest. She moved faster, hit harder, and her reflexes were much sharper. She wondered how she never noticed this earlier, but then she realized this was the first real fight she had been since her resurrection.

"What? How a little girl can be this strong?" a Kiri ninja incredulously asked, as he struggled with the medic-nin in a kunai lock.

"I work out a lot," Rin lied before pushing the enemy ninja backwards.

"Keep your act together! They're just two, even if one of them is the Copy Ninja!" an ANBU captain angrily exclaimed.

"They might be just two, but they're quite strong, and their defense is too solid!" a lesser ranked ANBU complained.

"You whiny cowards! And you call yourselves ninja of the Blood Mist?" the captain yelled before making a hand seal. "Show them what we're made of! Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Soon, a dense mist covered the area, hiding the enemies of the Konoha duo. Kakashi tensed up, and tightly held a kunai in a defensive position.

"Rin, be careful! Stay back to back!" Kakashi told her.

"Alright," the medic-nin complied with Kakashi's requests, as she expected the enemy to make their move any moment. Then, a realization dawned upon her. " _Wait a minute, this mist...I think I can use it to my advantage,"_ she thought, before making several hand seals.

As the group of Kiri ninja slowly approached from all directions, ready to bathe their weapons in the blood of the invading Konoha trash. Little did they know that the only blood spilled today would be theirs.

As they slowly approached, they noticed that walking was becoming more and more difficult. It took them no time to notice that tall grass was growing around them.

"Grass? But how can...?" A Kiri ANBU wondered, puzzled.

But it was too late. The moment they stepped on the grass, Rin located their position, and marked them for death. Soon, multiple vines grew from under their feet, wrapped around their bodies, and were strangled to death. Rin was careful to target their throats as well so they couldn't shout or warn the others about her power.

Nobody could know. At least not yet.

Time passed, and the attack never came. Kakashi was growing antsy, and so was the ANBU captain. Unable to shake a bad feeling, he decided to dispel the mist. The image that appeared before his eyes surprised him to say the least, as he saw the bodies of his subordinates lying on the ground, motionless.

"What the...?" the ANBU captain stammered in shock.

"Good job taking care of those, Kakashi," Rin told her former teammate.

The Copy Ninja looked at her with some concern. "It wasn't me who took them out."

"Really? Oh. Well, guess that somebody helped us out, and then decided to leave," Rin said with a shrug.

"You know, you were never the best liar, Rin," Kakashi sternly said. "But now you're being ridiculous."

She had to admit that trying to fool Kakashi maybe wasn't the best of her ideas.

"Can we talk about it later? We have a mission to finish," Rin replied, weariness seeping into her voice.

Kakashi, nodded and the two of them pressed forward.

…

Meanwhile, on another side of the island prison, the division Kurenai's Assault Squad was part of had successfully taken over the barracks, and were quickly securing the building. Most of the enemy Kiri ninja had retreated towards the main prison block.

"I took quite a beating from those golems. I hate to leave given that the fight is far from over, but I don't think I can be of much more help," Gamahiro apologized.

"Hey, it's okay, you were awesome! We wouldn't have taken over the barracks so easily without you," Naruto complimented the giant toad.

"Thank you. Good luck for what's left!" Gamahiro said before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright, now that the barracks are ours, we can establish a proper infirmary and move all our wounded here," Kurenai mentioned.

"Should we help the other divisions?" Haku asked.

Kurenai shook her head. "Our orders were clear. Capture and protect the barracks. Unless we're given new orders, our duty is to stay here."

"Alright then. Can I send a few clones to see how the others are doing? They might be in a position that stops them from sending a request for help," Naruto suggested.

Kurenai pondered the blonde's petition for a few moments, before deciding that there was no harm in doing such a thing. "Alright then. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Several Naruto clones popped into existence, and run away into different directions.

"Soon we should have pretty good intel on what's happening on the rest of the isle," Naruto proudly said.

"Zabuza-sama and Tenten-chan were on the main division. I hope they're doing right," Haku mused.

…

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Using the nearby water, Zabuza summoned a gigantic dragon-shaped construct that dived at the older swordsman. Jinin looked unimpressed, and started to swing the hammer half of his weapon at an incredible speed.

"Bluntsword Ninja Art: Hurricane Hammer!"

The swinging hammer created a strong whirlwind around Jinin, and when the water dragon reached its target, it crashed and dissolved against a barrier of gale force winds, much to Zabuza's chagrin. And it wasn't going to end there.

"Take this!" Jinin shouted as he swung the hammer forward, sending the tornado at Zabuza.

At first, Zabuza was lost on how to survive against such attack, but then he quickly remembered how a past opponent managed to withstand one of his water jutsu, and decided to give the idea a try. He then stabbed the sword into the ground, and channeled chakra through his fingers in order to stick them to the sword's handle.

When the tornado came, it violently tried to send him flying, but Zabuza was anchored to the ground, and thus wasn't moved.

"Not bad, definitely not bad," Jinin complimented. "But will it be good enough to beat me? I find that doubtful."

"I already killed a Swordsman of the Mist before. You're nothing special," Zabuza snarled.

"Ah, yes, I know how you killed Biwo-san and acquired his blade. Did you best him in single combat, or did you attack him during a moment of vulnerability?"

"Does it matter? The fact that I managed to kill him shows that he wasn't worthy of wielding the Executioner's Blade and belonging to our select group anymore," Zabuza retorted. "I surpassed Biwo-sensei and every sensei, and thus his sword deserved to be mine!"

"While there is some truth to your words, you won't be able to catch all your opponents off guard for an easy kill, as I myself am proving right now," Jinin replied, as he swung the half axe of his weapon at Zabuza, who was smart enough to dodge and not parry it. "Doesn't change the fact that you're a traitorous disgrace that needs to be put down. When the two of you are dealt with, I'll make sure Mizkage-sama gives your swords to loyal ninja of the Mist!"

"Zabuza-senpai is the product of the regime you're defending so ardently!" Chojuro blurted out, his words came with a surprising lack of stammer.

"You have no idea what are you talking about, kid," Jinin condescendingly said.

"Maybe I'm too young. But I know the history of my village. I know how Zabuza-senpai came to be. It was the Blood Mist customs' that drove him to the path he ended up taking, as it did the same to many others who also became missing-nin, some former Swordsmen amongst them! The Blood Mist will end up tearing itself apart!" Chojuro shouted, as he swung the Hiramekarei at Jinin, who easily parried it.

"There will always be people unhappy with a government. But it's impossible to please everybody. Our duty as ninjas is to maintain order and stability," Jinin replied. "Don't try to shift the blame of this war on my side, kid. It was your side who started!"

"We HAD a reason to start this!" Chojuro said as he jumped at Jinin, his sword over his head, which started to glow with a blue light. "Hiramekarei: Release!"

The cloak of chakra covering the giant sword took the shape of a giant hammer, which the bespectacled young man swung at Jinin. Knowing there was no way to block such an attack, he opted to avoid it by jumping back, even if he knew that it would leave him wide open, something Zabuza took no time capitalize on, as he appeared behind the bearded swordsman,

"Your sword might carry a lot of destructive power, but your defense is non-existent!" Zabuza taunted, ready to cleave Jinin.

Then much to Zabuza's surprise, rather than trying to avoid or block his swing, Jinin instead swung the axe half of his weapon at Zabuza's neck. Zabuza released one of his hands from his sword's handle, and used it to grab Jinin's wrist, stopping the attack. But in doing so, he robbed his own swing of much of his power, and Jinin easily blocked it with the hammer half of his weapon.

"You know what they say, the best defense is a good offense. And no offense is better than the Helmet Splitter!" Jini shouted as he kicked Zabuza in the chest, pushing him back, before lunging at him again.

But once again, Jinin was forced to jump backwards as several kunai rained upon him, a few of them dangerously close to find its mark. Angry and startled, he looked around to see how had ambushed him, and saw a tall and slender girl with long blue hair that hid one of her eyes landing near Zabuza. Her uniform identified her as a rebel.

"Who the hell are you?" Jinin angrily asked.

The newcomer smirked. "My name is Miyako Kiui, Special Jonin of the Kirigakure Liberation Movement, as well as an aspiring member of the Seven Swordsmen."

"Get lost, little girl, this is a fight between actual Swordsmen, not pretenders," Jinin dissed her.

Miyako crossed her arms. "What, am I too much for you to handle, big guy?"

"Quite the opposite, I'm not going to deal with such an opponent that's below me, so leave if you value your life," Jinin warned her.

Miyako replied by unsheathing her katana. "The most common way to become a Swordsman is to kill the previous wielder of a sword and claim it as your own. And that's why I'm planning to do."

This seems to hit a nerve on Jinin, who dangerously scowled at her. "Alright girl, you got your wish. I'd be more than happy to put you in your place. Bluntsword Ninja Art: Underground Fissure!"

Jinin raised the axe half of his weapon above his head, whose edge started to glow with a dim blue light, before slamming it into the ground, sending an underground shockwave that shook the earth, and left a deep crack in the ground behind it.

"Oh shit!" Miyako shouted as she jumped aside multiple times in order to avoid the widespread destruction.

"Don't get too cocky, girl. This man is a veteran of the Third Ninja War, and possibly the strongest Swordsman loyal to Yagura," Zabuza pointed out.

"You should listen to your sempai, little girl. You're way over your head," Jinin added before raising the hammer half this time. "Bluntsword Ninja Art: Earth breaker!"

Jinin brought the hammer down once more, creating a massive quake that send the two swordsmen and the one aspiring swordsman flying with an incredible force.

"You can bring as many pretenders who want to get their dirty hands onto our swords, yet it won't be enough. Do you know why? Because we fight for a higher cause. We fight for peace, order and stability. You're fighting for the delusions of a mad woman consumed by her lust of power, and you yourselves are nothing but naïve children throwing temper tantrums just because things aren't the way you want," Jinin harshly told them. "That's why you're destined to lose!"

Zabuza managed to land on his feet, and raised his sword in a defensive pose as he slowly advanced towards his foe.

"You see us as children throwing a temper tantrum. Do you know how do we see you? As an old man who desperately clings to the old times because he's too afraid to face the fact that the world has changed., and realize that he's the last of the few relics of a past time. Now go to the place you belong, relic!" Zabuza shouted as he tossed his sword at the older swordsman once again.

"Not falling for that one again, boy," Jinin replied as he also tossed the hammer half of his weapon at the flying sword. Both weapons clashed with a loud clang. Zabuza's sword was sent spinning aside, while Jinin merely tugged the leather link bounding both weapons, and returned the hammer to his hand. "And now it's when either you or one of your allies ambush me from behind, right?"

And true to his words, he turned around and saw Chojuro ready to cut him in two, Hiramekarei already moving to strike. Chojuro yelped upon seeing that Jinin had seen him coming. Jinin smirked, and parried the blow with the axe half, while smashing Chojuro's arm with the hammer.

"AAAAAAAARRRGGGHH!" the young swordsman yelled, dropping his weapon to the ground, as he himself fell on his knees.

"Does it hurt? Well, that's what happens when you get into a war. People either die, or get horribly maimed for life. And while I doubt that injury might be permanent, you won't live to receive medical attention," Jinin said as he prepared to finish the job.

"Leave him alone, you asshole!" Miyako shouted as she charged at Jinin.

Even if the yell was an obvious alert, Jinin was already expecting either of them to try to save their comrade, and was unsurprised that his guessing of the girl turned out to be correct. Jinin's axe clashed against Miyako's katana, resulting in a shower of sparks.

"At the very least, two of the lost swords will go back to their legitimate owner," Jinin said as he effortlessly pushed Miyako back, who made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken!"

Shuriken made of water formed in front of the blue haired kunoichi, as they flew towards Jinin. But the older swordsman merely swung his hammer, and easily destroyed them.

"Nothing you can throw at me will have any kind of effect, girl. Give up already," Jinin dismissively said. "Even if by some miracle you manage to win here, Mizukage-sama is already aware of what you did! Then you'll have no option but face Kirigakure in the open, and you will be crushed!"

"Do you take us for idiots? The island is surrounded by our forces, ready to intercept any bird messenger that tries to fly into the mainland. Yagura will be none the wiser when we storm the village, just like we did with this prison!" Miyako countered, as she delivered fast swipes with her katana at Jinin.

The older swordsman merely smirked. "Ah, yes, the birds. We found out later than what would have been desirable that that's how you've been gaining intel on us. But that tactic won't work with you anymore."

Miyako wanted to believe it was just a bluff to get her upset, but he couldn't feel that her foe wasn't lying.

"What are you talking about?" the blue haired kunoichi shouted.

"Do you have anybody checking underwater?" Jinin mysteriously asked.

"Underwater? Why would...?" she asked, confused, before a realization hit her like a sledgehammer. "No way...!"

"Yes. Upon noticing that you were intercepting our messenger birds, we decided to take advantage of the sea, and used sea animals to carry messages underwater instead. Several couriers were sent away to Kirigakure a few minutes after your invasion started, detailing, among other things, that little sneaking you did in order to disable our defenses and open the dock gates. Mizukage-sama knows everything. You have no way to defeat him."

Miyako was left stunned. Secrecy has always been the rebellion's greatest weapon, and now, they could no longer count on it. Even if Yagura didn't plan to hunt them down, he'll expect them to attack to village anytime, and would reinforce its defenses. Mei had stressed how important Yagura not knowing about them was. There would be no way to take over the village now. They had already lost.

"No...it can't end like this..." a still stunned and shocked Miyako said, almost in a whisper.

"It can," Jinin said. "But Mizukage-sama won't have to end your revolt personally. That honor will belong to ME!"

Jinin was about to cut Miyako in two with his axe, before Zabuza suddenly appeared between him and his potential victim, deflecting the axe blow to the side.

"Goddamit girl, snap out of it!" Zabuza angrily shouted, as he pushed Jinin back. "This isn't the end! I refuse to let it end here after how long I've been walking this path!"

"Didn't you hear what he said? Yagura knows about this attack now! He will be expecting us! All our efforts from these past years are now wasted! We can't win!"

"So what? Things didn't go as planned. When do they do? I did meet my fair share of failures, and here I am, ready to take Kirigakure away from Yagura's hands!" Zabuza shouted.

Zabuza sounded so sure. Did the rebels still have a chance to win? He certainly think so. And what he said is true. He failed in his initial coup. He was captured by Konoha when he helped the Uchiha Clan with their failed attempt at seizing Konoha. Yet the man didn't let discouraging odds to put him down, and persevered.

Yes, he was right. They couldn't give up. Every problem has a solution, and they'd find a solution for this one. Besides, this was far from the first setback the rebellion had faced. Wiping the stunned expression from her face, Miyako gripped her katana tightly, and prepared to rejoin the face.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me," Miyako told him.

"Be sure it doesn't happen again. I can't waste my time babysitting you all the time!" Zabuza snarled, as he charged at Jinin once again.

Zabuza and Jinin engaged in a fight once, more, loud clangs rang through the air as their weapons clashed. In no time, it became obvious that Zabuza was gaining the upper hand. Still, that was nowhere near enough to make Jinin consider defeat.

"Just like I said, your defense is pretty poor. Your sword might provide you a formidable offense, but it will be for naught if I simply don't let you attack," Zabuza told him as he pressed on.

"And you think I'm going to let you?" Jinin replied as he parried a blow with the axe half of his weapon, while trying to smash Zabuza with the hammer.

Zabuza, however, disengaged in time to duck the mighty hit., and landed a punch on Jinin's stomach. Still, the bearded man didn't bend over. As the two kept fighting, Miyako decided that the best course of action would be supporting Zabuza from afar. She positioned herself behind Jinin, and made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken!"

Once again, multiple water shuriken formed in front of her, and she directed them towards Jinin, being careful not to hit Zabuza with them. However, as if Jinin had eyes on his back (or a Byakugan), the swordsman swung his hammer in an spinning motion, deflecting all the shuriken, while all the same time using the axe to parry Zabuza's sword.

"You think I'm such an amateur to not to notice how many enemies I'm fighting against? Trying to catch me off guard is-URK!" Jinin choked, as he spat blood.

It took the presents a couple seconds to notice that Chojuro had appeared behind him, and struck his side with Hiramekarei, whom he was holding with his only good arm. He was unable to put much force into the swing, but it was enough to make a grievous wound.

"Y-You...!?" Jinin asked in disbelief.

"I'm...I'm not dead yet, I can still fight!" Chojuro shouted, though he couldn't suppress his stutter.

Then, Miyako appeared besides them, and impaled Jinin with her katana for a good measure. The older swordsman dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees.

"You're right..." Jinin said, coughing more blood. "To think that I of all people made such a rookie mistake...you have guts, kid, I'll give you that."

Zabuza walked towards him, and raised his sword. "Any last words, Jinin-san?"

"Yes. Do know that I don't regret my actions or loyalties, and die as a loyal swordsman. And since I'm sure you're going to give my sword to somebody else, make sure it's somebody worthy of it," Jinin asked.

Zabuza nodded. "I promise you the next bearer of the Helmet Splitter will be a swordsman worthy of your praise."

And then, the aptly named Executioner's Blade descended upon Jinin, separating his head from the rest of his body, ending his life.

Across the battlefield, all the chakra golems suddenly stopped fighting and were rendered inactive, with the seals slapped across their plating losing their glow.

Zabuza then grabbed his head, and raised it above his own.

"Attention everybody! Jinin Akebino of the Bluntsword is dead! The warden of this prison has died! Now give up, unless you want to follow a similar fate!" Zabuza shouted.

The fights around him immediately stopped. The effect of seeing their hero's severed head was immediate for the red-clad Kiri ninja. Some were disheartened, others enraged, but no one was left different.

"Jinin-sama is dead!?" a loyalist Kiri ninja asked in shock.

"Maybe we should surrender..." another one suggested. "The golems were bound to his will, and since he's no longer alive, there's nobody to make them fight..."

"Never! We're the Blood Mist! We don't have mercy, and we shall accept none!" another one shouted.

"Yes! We will go down fighting!" another Kiri ninja replied.

"Don't be such an idiot! Do you value your lives so poorly?" Mei asked.

"As if you don't plan to execute all of us, you traitorous whore!" the same ninja replied.

Trying to contain her anger at such crude insult, Mei breathed deeply. "No. I promise you that no harm won't befall on those who surrender peacefully. You will be treated as fairly as possible by my forces, and you will have the chance to return to active duty once Yagura has been deposed. No more blood needs to be spilled today."

Mei's words seems to have some effect on the enemy ninja, who dropped their weapons and walked towards the blue clad rebels, who quickly grabbed them.

"No! What are you doing, you idiots! Keep fighting!" an ANBU yelled as he lunged at a random rebel ninja, and many others followed his example.

The fight continued for a bit longer, but without Jinin, the golems, and a good chunk of the prison guards surrendering, those who refused to do so were quickly killed.

The effect was the same in the rest of the island. They realized that the golems' sudden deactivation meant that their leader was dead, and thus they were without two of the biggest assets they had. Around half of the prison guards choose to throw their weapons and hope the rebels would have mercy on them. The rest decided to go down fighting.

And as soon as the battle was over, all the rebels celebrated their victory with loud cheers and shouts of joy.

"We're not done here. Come on, we need to release all our allies, and lock up the prisoners!" Mei commanded. "And look for Ao! Finding him is of utmost importance!"

Miyako then walked towards Mei, her face reflecting worry.

"Mei-sama, before he died, Jinin-sempai said something you should know," Miyako told her leader. "Turns out, they did manage to send a message to the village. Apparently they use sea creatures that travel underwater as couriers now."

"That is grave news, indeed. Then again, it was a good thing that Jinin told us that. Otherwise, the invasion of Kiri might have turned into a disaster. Even if that means we can no longer use our original strategy," Mei replied. "I knew that part of your heart was still in the right place, Jinin-san."

"Are we going to continue with the invasion?" Miyako asked.

Mei nodded. "Yes. Now that Yagura knows of this, we can't fall back, even if he will be waiting for us."

…

Turns out, the man named Ao was locked in a secret underground cell which couldn't have been found without a sensor's help.

"Ao. We finally found you," Mei said, as the blue haired man came out of his confinement. "It's good to see you again."

"It's good to be free again, indeed. I was afraid I would never see you again, Mei-sama. I'm glad that I was wrong," Ao said as he made a small bow.

"How are you? Did they torture you?" Mei asked, a bit concerned.

"They did, and with a lot of enthusiasm. But they couldn't crack my will nor my mind," Ao proudly replied.

Mei smiled in return. "I see. What about your Byakugan? Do you still have it? Your seals are still in place, so I presume the answer is yes."

"Still in place," Ao said as he tapped his eye patch. "And as you said, they were unable to undo the protective seals. Not without killing me first, which they wouldn't do until they made me talk."

"Then it's a good thing that everything turned out as we had planned," Mei replied, then she turned at the group of ninja behind her. "Somebody please find Ao some proper clothes to wear in place of that hideous prison attire."

"Right away, ma'am!" two ninja said before leaving.

"Now that the island is under our control, let's check how the rest of the fights went, and how many losses we suffered," Mei said.

…

A few hours later, the sun started to rise in the horizon. Most of the clean-up had already been complete, and the island was fully under the rebel's control.

The guards that had surrendered had been locked inside the very same cells they used to watch, while the prisoners, at least those who could be identified as war prisoners, were released, given ninja uniforms and weapons, and reenlisted in the rebel army. Other criminals remained there.

Mei also called one of her hidden divisions into the island so they could man the prison while the bulk of her forces took a well deserved rest. Said reinforcements also brought food, clothes, weapons, medicine, and other supplies that the battle had drained from the rebel leader's main army, as well as their Konoha allies.

Some of said allies, namely Kurenai's Assault Squad, were inspecting one of the deactivated chakra golems, which was laying on the floor, motionless. Earlier, in an underground basement, they had discovered some sort of machine powered by the chakra of multiple ninja that actually supplied the golems with energy. It was decided that it wouldn't be destroyed, but kept for analysis instead.

And while their next orders arrived, Kurenai's team was studying one of those golems. Or better said, Naruto studied it while his teammates and sensei watched.

"I didn't want to believe it, but it's true. These seals were made by my clan," Naruto concluded. "I don't get it. Mom and Dad told me that neither Kiri nor Kumo got anything from the invasion of Uzushiogakure," Naruto protested.

"Or they did, but decided to pretend that it wasn't the case so their enemies wouldn't suspect anything," Kurenai wisely pointed out. "And it worked, given how off-guard these machines caught us."

"If this prison had these golems as reinforcements, then Kirigakure has them too. And possibly in a much bigger quantity," Haku observed. "It won't be an easy battle."

"No, but we already had experience fighting them. And despite their strength and abilities, they aren't invincible," Naruto pointed out.

"That power generator we found out underground suggest that the golems cannot be deployed far away from them, which means that they can only be used for defensive purposes. If we could lure the enemy into fighting outside the village..." Hinata pointed out, with a small glint of hope.

Kurenai, however, shook her head. "That won't happen. Yagura won't deploy his troops in mass outside the safety of the village's walls. This war won't end until we take over Kirigakure," Kurenai stated.

"Then we'll need a way to counter this golems. Naruto-kun, do you think you can create a seal that can disable them?" Haku asked his blond teammate.

Naruto looked pensive, but dubious. He placed two fingers under his chin. "I don't know. I can try, but the sealing matrix that makes the golems work is way more complex than anything I've studied."

"Whatever you do, no matter how little, it will be welcomed," Haku said in an almost pleading voice.

"Alright, I'll try to work on something," Naruto replied, much to the Ice Ninja's joy.

…

Meanwhile, in the prison's morgue, Mei and her swordsmen were around the table in which Jinin's body, covered by a sheet, was lying.

"His death was a tragedy. He was a good man, I just wish his loyalty wasn't so misplaced," a sorrowful Mei said. "Once the war ends, Jinin will be buried alongside all the previous swordsmen, with all the honors he deserves."

There was a moment of silence.

"Uh...even if it's too soon to ask...what's going to be of his sword?" Suigetsu asked. "Is any of us going to get it?"

Mei nodded, but shot Suigetsu a glare. "I was planning to talk about this later and not in front of Jinin's dead body, but given that you so tactfully brought up the issue..." Mei then looked at Miyako. "Miyako, I know you assisted Zabuza-kun and Chojuro with the fight, so I think you should be the one to inherit Jinin's sword."

"Zabuza-kun!?" the Swordsman Captain protested. _"Well, it's not as bad as Zabuza-chan, but still..."_

"Really?" Miyako gasped in excitement. "Thanks a lot, Mei-sama! I'll make both you and every past owner of the Helmet Splitter proud!"

"Oh come on! You need a lot of upper strength body to use that sword! Upper strength I have!" Suigetsu protested.

"Do you dare question the decisions of our leader?" Miyako asked, raising an eyebrow.

Suigetsu merely sighed in defeat.

"Chojuro, what about your arm? Does it feel better?" Mei asked the bespectacled swordsman.

"It does, Mei-sama. Konoha has some truly amazing medic-nin. I still need some time before it's fully healed, but it will be recovered by the time the invasion of Kirigakure begins," Chojuro replied with unusual enthusiasm.

Mei smiled. "Good to know that. But don't try to overdo it. Nobody will force you to fight until you're completely healed. Anyway, we should get some rest. The battle has been exhausting, and we only just begun."

…

 _Kirigakure, Mizukage's Palace_

Yagura Karatachi, the Fourth Mizukage, was in a meeting with some his advisors. Like usual, the topic they were debating was how to deal with the ongoing rebellion. More specifically, how to make them come out of hiding. It turns out, however, that such problem was about to solve itself pretty soon, albeit at a very high cost.

"Mizukage-sama!" a couple ANBU burst into the meeting room, drawing everybody's attention. "We carry grave news! The rebels have taken over the Crimson Citadel!"

While Yagura remained silent and pensive, all the councilors started to shout and argue among themselves. The Mizukage raised a hand while releasing killing intent, silencing everybody in the room.

"So Mei has finally made her move. I have to admit it was sooner than any of us were expecting," Yagura commented.

"That's not all. There were Konoha ninja among her ranks. It seems she hired them or struck an alliance with Konoha," the ANBU continued.

"I see. That explains how she was able to launch such an attack," Yagura said, keeping his cool. "The loss of the prison is unfortunate, especially since we had the rebel head of intelligence there, as well as plenty of other rebel war prisoners. She will feel emboldened by this victory, and will move to invade the village next," Yagura deduced.

"Aren't you worried, Mizukage-sama?" one of his councilors asked. "With Konoha helping her, even if we defeat her, she could cause a lot of harm to the village, leaving us vulnerable to foreign enemies."

Yagura turned around, and shot him a small smile.

"Not in the slightest. I was already counting on this to happen, and thus, I made the necessary preparations for the rebels' arrival," Yagura told them.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Well, there you have it, the Crimson Citadel mini arc comes to an end. I hope you liked it. You can consider it a prelude of what the invasion of Kirigakure is going to be. Hopefully Jinin Akebino was a suitable opponent, and worthy of the title of Swordsman of the Mist. One go, other two more to take down. And that's not counting the "final boss", Yagura himself.**

 **And as expected, Akatsuki plans to join the fray. How will their interference pay out? Will they fail to capture Yagura, or will they be succesful? And how will that affect the outcome of the invasion as a whole?**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Next time, prelude to the invasion. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	47. Prelude to the Invasion

**Author's Note: I just realized that I never out the disclaimer that I don't own Naruto and I'm not making any profit out of this fanfic. But...plenty of fanfics don't put it either, so I don't think it has to be that important, right? Either way, I already said it in this note. Anyway, enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 47:**

Prelude to the Invasion

 _or_

 _What does it take for Zabuza to love somebody?_

After the Crimson Citadel was secured, Mei ordered the rest of her forces back into the _Kirigakure's Hope_. Once they were in the security of the open sea, the Mizukage aspirant called for a meeting at the ship's war room. Like the previous meeting, her highest ranking officers and Konoha's Jonin were present.

"First of all, congratulations everybody on a job well done. We managed to recover most of our prisoners of war, my head of intelligence among them, and we did so while sustaining minimal loses," Mei praised all the ninja before them, before her expression turned serious. "However, what we did back then is nothing compared to the task ahead. It is now time to invade Kirigakure."

"And there are more complications that the ones we initially expected, right?" Kakashi guessed.

Mei sadly nodded. "Yes. Despite our best efforts, they managed to sneak a message to Kirigakure, and now Yagura knows what happened there. Since he knows we finally came out of hiding, we have no choice but attack Kirigakure now. If we take too long, Yagura will drag us into a war of attrition we have no hope of winning."

"And do you believe that, with our current forces, we will be able to take over a major village?" Asuma asked.

"Especially now that they know we're coming for them," Kurenai added.

"Yes. Now that we rescued so many p.o.w's, our numbers have grown to a more acceptable level. Besides, there might be a silver lining to our prison break not being a secret anymore," Mei stated and nodded at Ao, who took a step forward.

"This victory has proven that the Blood Mist is not invincible. We know of many groups and individuals who opposed Yagura, but feared him too much to join us. We believe it might not be the case anymore," Ao explained. "And with the news that we now have four of the Seven Swords in our power, as opposed to the two that remains within the village's walls, it will help our cause to gain more support as well, especially with the Feudal Lord of the Land of Water.

"But we shouldn't ignore the fact that even with the additional support, the information leak robbed us of the element of surprise. Yagura will be waiting for us to come, and there won't be any way to prevent that," Mei added.

"Kirigakure has two accesses: one from land, and a gated dock," Ao continued.

"I can take a small team with me to infiltrate the village and open the dock gates, just like Ameyuri did when we stormed the prison," Zabuza suggested.

Mei, however, shook her head. "Sadly such thing won't be possible anymore, since Yagura will be expecting that. In fact, my original plan consisted in luring Yagura's forces to the land gate, while a small team of infiltrators would open the dock gates, which the bulk of our troops would use to penetrate the village, and trap the enemy between us. The typical pincer movement. Our best option would be to do the last thing Yagura expects us to do."

"But that would be full assault from land, and we aren't going to do that," Chojuro pointed out, then he nervously looked at Mei. "...right?"

Mei looked at him, and sighed. "I'm afraid we have no other options."

Needless to say, the whole room erupted into a cacophony of yells, shouts and even profanities as the present ninjas tried to support or debunk the reckless, almost suicidal strategy of the Mizukage aspirant. It took Ao and Mei a couple minutes to calm down everybody, at which Mei continued her explanation.

"I'm not done yet. Listen, I'm not suggesting that we take over the village with our current forces. That's impossible and stupid. But we can do what we did at the Crimson Citadel: if we kill or capture Yagura, the other side will have no choice but surrender," Mei explained.

"But they will expect that too as well. The Mizukage's Palace will be heavily guarded. How will we reach Yagura then?" a Kiri Jonin asked.

"While the village defenders are busy with our forces, a small team lead by myself will infiltrate the palace and confront Yagura. We will either kill him, or capture him alive. Presumably the latter," Mei explained.

"Why do you care so much if that monster dies? He's the reason we're doing this!" another Kiri ninja protested.

Mei nodded at Ao, who took another step forward.

"Because, while there's no solid evidence to back it up, we suspect that the Mizukage might be under somebody else's mind control. After sharing our intel with our Konoha allies, we suspect that it might be the same man who orchestrated several attacks on Konoha: an Akatsuki under the name of Obito Uchiha," Ao told them.

Kakashi couldn't help but sigh in sadness upon hearing his former friend's name. _"Kirigakure too, Obito? Is this because of what Kiri did to Rin?"_

"So if we manage to expose the Mizukage, we will be able to end this while avoiding unnecessary bloodshed," Ao finished, taking a step back.

"Who will be part of the infiltration squad?" Zabuza eagerly asked. It was obvious he was dying to have another shot at fighting Yagura.

"Besides myself, it will only have one more ninja: Naruto Uzumaki," Mei told them.

"WHAT? You want my student to fight a Kage on his own!?" Kurenai indignantly asked. Asuma placed a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder, hoping to wordlessly calm her down.

"As far as I've been told, Naruto is a Special Jonin who has mastered senjutsu, and is the jinchuriki of the strongest Tailed Beast. Between the two of us, we should be able to subdue Yagura and whoever is guarding him," Mei explained. "I know that you might feel attached to him given he's your student, and he's pretty young as well. But don't worry, Naruto will be fine under my care."

"But even then...just you and him? Shouldn't a four squad man will have a higher chances of success?" Kurenai suggested.

Mei shook her head once again. "They will expect infiltrators. The fewer we are, the less chances of being spotted. And between the two of us, the only ninja we should worry about is Yagura himself."

"I understand. It doesn't mean that I have to like it, but I understand it," Kurenai regretfully said.

Mei smiled. "Good. Now that's out of the way, let's talk about the invasion in a more minute detail. Konoha's medical corps will be a key to keep our casualties to a minimum. The enemy will foresee that, so we should assign a division to keep them alive and..."

Mei and the rest of the Jonin there spent the rest of the day discussing the invasion plan.

…

Once lunchtime was over, the ship's cafeteria soon became empty, as everybody else went to spend their time elsewhere. Everybody except a certain blonde, who took advantage of the place's large tables and the current quietness in order to work in his current project.

Naruto had created multiple clones and spread them around the table, all working tirelessly on a seal that could disable those pesky chakra golems, while the original studied the theory he had available now.

Spread in front of him, there were several books and scrolls on fuinjutsu, as well as several crumpled papers, the result of a failed attempt at seals. After his latest attempt followed the same route, Naruto groaned, and rubbed his eyes.

"Naruto-kun? Are you still here?"

Naruto turned around and saw Hinata walking towards him.

"Yeah, I am. Why, I'm not sure," the blond half joked.

"Weren't you able to make the seal work?" Hinata asked, as she took a seat beside him.

Naruto shook his head. "Counter-seals are way more complex than regular seals. And the seals that power and direct those golems are way more complex than anything I've seen so far. If only dad was here to help me, or had more time..."

"Don't feel so bad. You did what you could. Besides, it's not that those golems are invincible," Hinata reassured him. "We beat them before."

"Yeah, but if I came up with a seal, it could help a lot with the invasion of Kirigakure," Naruto replied. "Besides, I'm an Uzumaki, and these are Uzumaki seals. I should be able to know how to undo them, right?"

"Oh, I see, so that's what's bothering you," Hinata realized.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"You're facing an enemy that uses knowledge of your clan to fight, and that is eating you on the inside," Hinata pointed out. "It's like if I fought an enemy with a stolen Byakugan."

Naruto let out a weary sight. "And that's not the worst part. They seem to use it better than me, an actual Uzumaki! You'd think they have Uzumaki on their side or something!" Naruto complained.

"From what you told me, the fall of Uzushio happened many decades ago. They had a lot of time to learn about their stolen fuinjutsu art. Even with Shadow Clones, you can't hope to bridge such a massive gap," Hinata told him, as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "When all of this is over, I'm sure Mei-san will be more than happy to give you everything Kirigakure plundered from Uzushio."

"I hope so," Naruto said, not entirely convinced.

"And then, maybe we can convince Hokage-sama to create those golems for Konoha as well," Hinata suggested.

"That would be cool. I'm sure dad would love to open one of those up and see how it works. I'm sure we could even find a way to make them better!" Naruto excitedly said.

Hinata smiled. "Now that's the Naruto I know. Though, if you have some trouble with this, maybe you could ask Karin-san for help? I'm sure two Uzumaki are better than one."

"Even if that one can become one hundred?" Naruto cheekily replied.

"Does having a hundred clones increase your intelligence a hundredfold, or gives you a new hundred point of views and perspectives to see things?" Hinata replied, just as cheekily.

Naruto then frowned. "You know, Hinata, nobody likes a smartass."

Hinata, however, continued smiling, and kissed Naruto in the cheek. "But I know you love _this_ smartass, Naruto-kun."

"How I hate that you're right," Naruto said, as he returned the kiss as well.

"But seriously, you should ask Karin-san. Maybe she can be of help," Hinata insisted.

"Eh, Karin-neechan is more into medicine than fuinjutsu, besides those chain thingies. And even then, I heard the invasion is going to be real soon, so I don't think we'll be able to pull it off," Naruto replied.

"In that case, then maybe you should try something more productive?" Hinata asked. "Do you want to spar with me a little?"

"Yes, please," Naruto said in an almost desperate tone, happy to have a excuse to get away from the books and scrolls.

…

"Are you sure nobody can hear us?"

Kakashi and Rin were inside an empty cabin that wasn't used by anybody at the moment. The door was locked, Rin was wise enough to know that such thing wouldn't be enough to secure the privacy she needed.

"Fuinjutsu is far from my specialty, but I'm really good at privacy seals," Kakashi said as he finished placing the last one on the wall.

"When did you learn to do privacy seals?" Rin asked.

"During my time in ANBU. They're pretty much a must. They made you do them so many times, you end being able to do them in your sleep," Kakashi answered.

Kakashi had told Rin about how Minato convinced Kakashi to join ANBU in order to get him over the deaths of his teammates, though by Kakashi's own admission, that hardly helped him. It wasn't until he became the sensei of a team of Genin that he started to rediscover his lost humanity.

Rin was hoping she could also help with that. As well as try to bring Obito back from his dark place.

"And done. Nobody will hear us, and nobody can enter this room," Kakashi said, then he crossed his arm, and his friendly demeanor grew a bit more serious. "Now, I believe there's something you should share with your old teammate."

Rin sighed heavily. Even if Kakashi was one of the persons she trusted the most, it was still very hard to open up to him. Or maybe because it was so important to him.

Wordlessly, Rin extended her hand at Kakashi, with the palm facing upwards. Kakashi took a look at her palm, seeing nothing at first, until a flower started to grow. The silver haired man's expression remained unchanged.

"So, you do have Wood Release. Interesting," Kakashi observed, in an almost boring tone.

Rin titled her head, a bit confused. "'Interesting'? I have the First Hokage's Bloodline Limit, and that's all you have to say about it?"

"Rin, I remember as if it was yesterday how I used my Chidori to impale you through the heart. Yet here you are, fine and unharmed, talking to me as if nothing happened. I think I went past the point of these kind of things being surprising," Kakashi replied in the same casual tone.

Rin had to admit he had a point.

"Besides, you're not the only one in the village with that ability," Kakashi pointed out.

"I know. The Hokage's daughter has it as well," Rin stated.

"I mean besides her," Kakashi said. Rin was visibly surprised. "During my time with ANBU, I met this guy who also had Wood Release. Turns out, Orochimaru had experimented on him as a baby in order to reproduce the Wood Release. Of the fifty children he infused with the First's DNA, he's the only one who survived."

"That's...monstrous," Rin said, visibly horrified. She wanted to hope that Obito didn't do something similar in order to bring her back to life, but deep down she knew the answer.

"So, who else knows about this?" Kakashi asked.

"Just Hokage-sama and Tsunade-sama," Rin replied. "They told me not to tell anybody, at least until I could master my powers and grow stronger, since that would make me a prime target for kidnapping. I only used Wood Release back then because it was an emergency, and the fog could hide the nature of the jutsu I used."

"You did good in keeping it a secret, even from me. Don't worry, I won't tell anybody about your new abilities," Kakashi told her in a reassuring tone.

"That's...that's not all," Rin uneasily said, as she rubbed her arm.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked.

Once again, without saying a word, Rin pulled out a kunai, and much to Kakashi's shock, she cut her pinky finger off, before tossing it to a trashcan.

"Rin! What the-?" Kakashi asked in shock.

"Just wait," Rin calmly said as she held her four fingered hand.

In less than a minute, the wound stopped bleeding, and healed completely. Then, little by little, a small bulge appeared on her stump, and it grew longer until it became another finger.

"Can your friend do this too?" Rin asked.

This time, Kakashi was genuinely surprised. "No. At least, I think he can't."

"I can regenerate my whole hand as well. Though I didn't dare to check if I could regenerate an arm or a leg," Rin explained.

Kakashi knew that the First has a healing factor in a similar vein to Naruto's, in that he could heal in minutes wounds that would take hours or even days to normal people. But what Rin had was beyond that.

"I told you I don't think I'm the real Rin. I may not even be human anymore. Do you see why now?" Rin asked.

Kakashi could see why Rin was having such identity issues. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't going to help her.

"Hey, Rin, remember that time, during the Third Ninja War? Gai, you and me were completely surrounded by Iwa's forces. You went to call for help while Gai and I held up the enemy," Kakashi began.

"Yes, I do. I was really worried that I wouldn't be fast enough and that, by the time I could bring help, it would have been too late. But thankfully you two managed to survive," Rin finished the tale. "Why do you bring that up?"

"You remember that. If you do, you must be the real Rin, regardless of how much they modified your DNA. Because, what are we, if not the sum of our memories and experiences? And you clearly have the original Rin's memories, regardless if your body is the same one or a clone," Kakashi explained, then he placed a hand on his former teammate. "And in my eyes, that makes you the real Rin."

Rin held Kakashi's hand on her shoulder, as she pondered her older friend's words. She let out a sad sigh.

"I wish it was just that easy, Kakashi," Rin replied, as she slowly removed Kakashi's hand. "Anyway, is there anything else you want to know about me?"

"No, that's all."

"Alright then. I think I'm going to take a nap," Rin said, before exiting the safe room, with Kakashi leaving as well shortly after.

That's when an ink mouse came out of hiding, climbed inside the trashcan, took the severed finger, and ran away back to its master.

…

Tenten was alone resting in her cabin when somebody knocked the door. The brown haired girl got up from her bed, and opened the door. She smiled upon seeing her boyfriend standing there.

"Oh, Haku, hi!" Tenten happily greeted.

"Hello, Tenten-chan. May I enter?" Haku asked.

"Sure," she replied, moving aside to let him in. She immediately noticed that there was something wrong with the Ice Ninja. "Haku, are you okay? You look tense."

"We...we need to talk," he said, not without difficulty.

Tenten tensed up. Those four words usually signaled the end of a relationship. Worrying thoughts started to form in her mind Did she do something wrong? Did Haku meet another girl, somebody from Kiri? However, her rational part decided to push them away and listen what her boyfriend had to say.

"What's going on Haku?" she asked.

"You know that in case we manage to oust Yagura, Zabuza will remain in Kiri as the new captain of the Seven Swordsmen," Haku explained.

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, I guessed so. How does affect you?"

"I told you how Zabuza-sama saved me from a certain doom, and in return, I became his faithful follower. That's why, if Zabuza-sama asks me to remain with him in Kiri, I will do so. Which means...if that happens, we will have to break up," Haku finally said.

"Wait, what?" Tenten asked, shocked. "But...aren't you happy in Konoha?"

"I am, but this doesn't have to do with me. I can't disobey Zabuza-sama," Haku regretfully told her. "Listen, you can be angry at me if you want. It was I who asked you to become my girlfriend, not realizing that this could happen, and for that, I will always be sorry. I will try to make it up for you, I promise."

Tenten felt an hurricane of emotions forming between her. She wanted to shout, to cry, to yell...but once again, her rational part stood triumphant. She breathed deeply, before making her question.

"Did Zabuza tell you that he wants you to continue with him?" Tenten asked.

"No, I didn't ask him. But I'm telling you this, just in case," Haku replied. "Listen, Tenten, Konoha has been great, and you were the best part of that. But I swore I'd help Zabuza-sama help to realize his ambitions, so if he wants me to be by his side, I have to obey."

"I see," Tenten replied. "Then if such thing happens...I'll move to Kirigakure with you."

This time, it was Haku's turn to be surprised. "What? But...you can't do that!"

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "And why not, exactly?"

"But...what about your life in Konoha? Your friends? Your family?" Haku asked. "I can't ask you to leave all that behind just for me."

"First of all, I don't have a family. I don't even have a last name, remember?" Tenten asked. "And second, I will be doing the exact thing you're going to do, so I don't think you have the right to call me out on it."

"Yes, precisely! Do you think it's easy for me not just to leave you behind, but my teammates, sensei and friends as well? I don't want you to go through that as well!" Haku insisted.

"Sorry, but that's not your decision to make," Tenten replied, as she moved to hold both of Haku's hands. "We will go through this together. We will be there for each other."

"There's nothing I can't tell you to make you change your mind, right?" Haku asked.

"I'm a strong, independent woman who takes her own decisions. So no," Tenten replied with a smirk.

Haku couldn't help but a smile. "Thank you, Tenten-chan. You're a great person, whom I don't deserve."

"Maybe you don't. Be thankful you're pretty cute," Tenten said as she leaned closer and kissed Haku in the lips.

…

Speaking of Zabuza, the Swordsman Captain was sparring against the newest member of the Seven Swordsmen, Miyako Kiui, whom Mei had given the Helmet Splitter, with everybody else's approval.

"Come on, put more strength into it!" Zabuza told her as he pressed his attack.

"I'm trying, dammit!" Maiyako replied, dodging Zabuza's fast swing.

"The bluntsword is a weapon meant for an all out offense! Stop dodging my attacks and attack me already!" Zabuza insisted.

"I would, if you let me some room to breathe!" Miyako protested.

"Oh, sorry princess. Guess that you also expect the enemy to have such a consideration with you!" Zabuza angrily snarled, as he attacked with even more ferocity.

"But this is just training!" Miyako countered.

"Training or not, there's no purpose without threat!" Zabuza replied, as he continued his attack.

"ENOUGH!" she yelled.

Fueled by anger, Miyako nimbly dodged Zabuza's latest swing, and taking advantage of her opponents slower movements, she dashed towards Zabuza, and tossed the hammer half of the weapon at him. Zabuza moved his sword aside, deflecting the flying hammer. Just as Miyako expected, as Zabuza was left momentarily wide open, and took the chance to sink the axe half into his chest.

Zabuza then dissolved into a puddle of water.

"Not bad, girl, not bad," the real Zabuza said from behind. "You're getting it. Maybe you'll be able to get some skill with the bluntsword by the time we invade Kirigakure."

Miyako nodded and smiled in satisfaction.

From a box above them, Mei and the rest of the swordsmen watched the display, just like they did when Zabuza was testing Ameyuri and Chojuro.

"Do you think she's the right choice for the Helmet Splitter?" Ameyuri asked the Kage aspirant.

"I believe she is. However, despite what Zabuza's saying, she won't be nowhere near as ready for the invasion," Mei replied. "Carrying one of the Seven Swords will make her a target, and without the proper training to master it, that weapon will be like a bull's-eye painted on her back, rather than an asset."

"Pity. More swordsmen to our side would have been a boost to our troops' morale," Ameyuri lamented.

"They know we do have a fourth sword, even if they won't see it. We still have three Swordsmen," Mei countered. She then looked at Chojuro. "That's it, if all of them are completely recovered from the prison break."

"I am, Mei-sama," Chojuro replied, winding up his previously damaged arm to show that it was fine. "Like I said before, the Konoha medic-nin did a good job fixing it."

"Good. Because we're risking pretty much everything on this attack, and I don't want any of my soldiers to be in less than perfect condition, much less one of my swordsmen," Mei sternly said.

"Boy, I can't wait to get my hands on the remaining swords," Suigestsu commented. "Of the ones we can get, there's the Sewing Needle, and the Splatter...I think I could master both, but I'll have to choose one..." he then turned at Kumori. "Which one do you prefer?"

If Suigetsu was expecting to get an answer other than silence, he was about to get disappointed. Suigetsu unamusedly frowned.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" Suigetsu said before stomping out of the room.

"How long do you plan on doing that, Kumori-san?" Mei asked..

"As long as it's funny, Mei-sama," the cloaked man asked.

…

 _Land of Water, Mainland_

A couple days later, the rebels abandoned the _Kirigakure's Hope_ and established a hidden base within a forest near Kirigakure. Mei had sent messengers to her scattered forces, telling them to drop whatever they were doing and meet at the designated point. It was about time to gather all their forces and launch the invasion.

Even if there was still some unrest caused by a combination of lack of activity and the impending invasion, pretty much everybody were glad to be outdoors rather than trapped inside that ship. And most people found ways to keep themselves distracted until the time of attack.

One said person was Ino Yamanaka, who was looking for her best friend in order to talk for a bit, and maybe do some sparring. It has been a while since the last time she fought Sakura, and wanted to check which one of the two was stronger. However, she was starting to grow frustrated due her lack of result.

"Where is she?" Ino asked to no one in particular. "You'd think somebody with bright pink hair would be easy to find..."

As she wandered around, somebody drew her attention. A pale looking, black haired boy sitting by himself, and drawing in a sketchbook. Ino then remembered a conversation he had with Sakura some days ago in the ship about some creepy guy that insulted her, and this guy matched the description. And both she and Sasuke, but mainly the latter, believed that this guy was up to no good.

Pushed by curiosity, she decided to get to know the boy a bit better.

"Hello there," Ino greeted with her usual charm. "Name's Ino. What are you doing?"

The boy turned around and smiled at her. Ino could easily see it was a fake smile. "Hi, blondie. My name is Sai. And as you can see, I'm drawing."

Ino raised an eyebrow. "Blondie?"

"An affectionate nickname. I read in a book that friends give each other nicknames," Sai explained, never dropping his smile. "But the last time I used it, I got a negative response. This time, I decided to use a more objective nickname, based on your hair color."

Ino stared at him in disbelief. Where did this guy come from? It was certainly weird, and that constant, painfully fake smile wasn't helping.

"Okay, you clearly didn't read that book right, or that book is complete bullshit," Ino said, shaking her head. "While it's true that sometimes friends give each other nicknames, they do it when there's a lot of trust between them, not when you're meeting new people. In fact, calling a stranger by a nickname is something extremely rude to do."

Sai's smile disappeared, and was replaced by an expression of mild surprise. "It is?"

"Yes, it is. It's considered insulting in most of the times. Just because somebody might allow a friend to call them by a nickname, even an unflattering one, it doesn't mean they'll extend the same courtesy to a stranger," Ino explained.

"I see. By the way you talk, you seem to be versed in the art of socializing," Sai replied.

Ino's chest swelled in pride, taking his neutral observation as a compliment. "I'm more than 'just versed', Sai."

"Then you'll know what to do in case you want to get close to somebody? All my attempts have been unsuccessful, despite following many books' advice to the letter," Sai told her.

"Okay, first of all, drop the nicknames. And that fake smile as well, it will make people think you're a shady guy. At best," Ino stated. Then, she remembered her conversation with Sakura and realized that this boy _might_ be shady.

"Oh. That was the opposite of the impression I wanted to transmit," Sai replied.

"That's the opposite of the impression anybody wants to transmit," Ino said, rolling her eyes.

"Once I do that, what do I do next?" Sai asked.

"If you want to make a good impression, asking people about themselves is a good way to let them know you care," Ino explained. "For example, I saw that you like to draw, so if I wanted to get close to you, I'd ask you about it."

"Showing interest in other people's interest..." Sai repeated. "Yes, I think it sounds logical. But what if I don't know anything about them?"

"Well, you ask them, of course," Ino replied, as if saying something obvious.

"But we're ninja, and we're supposed to conceal as much about ourselves as we can. If somebody else shares personal information, they're giving the enemy potential information to use against them," Sai explained.

Ino groaned loudly. Where did this guy come from? "Sai, I don't think that a hobby, or a particular interest in clothes, books or movies can be used against somebody in any serious way."

But then again, Ino did remember back in the academy how many girls did she shame because they wore clothes she thought were unfashionable. Oh well, those days were behind her now, and it was unlikely than young adults like themselves would fall into that.

"I see. And why can't I smile? People smile a lot," Sai pointed out.

"Yes, but it has to be a natural smile, not a forced one," Ino told him.

"And how do I make my smile natural?" Sai asked.

"...you really have issues, did anybody tell you that?" Ino asked, weirded out. There was being socially awkward, and there was being this. "But to answer your question, your smile will be genuine when it appears as the result of being happy."

"This sounds way more complicated than the book made it appear," Sai said, feeling a bit overwhelmed by this new information.

"It's easier than you think, you only need practice," Ino said, smiling.

"I will do that, then. I will follow your teachings from now onwards, Ino-sensei," Sai replied, smiling once again.

"Ino-sensei? Heh, I like the way it sounds," Ino chuckled.

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Naruto, Hinata and Haku where happily chatting, when they noticed their sensei walking towards them. Walking alongside Kurenai was a brown haired girl with purple markings on her cheek. A certain girl Haku remembered saving more than a year ago from Orochimaru's lair.

"Hey, Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto said upon seeing her approaching.

"Hello there. I'd like you to meet a friend of mine. Rin, these are Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, and Haku Yuki, whom you met already. Guys, this is Rin Nohara, a former classmate and friend of mine," Kurenai introduced the girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Rin said, making a slight bow.

"Hey, you're that girl that came back from the dead, right?" Naruto pointed out, before Hinata nudged him in the ribs. "What?"

"Naruto-kun, be more tactful. That's not something she'd like to remember," Hinata gently chastised him.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry!" he apologized with a sheepish grin.

"It's okay. I guess that's a part of me that's impossible to ignore," Rin replied with a light chuckle.

"Anyway. Naruto, I'd thought you'd be interested in meeting Rin, given that she used to be your biological father's student, alongside Kakashi and, regrettably, Obito Uchiha," Kurenai said.

"Really? Wow, that's so cool! You have to be super strong if you were trained by the Fourth!" Naruto gushed.

Rin giggled sheepishly. "Well, not as much. I filled more of a supporting role while Kakashi and Obito did the heavy lifting. Though I'm trying to change that now."

"There's nothing wrong with fitting a more supporting role. From what I heard, you're a medical-nin, right? Keeping your teammates alive is something important as well," Hinata replied.

"Yeah! You have no idea how many times Hinata-hime saved our skins!" Naruto cheerfully added.

"Besides, I still have some catching up to do. Working at the hospital this year made me realize how much medical science has advanced. Besides, I don't think I can compete with a generation of medic-nin trained by Tsunade-sama herself," Rin said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You performed an eye transplant in the middle of a battlefield when you were twelve. I'm sure you'll do fine," Kurenai encouraged her.

"From what I heard, you refused to rejoin Konoha's ranks when you returned to the village. What made you change your mind?" Haku asked.

"It was Kirigakure who kidnapped me and started the chain of events that led to my death and Obito's downfall. And that memory made me terrified of being in a battleground again. However, I didn't want to be afraid all my life, and that I needed to face my demons. Hence I'm here. And if everything goes fine, I will ask Hokage-sama to formally rejoin the ninja ranks," Rin told them.

"While my case isn't exactly the same, I did lose a lot thanks to Kirigakure as well. In fact, I'm a native of the Land of Water," Haku stated. "It might be too late for me, but I know I can help other children have a better childhood than mine."

"Yes, I hope that nobody else has to go through what I went through as well," Rin replied. "Once this war is over, I might be able to finally move on."

"That's the spirit! You can't let such an insignificant thing like dying get in the way!" Naruto cheered.

"Insignificant?" Kurenai asked, mildly upset.

"Hey, she came back from it! If she did that, then why can't everybody else?" Naruto asked.

Kurenai merely sighed and shook her head. Rin simply giggled.

"You know, despite how much you look like Minato-sensei, I'd say personality-wise you are more like Kushina-san. She was really energetic and carefree, and saw the good side of everything and everyone," Rin said.

"Naruto-kun is just the same. Nothing can keep him down, not for long at least," Hinata replied.

"Are you two a couple?" Rin asked, noticing the closeness between Naruto and Hinata. Upon receiving an affirmative nod from the two of them, she added: "You know, the two of you kinda remind me of Minato-sensei and Kushina-san, if they swapped personalities, hehe."

"What about you, Rin? Is there somebody special in your life?" Naruto cheekily asked.

Rin blushed a bit. "Well, not now. I used to have a crush on Kakashi back in the day, but given my current state, I don't think there will be anything beyond friendship between the two of us. Not that I'm looking for a relationship right now. My very existence is still kind of a mess."

"I do think that a relationship would help you a bit with your issues. Help you back into the good things of life," Kurenai intervened. "Besides, you're pretty cute. Lots of boys would love to date you."

Before the conversation could continue, one of Mei's unofficial ANBU appeared before them, making his presence known immediately.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Mei-sama requires your presence," the ANBU stated in a cold and professional tone.

"She does? Oh well, better not to make her wait," Naruto said with a shrug as he accompanied the ANBU.

Hinata and Haku noticed their sensei tensing up when the ANBU made his request.

"Kurenai-sensei? Everything okay?" Hinata asked.

"I'd like to think that it is, but I'm not so sure," Kurenai uneasily replied.

"It seems that you know something we aren't aware of," Haku pointed out.

Kurenai sighed, and nodded. "I know why Mei wants to see Naruto. She's going to tell him about a special mission he has to do during the invasion."

"A special mission? Is it dangerous?" Hinata asked, a bit worried.

Kurenai nodded once again. "Mei wants Naruto to help her take down the Mizukage in combat."

…

Later that day, the sun was starting to set. Mei had ordered everybody to go to sleep early, since they would attack before dawn, and she wanted every one of her troops to be as rested as possible. So far, the only people not resting were the night watchers, who wouldn't take part in the attack for obvious reasons.

After having so many meetings and planning the last details of the invasion, the Mizukage aspirant was beyond exhausted. Then again, she doubt she would be able to sleep, given that she had to face Yagura himself in combat. If she and Naruto failed, then the whole invasion would be for naught.

Going to her private tent, Mei noticed that there was somebody else awake besides the sentries. The captain of her swordsmen, Zabuza Momochi, was sitting on the grass, at the edge of their camp, sharpening most of his weapons. Mei walked towards him.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" the redhead asked.

Zabuza stopped sharpening his kunai, turned his head to shot Mei a brief glare, before returning to his job at hand.

"I could ask the same thing to you," Zabuza retorted.

"The burden of leadership," was Mei's answer, before she decided to elaborate. "I had to give the plan the last touches before we're good to go. I was going to get some sleep, but then I saw you here. You know, you're one of my strongest soldiers, and I want you to be in your top condition for tomorrow."

"I'll go to sleep when I feel I have to. I don't know the rest of your cronies, but I don't sleep on being ordered," Zabuza replied.

Mei raised an eyebrow, before she sat down beside him. "Your attitude is not something I approve. But your performance so far has met my expectations, so I think I'm going to let this insubordination slip."

Zabuza grumbled something inaudible, and continued sharpening his weapons. He then stopped upon noticing that Mei was still there, sitting beside him. Their eyes met, and Mei shot him a friendly smile that left him completely unnerved.

"Well? Aren't you going to sleep?" an annoyed Zabuza asked.

"I was, but I realized that we didn't have a chance to be acquainted with each other a bit better, and this is a good chance, don't you think so?" Mei asked, in the same friendly tone.

"I agreed to fight for you and the rest of your naïve, goody-two shoes followers, not to befriend you. So scram," Zabuza grumbled.

"Now, now, that's not a way to talk to your superior," Mei replied, using a tone a mother would employ on a misbehaving child. "And naïve goody two-shoes? Seriously?"

"I'm telling things the way they are. You are a fool if you ever think that you and your merry friends will change anything," Zabuza replied.

"So far, we've been doing pretty good. What, you think Yagura and his forces are too much for us?" Mei asked.

"You're not fighting a war against Yagura, but against reality itself. This world is a cold and merciless place, where only the strong survive. Trying to pretend otherwise is to delude yourself," Zabuza said.

Mei frowned a little. "Now I want to think is the Blood Mist that's actually talking, and not you. I know that deep down, you aren't like that."

"Even if you read my profile in the bingo book, you know much less about me than what you think, woman," Zabuza harshly replied.

"I know you better than you give me credit for, Zabuza-kun," Mei said as she shot him one of her irritating smiles. "I'm not that much younger than you, we probably went through the same things. What I do know, though, is that beneath all your talk about the world being nothing but misery and death, and the only way to survive is being the top predator, there's a man that cares."

"You really think those Konoha tree huggers tainted me that much? That's insulting," Zabuza spat.

Mei chuckled, and shook her head. "No, I think that Konoha merely brought out your true self. For example, I know how you rescued and took care of that boy of the Yuki clan. An unempathic killer would have never done that."

"I only took Haku under my wing because of his unique abilities, not because I cared about his wellbeing. Do you have any idea how many other orphans I crossed paths with?" Zabuza retorted.

"Many, I'm sure. But even if your reasons to take Haku were selfish, it doesn't take a genius to see that the years you spend together, both traveling and in Konoha, you developed a bond with the boy, not unlike how a father would see his son," Mei countered.

"That's the biggest..." Zabuza tried to reply, but stopped. He wanted to say that Haku meant nothing to him, other than an useful underling. But for some reason, he couldn't. A battle of conflicting feelings started to take place inside of him, not for the first time.

Zabuza's pride wanted him to admit that no, there was no kind of emotional attachment to the boy. He didn't want to be seen as a softie. But there was another part of him that tried to refute that, and wanted him to admit that yes, he did love Haku as if he was his son. His inner battle continued as he remained silent, something Mei took little time to notice.

The redhead kunoichi's smile widened. "Did I hit a nerve, Zabuza-kun? Thought so. I know your parents were monsters, and raised you to be one. You were weak, and they despised weakness. That's why you did such a number on the Academy, and swore to never be weak again. But here's a little thing that will give you some much needed perspective: love isn't a weakness. Love is a source of strength, the biggest of them all. Because when you fight to protect somebody you care for, you're able to tap into a strength greater than any Bloodline Limit."

"Oh Kami, not you too..." the masked man groaned.

"Why do you think I have so many followers? Because I'm strong? Well yes, I'd lie if I said my power played no part in helping me lead the rebellion," Mei admitted. "But it only played a part. People don't want to live in a world of blood and fear, and will follow anybody that promises them something better. I like to think it's my conviction that plays the biggest role in making me a good leader. The fact that my ninja know that I'd die for any of them just like any of them would die for me."

Zabuza glared at her in disgust. "You sound exactly like those tree huggers. If Kiri under you is going to be like that, I might as well commit seppuku and save me the suffering."

Mei let out a laugh at Zabuza's statement. "Oh Zabuza-kun, you're so melodramatic, it's hilarious."

Zabuza narrowed his eyes at her. "Don't dare mock me."

"Then don't make it so easy," Mei replied with a shrug. "But seriously, it's quite obvious that there's something that's upsetting you. Something about Haku, I might add. So you'd better sort that out before the battle begins."

Zabuza inwardly sighed in relief when the rebel leader got up and walked to her private tent. However, rather than bring him relief, he felt even more uneasy that before. He wanted to shake off Mei's words about he and Haku, but found himself unable to.

"Haku...what I'm going to do with you?"

…

When Mei returned to her private tent, she saw that there was somebody in front of it, presumably waiting for her: Kurenai Yuhi. She clearly wanted to talk with her, probably about Naruto, and she was really not in the mood.

"Hello, Mei-san. I know it's late, but there's something I wish to talk with you," Kurenai told her.

Mei let out a weary sigh. "Listen, I know you're worried for Naruto, but you must understand-"

"You didn't even let me begin! And that wasn't what I wanted to talk about!" Kurenai protested, silencing the rebel leader. "Though yes, it's about Naruto. Here, take this."

Kurenai handed Mei something. Mei saw they were several sealing tags she was unable to identify.

"What is this?" Mei asked the red eyed Jonin.

"If you plan to have Naruto fight Yagura, he will more than likely be forced to use the Nine Tails' chakra. However, Naruto's control over the beast's power is very limited, and the demon may take control over him. That's why Hokage-sama created those tags. If such thing happens, slap one of them on him, and they will suppress the Nine Tails' chakra."

Mei studied the sealing tags in her hand, before nodding. "Got it. I wished you told me about it earlier, but thanks. I'll keep what you told me in mind."

"You should also know that the tags aren't infallible. If Naruto has more than four tails' worth of chakra, they won't work, so use them the moment he starts losing control," Kurenai told her.

"Again, thanks a lot for this. But now we should both go to sleep. Tomorrow we will have to face a daunting task."

…

 _Akatsuki Hideout, Unknown Location_

Inside a dark, underground cavernous chamber there was a massive, grotesque statue, composed by a huge head with nine closed eyes and wide open mouth, and two arms separated from it. On each fingertip there was a shadowy figure, distorted and translucid, almost as if it was actually an spectral avatar rather than an actual person.

Floating in front of the statue was a large man in a red clad armor. There was a red colored stream of energy coming from the man's mouth and flowing into the statue's, as if it was draining the man's very soul. And even if it wasn't the case, the man would be dead once the process was complete, which happened in a few minutes.

The flow of energy ceased, and the man's lifeless body fell to the ground. Then, one of the statue's closed eyes opened.

"The first Tailed Beast has been successfully extracted and sealed into the statue," the leader of the group said. "But this is nothing but the beginning. There are eight other Jinchuriki that need to be captured and their Beasts harvested."

"Regarding that, we have news that might be of interest," Zetsu's white half interceded. "The Kirigakure rebels are going to invade the village. It's more than likely that they will try to kill Yagura."

"If that's the case, then we need to evacuate him as soon as possible. We can't afford letting any jinchuriki die," the leader replied.

"Kirigakure, you say? I volunteer to go, then. It will be nice see how my former village is doing," a tall man with a sharp grin mentioned.

"You know Kirigakure the best out of us, Kisame, so I find your request acceptable," the leader then looked at a feminine looking man whose hair was styled in a ponytail. "Deidara, you'll accompany him for this mission. Your air support will be necessary for this mission to succeed."

"Alright then. It would be a great chance to show my art to those Mist whackos," Deidara replied, grinning widely.

"If nobody has anything else to say, then the meeting is over. We will gather again once the Jinchuriki of the Three Tails is safe and secure within our grasp," the leader declared.

Then, all ten figures vanished, and the statue disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

 **OMAKE #1: ZABUZA'S NOT A VERY NICE GUEST**

After succesfully bringing Tazuna to his home in the Land of the Waves, Zabuza was now staying at the brigdge builder's house, since his job wouldn't be done until the bridge was finished and completed.

"Thank you for protecting my father, Zabuza-san," Tsunami said, as she placed a cup of tea in front of the swordsman. "You're helping this country immensely."

Zabuza snorted, as he lowered his mask to drink the tea. "Don't thank me. This is just a job, and I'll make sure it's finished."

"Yeah, sure. All will you make is getting all of us killed," a new, high pitched voice whined.

Zabuza turned around, and saw a kid, no older than ten, glaring at him with his arms crossed.

"The hell did you say, brat?" Zabuza snarled at the boy.

"Inari! Don't be so rude to Zabuza-san! He's going to protect all of us!" Tsunami chided the kid. "I'm sorry Zabuza-san, this whole situation affected my son way too much, and he doesn't feel that good..."

"Why are you even trying? Nobody can oppose Gato! Everybody who does ends up dead!" Inari insisted once again. "Not only you will die, but you will get all of us killed too!"

Suddenly, the entire room was flooded by a vicious killing intent. It was mostly focused on Inari, but it was so intense, Tazuna and Tsunami could feel it as well. Inari felt an oppresive force gripping his heart, as he was invaded by a sense of dread unlike any other. Clutching his chest, he looked at Zabuza, who stared back at him with bloodshot eyes. For some reason, there was an aura around the swordsman that made him look inhuman, demonic even.

 **"Tell me, brat,"** Zabuza's voice sounded like he was death itself. **"DO YOU THINK GATO IS WORSE THAN I AM!?"**

"Ah...ahh...WAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Inari couldn't take it anymore, and ran upstairs while crying loudly, as tears of pure terror streamed down his cheeks.

Zabuza dispelled the killing intent, and went to drink from his cup of tea. "Your tea is excellent, Tsunami-san. Might I have another cup?" Zabuza asked, while he realized the way Tazuna and Tsunami were glaring at him. "What? What did I do?"

* * *

 **OMAKE #2: MEI AND KURENAI'S MEETING - ALTERNATE ENDING**

"Hello, Mei-san. I know it's late, but there's something I wish to talk with you," Kurenai told her.

Mei let out a weary sigh. "Listen, I know you're worried for Naruto, but you must understand-"

"You didn't even let me begin! And that wasn't what I wanted to talk about!" Kurenai protested, silencing the rebel leader. She then looked away, and blushed a little. "There's something I need to take out of my chest. Listen, Mei-san...I like you. I like you a lot."

The rebel leader was taken aback. "You what?"

"There, I said it. Sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable, but I couldn't take it anymore..." Kurenai said as she started to leave.

"Kurenai,wait!" Mei said, grabbing her hand. "The truth is...I like you too!

"Seriously?" Kurenai asked.

"I thought I was only into men, but seeing such a radiant beauty as yourself, who's also a magnificent kunoichi...I feel that we're bound to be together."

"Oh, Mei-chan!" Kurenai squaled, as the two women embraced and shared a kiss in their lips.

Giggling, Mei grabbed Kurenai's hand, and the two of them headed towards the former's private tent, where they spend the night exploring each other's body, and opening themselves to a new world of beautiful feelings of carnal pleasure unlike any others...

...

"...that would only be the beginning of their road together," Jiraiya said, finishing writing the scene. Putting down the pencil, he looked at his latest work, and smiled. "Boy, I outdid myself with this one. _Icha Icha Civil War_ will sell like crazy!" Jiraiya then frowned as he reread the scenes leading to that moment. "...I should better change Mei and Kurenai's names. I have the feeling that being Hokage won't deter them from trying to make me horrible things if they find out what I wrote about them..." the Sannin decided, as he erased the Kunoichi's names and replaced them with something else.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yeah, I know, it was a slow chapter, but the story needed a moment of calmness between the assault on the Crimson Citadel, and the invasion of Kirigakure. Which will begin the next chapter, and I'm confident it will be epic. And don't worry, we're now on the home stretch of this arc, since I know some readers aren't enjoying this arc as much as past ones. Besides, the best of this arc is yet to come ;)**

 **Boy, I really like writing scenes with Zabuza and Mei together. They have a lot of chemistry and bounce off each other pretty well, don't you think so? Too bad I can't write their impending relationship in more depth without bringing the story's pace to a screeching halt. Thankfully this arc won't be the last time these two will appear.**

 **And yeah, Tenten isn't breaking up with Haku even if that means moving to Kiri. I'm going to say this now: once a couple forms, it's here to stay, so no, there aren't going to be any breakups. I don't want romantic drama to overshadow the mostly adventure-oriented plot of this fanfic.**

 **As for the omakes, the first is canon. The second one...perhaps? XD**

 **Onto the first omake, well, everybody knows how much I dislike the Wave Arc, not because of the arc itself, but how often it's copy-pasted into fanfics. And from that arc, Inari is the character I like the least, and I don't think my sanity can withstand seeing him being a little bitch for the billionth time. So yeah, I'd found funny the idea of Inari doing his little pessimistic speech to somebody like Zabuza, which, well, didn't end as he expected XD**

 **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, the ending of the Kirigakure Civil War arc is even closer now, and Akatsuki joins the frey, with Deidara and Kisame (remember that I said all seven swords would be featured in this arc) choosen to capture Yagura, and Naruto if they see him. How will the invasion end? Find out in two weeks. In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	48. The Invasion of Kirigakure, Part I

**Author's Note: So, after much buildup, here we are. The invasion of Kirigakure is about to begin! Both this and the next part are two of the most action filled chapters I've written so far. I hope you enjoy them:**

* * *

 **Chapter 48:**

The Invasion of Kirigakure, Part I

 _or_

 _Clash of the Seven Swordsmen_

After many preparations, today was it. The day the rebels would march over Kirigakure and liberate it from its bloodthirsty and more than likely manipulated Kage. While the morale was high, most of them were rather nervous. Assaulting a Great Village would fall under what was considered major warfare. The battle wouldn't be easy.

As they approached, the mist became more and more dense. The Kiri ninja explained to their Konoha allies that they kept a permanent mist barrier surrounding the village for defensive purposes. But while said mist would hinder Konoha ninja, it would do little to stop other Kiri ninja. And after some time walking, they could see the village gates through the mist. Mei, heading the march, stopped and held one hand, and the rebel army stopped as well.

"Bring me our siege specialist," Mei commanded one of her ANBU.

The masked ninja nodded and vanished. A minute later, he reappeared alongside Sasuke Uchiha.

"There's the gate, Sasuke-kun. You think you can take it down on your own?" Mei asked, a bit skeptical.

Sasuke glared at the rebel leader, his Sharingan flaring to life. "Don't underestimate the Uchiha Clan."

Sasuke took a few step forward, and got ready. He started to gather his chakra, as his normal Sharingan morphed into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and flinched when he was forced to relive the time he believed he had killed Naruto. Even if he knew the loudmouth blond was alive, the anguish felt very real.

He started to glow with a purple aura, as a purple, ghostly ribcage appeared around him. More bones started appearing as it formed the upper half of a giant humanoid skeleton, which was then covered in flesh, and then an armor. The chakra construct raised its left arm, and a bow was generated on its wrist. Pulling the string with the other arm, a huge arrow covered in black flames was generated.

"Infernal Release: Susanoo Black Fire Bolt!"

Sasuke released the arrow, which pierced the gate with such force it tore it off of its hinges, leaving a wide entrance for the rebels to get into the city.

His job done, Sasuke dispelled the chakra construct and fell on his knees, panting heavily. His teammates quickly rushed to check him.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Shizune asked. "Do you need healing?"

Sasuke shook his head and got back on his feet again. "No, I'm okay. Using Susanoo is very taxing, but I will be fine in a couple minutes."

"Even then, try to take it easy," Shizune advised.

After seeing Sasuke's attack, Mei was a bit stunned at such display of power. "Wow, and here I thought he was exaggerating. Worth every ryo indeed." She then turned to her troops. "The gates are down! Everybody move out! Kirigakure is ours for the taking! Today, the world will see the end of the Blood Mist!" she yelled as she charged forwards.

Her words were replied by a loud chorus of war cries as the rest of the rebels rushed into the village behind their leader

Meanwhile, as the bulk of the army rushed into the city, two lone figures hidden nearby cautiously watched.

"So, how long until they notice that's a clone?" Naruto asked his partner.

As opposed to her usual elegant blue dress, the Mizukage candidate was wearing the Kirigakure ANBU uniform, with a happuri-shaped Kirigakure forehead protector instead of a white and red mask, but with the standard sword, even if Mei's skill with such weapon was less than zero. Her extremely long hair was now tied into a more manageable braid that fell down her back.

"My Earth Clones are very durable, can last days if undamaged, and can even use some jutsu of moderate intensity. How about you, are you ready?" Mei asked.

Before taking one last glance at the two clones sitting in the lotus position, Naruto gave Mei a thumbs up as well as a confident grin.

"Shouldn't you activate your Sage Mode already? Remember that we're going to face a Kage who happens to be a perfect Jinchuriki," Mei reminded him.

"But...Sage Mode is active!" Naruto told her.

Mei raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Some yellow eyes and orange eye-shadow? When you told me about it you made it sounded far more impressive."

"It might not look much on the outside now, but once you see what can I do in Sage Mode, you'll change your mind," Naruto told her.

"I'll take your word for it. Now come on, let's see if we can get into the Mizukage's Palace without drawing much attention," Mei replied as she and Naruto sneaked into the village.

…

 _Mizukage's Palace_

Oblivious to the chaos that was about to be unleashed on his village, Yagura was in his office, doing the paperwork his job usually entailed. He thought it would be a day like any other, when the doors of his office were burst open. A kunoichi with short blond hair entered the room, flanked by two ANBU. She looked rather shaken.

"Yagura, the rebels are here! They took down the gates as if they were nothing, and are pouring into the village!" the woman almost screamed.

Yagura calmly stopped doing paperwork, got up from his chair, and fixed a stare on the woman. "Calm down, Aiko-chan. You're a ninja, please behave like one. When did the attack happen?"

"About five minutes ago. What are your orders?" she asked, still visibly restless.

Yagura let out a sigh. "So, Mei finally made her move. She came sooner than I expected. Tell me, Aiko-chan, was she spotted among the invaders?"

"Yes, she was spearheading them. What about it?" Aiko replied.

"Then this attack is just a distraction. According to the messages we got from the Crimson Citadel, they managed to break in by sending a team of infiltrators in order to open the dock gates. I believe she will try the same trick. Send half our forces to meet them, and send reinforcements to the dock. I wouldn't discard infiltrators working to neutralize the defenses of our docks as we speak," Yagura told her.

Aiko appeared a bit more calmed now, though she was still uneasy. "What if the rebels won't attack the docks?"

"Then moving our troops from the docks to wherever they're needed won't be hard. It's a small village after all. Just in case, I'll activate the Chakra Golems. But truth be told, the fight for the village is worthless," Yagura cryptically said.

"What do you mean?" Aiko replied.

"Mei will use the ongoing battle as a cover to sneak a team of assassins into the palace and murder me. Knowing her, she'll lead the group herself. All we have to do is wait for her here, and kill her. With their leader dead, the rebellion will be easy to dismantle," Yagura explained.

"Sounds risky, but looks like our best bet. But first, I need to make sure Dagura is safe," Aiko replied.

"Do not worry for our son. The rebels aren't after him. Besides, he's also a ninja. The battleground is where he needs to be," Yagura chided his wife.

Aiko bit her lip. "But...okay, yes, you're right."

"Besides, I'm going to need you here when that redheaded whore and her assassins arrive," Yagura told her.

…

The initial onslaught managed to push the first wave of Kirigakure defenders with relative ease. However, as it happened during the assault on the Crimson Citadel, the moment the rebel forces started to spread out, their advance was considerably slowed down as the ensuing battles became more even for both sides.

Zabuza had asked Mei to be assigned to the same group as Haku, so the two of them could fight this battle together.

 _"Here I am, again, trying to take over Kirigakure, even if I won't be the next Mizukage if we succeed,"_ Zabuza thought, as he brutally fought the opposition. _"Though even then, I'll be closer to being Mizukage than I've ever been. Plus this time, it seems that I will be on the winning side!"_

Haku was not only fighting for the man who had given him a second chance at life, but for himself as well. It was thanks to Kirigakure and Yagura that he lost his family, and people with Bloodline Limits were seen in the Land of Water as monsters to hunt down. Besides helping Zabuza achieve his ambitions, he was also making sure no other child like him would have to go through the same thing he did.

"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Crystal Blast!"

Haku conjured a dragon made of ice from his hands, which flew towards a cluster of red clad Kirigakure ninja, dashing towards them. The dragon crashed against the group, shattering in a multitude of razor sharp ice shards that flew in all directions.

"They have an Ice Release User! I thought all of them were killed!" A Kirigakure defender shouted in disbelief.

"Not all of them, obviously. Anyway, let's finish the job ourselves!" another ninja replied.

"Yes, I'm the last of the Yuki clan. But you're truly foolish if you believe that my clan will disappear today," Haku coldly replied as he made several hand seals. "Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

This time, Haku made a rather large spear made of ice, which flew at the group of ninjas. However, this time he wouldn't catch them off guard, since one of them was making hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

The Kiri defender slammed his palms into the ground, raising a thick stone wall that blocked the ice jutsu.

"They can use Earth Release, which can counter my jutsu," Haku said to nobody in particular. He then looked at Hinata, who was dispatching another Kiri ninja. "Hinata-san, think you can crack that wall?"

After she was done, Hinata looked back at Haku and smiled. "Leave that to me." The young Hyuga's hands flew through hand seals, before casting both hands forward.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Fang!"

Hinata's hands crackled with electricity as she released a mass of lightning from them. The shapeless mass soon took the form of a giant lion head. The lightning lion opened its mouth, letting out a metallic sounding roar before crashing against the wall, blowing it up to pieces.

Taking advantage of the opening, Zabuza dashed towards the cluster of enemies and started to engage them all at once. Despite the numerical advantage, they were having a hard time keeping up with the Demon of the Hidden Mist.

"The hell? Zabuza's back!" a Kiri ninja shouted.

"Indeed I am. I came here to finish what I started so many years ago. Now you can do the smart thing and run with your lives, or die pointlessly against me. I personally find the second option more amusing," Zabuza coolly told them.

"You traitorous bastard! You don't deserve that-" a Kiri ninja was about to say, but he was interrupted when something happened.

Suddenly, circular sealing patterns started to appear across the village. The rebels have already seen this once, they knew what was going to happen.

"Everybody, get ready! Here they come!" Kurenai shouted.

And as expected, after a brief burst of smoke, large Chakra Golems were summoned by the sealing patterns. The machines instantly activated with a metallic hum, and they quickly began to search for the invaders and end their lives.

"These golems are probably bound to the Mizukage. Hopefully Naruto and Mei will finish their mission before we suffer too many losses," Kurenai hoped as she prepared to fight an incoming golem.

…

Not far from there, Naruto and Mei were moving through the village as silently as possible. Naruto felt the need to join his fellow Konoha ninja in the battlefield, especially those who were having a hard time against the golems, but in deep down he knew doing so would endanger more lives than it would save them.

"How long until we reach the palace?" an impatient Naruto asked.

"I think we're halfway there. If we keep this pace, it shouldn't take us more than half an hour to get there." Mei replied.

"I see. In that case-" Naruto then stopped and perked up. "I think somebody saw us. I'm sensing a group of four ninja getting closer. All of them Jonin level."

Mei raised an eyebrow. "You didn't tell me you were also a sensor."

"Normally I'm not, but Sage Mode also gives its user sensing abilities," Naruto explained. "Should we hide?"

"No. They know we're here. Better take them out now than let them warn Yagura that we're going after him," Mei replied. Then again, she knew Yagura would be expecting her and would prepare accordingly.

"And here they come."

And just like Naruto said, four red-clad ninja landed in front of them and unsheathed their katanas at once. Judging by their uniforms and older faces, it was easy to tell they were Jonin even if Naruto wasn't there to gauge their power.

"Mei Terumi. What's a pretty traitor like you doing here, accompanied by a Konoha child?" one of the Jonin asked, a tall muscular man with short brown hair.

"Yagura said he wanted you alive," another one said, this one being slimmer, with black hair tied in a slipknot. "But he also said that he'll understand if you have to die."

"Which means we don't have to hold back!" a third one, a burly man with a large nose and a soul patch, said in delight as he charged towards the duo. "DIE!"

Naruto met the man's charge with one of his own, and sank his fist on the man's gut, much to his disbelief.

"H-How...?" he babbled.

Naruto smirked, and delivered a punch with his other arm, sending the Kiri ninja flying into the horizon, much to everybody's amazement.

"Kyoko!" the black haired Kiri ninja cried.

"How...how that kid was able to do that? Such strength..." the fourth ninja, a younger man with light blue hair stammered.

"Snap out of it, you cowards!" the muscular man yelled, as he made hand seals. "And don't let your guard down! Earth Release: Mountain Hammer!"

The muscular ninja pulled put a gigantic hammer made of stone from the ground and swung it at Naruto from above. The blond Sage merely raised a hand, which was enough to block the strike. The hammer's wielder was left speechless.

"Impossible!"

"Sorry, that word isn't in my vocabulary," Naruto casually said as he snatched the hammer from his hands and swung it at the muscular ninja, sending him flying against a building.

"That boy's too strong! Fall back!"

The other two ninja attempted to flee, but they found that Mei was cutting their escape.

"Aw, you don't plan to leave without letting me have my share of fun, right?" Mei cooed as she made several hand seals. "Water Release: All Devouring Maelstrom!"

The two remaining Kiri ninja found themselves inside a violent water tornado which sent them flying in different directions.

"Good job," Naruto told her.

"You too. You were right, Sage Mode is way more impressive than it looks at first glance," Mei admitted.

Naruto couldn't help but smirk. "Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet."

"In that case, we better get going. I'd hate to keep Yagura waiting," Mei replied.

Naruto nodded, and the two of them headed towards the now visible Mizukage Palace.

…

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow successfully trapped two Chakra Golems, freezing them on the spot. But the mechanical monsters' strength put a strain on the Nara, who struggled to keep them contained.

"Come on Choji! It won't last much longer!" Shikamaru urged.

Choji rushed towards the golems, and clapped his hands together. "Partial Multi Size Jutsu!"

Choji's arms swelled up, tripling in size. The Akimichi Clan heir smashed one of the trapped golems with a powerful punch before smashing the remaining one to bits. Shikamaru was allowed to cancel his family's signature jutsu and fell on his butt, panting.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that too many times..." the lazy Nara complained.

"Shikamaru, watch out!" Ino called out.

Suddenly, two Kiri ANBU were leaping at Shikamaru, their katanas unsheathed. The Nara quickly got up and pulled out two kunai in a hopeless attempt to parry the two incoming strikes, but fortunately for him, something else took care of that.

In less than a second, a redheaded woman stood between him and his attackers, parrying their blows with her own swords, resulting in a loud CLANG. The woman, Ameyuri, struggled against the attackers in a double blade lock.

"Goddammit Pineapple Head, get your head out of the clouds!" Ameyuri complained, before the two red clad Kiri ninja overwhelmed her and pushed her back.

"Troublesome woman. I'd like to see you trying to take on those golems..." Shikamaru murmured.

"More enemies incoming!" Ino warned.

And true to her words, a batch of Kiri defenders arrived the scene. Some unsheathed their swords, while others made several hand seals.

"We'll take care of them. Shikamaru, Choji, with me!" Asuma said as he started to make hand seals of his own. "Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning!"

The youngest son of the Third Hokage spewed a cloud of gunpowder from his mouth, while Shikamaru and Choji prepared another jutsu.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!"

Both Shikamaru and Choji expelled a large stream of flames from their mouth directly into the cloud of gunpowder, igniting it instantly, resulting in a massive explosion that shielded them from the barrage of water jutsu aimed at them.

"Good work, but we need to-URK!"

Suddenly, what appeared to be a gigantic needle with ninja wire attached to it came out of the ensuing cloud of smoke, impaling Asuma through the shoulder. Somebody pulled the wire backwards, making the sword to fly back as well. An extremely tall and lanky man wearing an ANBU mask flew out of the cloud, caught the sword-needle and fast as lightning, wrapped Asuma in ninja wire, leaving him completely immobilized.

"Asuma-sensei!" Shikamaru cried.

"You must have a death wish coming here," the masked man said in a cold tone as he raised his strange weapon above Asuma. "Let me grant you that wish then!"

However, before he had the chance to kill he Tactical Squad's sensei, a pair of spinning swords coated in electricity flew at him.

"Shit!" the man cursed as he jumped back in order to avoid the swords, thus being forced to release Asuma.

Upon missing their mark, the swords returned to Ameyuri's hands.

"Leave that man alone, Kushimaru. It's me whom you have to fight," Ameyuri declared, as she took a step forward.

"You know him?" Ino asked.

Ameyuri nodded. "Kushimaru Kuriare. ANBU Captain, and one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The two remaining ones still loyal to Yagura."

"So that giant needle is one of the Seven Swords then?" Ino asked again.

"It might not look like much, but in the hands of an expert, it's a deadly weapon. And I'm afraid Kushimaru more than qualifies as an 'expert'," Ameyuri explained.

"Yeah, you got that right. And if you think I'm going to lower myself into a duel with you, then you're even crazier than your traitorous friends! Just because you have Raiga's swords doesn't mean you're part of the Seven, little girl!" Kushimaru retorted.

Ameyuri's face contorted with rage. "Little girl!? I'm eighteen, you asshole! That's it, you're going down!"

"I have no time to deal with brats with delusions of grandeur! Everybody, kill that girl, and take back the swords!" Kushimaru ordered his men.

A chorus of "yes, sir!" replied to the masked swordsman's order.

…

"Medic!" an injured Kiri rebel cried in anguish.

"Incoming! Sasuke-kun, cover us!" Sakura called.

"You've got it," Sasuke coolly replied as his hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke poured as much chakra as he could into the attack, and expelled a massive fireball towards the group of red clad Kiri ninja. Unfortunately, a golem blocked the attack, and absorbed it into its body.

"Those walking pieces of scrap are going to be trouble..." Sasuke grumbled.

"Not so boastful anymore, I see," Suigetsu chuckled, as he casually engaged an enemy ninja.

"Those things are hard to take down. And I didn't see you defeat one either," Sasuke snapped back. "Sakura would be able to bring them down in one punch, but she's busy tending the injured."

"Sakura's not the only one able to do that!" Karin protested, as she rushed forward while making a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Five Karin clones popped into existence besides the original, and ran towards the golem in a tight formation. "I'd like to see Sakura doing this! Six Fists of Fury!"

Karin and her five clones leaped at a golem, their fists reared back, and wreathed in an intense, fire-like glow. The six punches connected, instantly shattering the mechanical construct. The original Karin wiped her hands, and her mouth curved into a confident grin, not unlike certain blond.

"Ha! What about-"

But Karin's gloats were interrupted by a chain of massive explosions engulfing her, that shook the ground and send burst of winds into every direction.

"KARIN!" multiple Konoha ninja cried, her teammates among the loudest.

But when the smoke dispelled, all what was left were the charred remains of a log.

"Whew, that was a close one! Better not get distracted like that," the real Karin said, panting heavily, as she walked towards Sasuke and Suigetsu. "Did you see where the explosions came from?"

"I'm almost sure they came from that guy," Suigtestu said, pointing out to the direction of the explosion.

Flanked by multiple red clad Kiri ninja, there was a man wearing a loose, pin stripped light brown shirt, black pants and stripped leg warmers. He had a brown beard tied into two braids, thick lips, and one of his eyes was covered by an eye patch. He was carrying a rather weird looking sword.

"Damn, it's been a while since somebody managed to avoid my explosion jutsu. Just for that, I'll make sure your death is extra painful, girl," the weird man threatened. He then looked at the white haired boy near her, and the one eyed man smiled wickedly. "Suigetsu! Wasn't expecting to see you again. Still in the losing side, as I can see."

"Who's this man?" Sasuke asked, as he cautiously eyed the new enemy. "A Swordsman of the Mist?"

"Yes, he's Jinpachi Munashi, wielder of the Splatter. His sword is also a scroll of self replicating explosive tags. With it, he can create an infinite number of explosions," Suigetsu explained, before he fixed his eyes on the swordsman, and snarled. "Shut your trap, Jinpachi! I am where I have to be."

"Really? Because somebody like you would fit better with us in the Blood Mist, than with that deluded woman. I mean, I can understand Zabuza siding with her being an even earlier traitor, but you? There's nothing that you love most than the smell of blood impregnating the air," Jinin replied.

"And you think I'll join the side that killed my brother?" Suigetsu incredulously asked.

Jinpachi merely shrugged. "Hey, he got it coming. He thought that being the best Swordsman who ever lived gave him free reign to do what he pleased. We simply proved him wrong," Jinpachi then frowned. "And it seems that you're going to follow his footsteps to an early grave."

"You think so? Let's see who's going to who's funeral!" the young swordsman shouted as he charged forward.

"Suigetsu, wait!" Another Kiri ninja called, to no avail.

Jinpachi's smirk widened as he adopted a fighting stance. "Blastsword Ninja Art: Exploding Piledriver!"

Jinpachi slammed his sword into the ground, creating a line of explosions towards Suigetsu. The explosions caught the white haired boy, who was launched backwards before slamming back into the ground. Or at least, what was left of him.

"Oh Kami, that explosion liquefied him!" Karin screamed in a mix of horror and disgust.

"I'm...I'm not dead!" Suigetsu exclaimed as his head reformed from the liquid. The rest of his body started to reform as well. "It takes more than that to take me out!"

"Oh, I have more than that, trust me. Yet I know that the moment you lack the chakra to sustain your Hydrification Jutsu, you'll be as good as dead," Jinpachi laughed. Looking around, he noticed two Chakra Golems walking closer, and an idea formed on his mind. "In fact, let's test how strong is that ability. Golems, focus on Suigetsu!"

While they didn't make any kind of acknowledgement, the golems started to walk towards the white haired swordsman, now fully reformed, who instinctively took a couple steps backwards.

"Man, this ain't look good..." Suigetsu whimpered. The golems then raised their respective arms with wrist mounted cannons, and released two streams of fire at the Hozuki younger brother. "IT LOOKS WORSE THAN BAD!" Suigetsu yelled as he tried to avoid the streams of fire aimed at him.

Karin took a step forward, and made a hand seal.

"Adamatine Sealing Chains!"

Chains made of pure chakra shot from Karin's back, and wrapped themselves around one of the Golems, immobilizing it. The chakra absorbing seals started to flicker, but they did not activate.

"Whoa, it's not absorbing your jutsu? What gives?" Suigetsu asked.

"These chains are able to bind the chakra of those wrapped around them, even mechanical monsters like these ones!" Karin explained, as she struggled to keep the golem in check. "Now go and deal with the other!"

Suigetsu didn't have to be told twice, as the other mechanical construct stomped at him. It raised its arm cannon once again.

"Oh no, you won't!" Suigetsu raised an arm as well and a huge water sphere started to form. "Water Release: Water Missile!"

Suigetsu fired the water blast, which collided against the stream of fire, resulting in an explosion of steam. Before the golem had any time to react, Suigetsu was already leaping at it, his fist reared back.

"Take this, you walking piece of scrap! Water Release: Great Water Arm Jutsu!"

Suigetsu's right arm swelled up, becoming unnaturally large and muscular, and used it to deliver a devastating punch to the golem, which broke apart upon absorbing the impact. The golem done for, Suigetsu's arm returned to normal, and the boy started to pant heavily.

"Aw man, this is going to hurt a lot tomorrow," Suigetsu complained.

"Ew. That was so gross," Karin mentioned as she used her super strength to tear the golem to pieces with her chains.

Suigetsu looked at Karin and shot her a devious smirk. "Yeah, you say that, but deep down I know you only say it to mask how badly you want this body," Suigetsu said as he made a pose.

"I have a boyfriend!" Karin protested. "And stop being a creep, we have a battle to win, you moron!"

"Are all Konoha girls this bitchy, or just you?" Suigetsu asked as he shrugged.

While Karin and Suigetsu argued as they faced more enemy Kiri ninja, Sasuke decided to face Jinpachi, after identifying him as the bigger threat. Something Jinpachi himself took no time to notice.

"So, what's with you, pretty guy? Think you can take me on?" Jinpachi asked in a mocking tone.

Sasuke's Sharingan flared to life as he fixed a glare on the Kiri Swordsman. "It would be possible. It all depends on how much of your power comes from your sword, and how much comes from you."

"An Uchiha, I see," Jinpachi said, noticing the Sharingan. "I've always wanted to fight one of you, but your clan being wiped out made that rather improbable. Yet here you are! Fate seems to be smiling upon me today."

Sasuke frowned, as he tightly gripped the handle of his katana. "Let's see if you think your fate favors you after you got to fight me."

"You seem to be pretty confident in your ability. Typical of your clan. That's why you guys thought you could pull a coup d'état in your village, yet look at what happened," Jinpachi replied in a mocking tone. "And trust me, the result is going to be the same here."

In the past, Sasuke would have let out a savage cry and mindlessly charge at the one eyed swordsman for bringing up such a sore and sensitive topic. But after the Chunin Exams incident, Shizune and Shisui pretty much forced him to learn how to keep his anger in check and not be carried away by it. So this time, Sasuke merely deepened his frown.

"Did I touch a nerve? Bohoohoo!" Jinpachi replied in a mock childish tone, before he smirked wickedly. "When I kill you, I'll gouge out your eyes. But I won't use them to replace my missing eye, or even sell them. No, I'll keep them in a jar, and will be displayed as a trophy. How does that sound?"

"You assume you can take my eyes!" Sasuke replied as he charged forward, tired of exchanging words with the bearded swordsman. "Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

Sasuke's blade was wreathed in flames. Jinpachi chuckled upon seeing it.

"Not bad. But nowhere near enough to help you," Jinpachi said as he prepared to attack. "Blastsword Ninja Art: Exploding Piledriver!"

Jinpachi slammed his sword forward, creating a line of explosions. Sasuke already guessed he would do that, given it was what he did when Suigetsu charged at him. However, Sasuke was ready, and used a couple of Body Flickers to dodge the line of explosions, and appeared behind him. He had noticed that, while powerful, Jinpachi was vulnerable the seconds after he attacked, and that's when Sasuke would deliver the killing blow.

 _"Got you!"_ Sasuke thought as he sunk his fire sword into Jinpachi's unprotected back. However, Jinpachi then did something that Sasuke wasn't expecting.

He exploded.

His Sharingan noticed less than a second before his body detonated what was going to happen, which allowed him to reinforce his whole body with chakra in order to survive the explosion, but even then, the explosion did a lot of damage, as he was violently flung against a wall.

"Didn't your Sharigan catch that, pretty boy?" Jinpachi asked in the same mocking tone, as he was standing in the roof of a nearby one story house. "You've been fighting an Exploding Clone all this time. As you can see, my mastery of explosives goes beyond the Splatter. Now let's end this already. Blastsword Ninja Art: Bombardment Wave! "

Jinpachi delivered a wide swing, releasing a multitude of explosive notes at Sasuke, which flew at him at a much faster speed than they should despite being made of paper. The Uchiha wasted no time and made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

Sasuke expelled a multitude of fireballs, that he directed towards the incoming explosive notes. The two attacks collided, creating a multitude of explosions, which resulted in a rather large cloud of smoke forming between the two.

"Not bad, Uchiha, not bad. But once again, not good enough!" Jinpachi chuckled behind the wall of smoke.

"I'm getting tired of his explosions..." Sasuke grumbled, as he thought of a way to counter them. He was tempted to activate his Burning Man, but realized that being covered in fire when fighting a guy that uses explosions wasn't the most sound of strategies. He also refused to use the Mangekyo Sharingan a second time. Not just because of the mental and physical strain, but just like Itachi had challenged him, he wanted to see how far he could go before he was forced to rely on such a power.

"No time to sleep!" Jinpachi yelled as he jumped out of the cloud of smoke. He swung his sword once again. "Blastsword Ninja Art: Blasting Bridle Repeating Death!"

The explosive scroll unraveled, and surrounded Sasuke in a wide area around him, cutting off any escape route. He doubted he could activate Susanoo in time in order to avoid an untimely end.

"Now die already!"

However, before the chain of explosions could reduce him to ashes, Sasuke felt a familiar chain wrapping around his body and pulling him up, saving him from the ring of explosions. When his feet touched the floor again, he was in a roof of a nearby building, surrounded by his team, and a bunch of Kiri ninja.

"Good one, Karin. That was a close one," Shizune complimented the redhead.

"Sasuke-kun, are you okay?" Sakura asked and started to heal Sasuke before he could reply.

"You thought you could take Jinpachi on? You crazy bastard..." Suigetsu chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well, that's exactly what you tried to do not long ago!" Karin fired back on Sasuke's behalf. "So you're not the best one to talk."

"Regardless of that, Suigetsu isn't entirely wrong. Trying to fight a much experienced ninja without proper intel on his abilities was foolish, Sasuke-kun," Shizune stated in a mildly chastising tone.

"I know..." Sasuke begrudgingly admitted.

"Then again, you must have learned something about that guy, right?" Sakura inquired.

"He has a sword that can produce infinite explosive tags that he can use in a variety of ways. However, his power isn't limited to that sword either, as it has several explosive jutsu of his own," Sasuke explained. "While his offensive power is formidable, I find his defenses lacking, since he's left wide open whenever he attacks. I tried to exploit that, but I was unsuccessful."

"Maybe not on your own, but together we can bring that man down," Shizune told him. "Alright, listen everybody, this is the plan."

…

"Alright, this zone it's clear. We should move to the next," Kurenai stated, as she saw the few defenders left falling back.

"It's not!" Hinata quickly replied. "I'm seeing reinforcements coming this way!"

"Let them come, and I shall reward their bravery with a swift death," Zabuza said as he held his Executioner's Blade in front of his eyes.

"Any golems with them?" Kurenai asked.

Hinata shook her head. "Thankfully none."

"Good. This should make things a bit easier," Kurenai said, a bit relieved.

But that relief didn't last long when the defenders' reinforcements arrived, and the attackers found themselves once again outnumbered. Leading the group of regular ninja and ANBU, there was a young man with dull brown hair and, oddly enough, bright pink eyes.

"You managed to reach deep into our village, invaders, but you won't advance any further," the commander claimed in an almost theatrical tone as he pulled out a pair of sais. "As long as I, Dagura Karatachi, son of the Fourth Mizukage, is here to stop you!"

Dagura's men cheered in unison at his short but inspiring boast.

"Attack!" he ordered.

"Everybody, meet them on! Send them to hell!" Zabuza ordered his own troops. "I'll take on his leader!"

Zabuza then felt a hand touching his shoulder. Turning around, he saw it was Haku.

"Actually, I'd wish if you let me fight Dagura-san, instead," Haku suggested.

"This is no time for games, Haku. Dagura is the Mizukage's son. If we capture him alive, we will have a valuable hostage that might help us make Yagura surrender," Zabuza explained.

"I know that, but this is something I need to do," Haku insisted. "Don't worry, I won't kill him. Besides, you trained me, Zabuza-sama. That should be enough."

Zabuza couldn't help but smirk under his mask. "Using my pride against me? That's low. And something I'd approve. Now go, but be careful. I'm sure that guy's a Jonin."

Haku smiled in return. "Don't worry, Zabuza-sama, everything will turn out fine."

The Ice Ninja headed towards the enemy commander, Yagura's son, who was fighting a random Kiri rebel. Haku made a couple of hand seals.

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

Haku formed multiple ice needles from the air's moisture, and flew at Dagura. The whistle they made as they move alerted the Mizukage's son, who noticed the incoming attack, disengaged the opponent he was fighting, and expertly parried all the projectiles with his sais as he jumped back. Haku then jumped in front of him.

"Hello, Dagura-san. My name is Haku Yuki, and I will be your opponent," Haku said in an overly polite tone.

"I don't care who you are! You're just another rebel that needs to be put down!" Dagura replied as he made several hand seals. "Winged Nightmare Jutsu!"

Motioning his hands forward, Dagura released a massive flock of bats that flew at Haku, making disgusting chirping noises. Though the Ice Ninja was far from its only target, as the bats also attacked nearby Konoha and Kiri rebels.

Not letting the bats distract him, Haku prepared his counterattack. "Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"

Haku unleashed a multitude of long and sharp ice spikes from his body, impaling most the bats –which poofed into tiny clouds of smoke– which were attacking him. This drew Dagura's attention.

"An Ice Release User. Interesting, I thought all of you had been wiped out," Dagura observed.

"I do get that a lot. Not to my pleasure, might I add," Haku replied. "And do you know why I'm the last of my kind?"

"Like I said before, I don't care," Dagura dismissed as he prepared to attack again.

"Too bad, because you're going to hear it anyway," Haku cut him off, as he continued talking. "Because of your father's policies and way to run Kirigakure. Thanks to the Blood Mist, ninjas are seen as little more than blood thirsty murderers and barbarians in the eyes of the citizens of the Land of Water, as well as the rest of the Elemental Nations."

"So what? We never cared what other villages think about us! Kirigakure was on its dead bed after the Third War, and my father renewed its strength!" Dagura replied.

"You should care, given that this invasion is a direct product of your barbaric practices," Haku replied. "And do you know what else was a direct product of your father's ruling? The Bloodline Purges. Ninja are heavily feared and distrusted among the common people, and those with Bloodline Limits even more. That's why my mother was killed by the same people she called friends and family, with me barely surviving."

"And you think that your family's loss was my father's fault somehow? Ha!" Dagura replied, making more hand seals again. "Soundwave Jutsu!"

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

Haku slammed his hands into the ground, erecting an ice wall between himself and his current enemy. While the sound waves shattered it, the jutsu used all of its power to take it down, leaving Haku unharmed.

"My family was far from the only one which was lost to the madness your father is perpetuating. That's why he needs to be removed from power, one way or another," Haku calmly said.

"Lies! All you want to do is depose my father so you can rule Kirigakure yourselves! And I'd die before seeing it in the control of traitors and their Konoha scum allies!" Dagura then cut the palm of his hand, and made several hand seals, before slamming them on the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!"

After the initial smoke explosion, Haku saw that Dagura was now riding a gigantic bat, almost as big as Sasuke's hawk summons.

"You shall not destroy what my family has fought so hard to build!" Dagura declared.

Haku let out a defeated sigh. "Guess there's no way to convince you of your wrong ways. In that case, I won't hold back anymore," Haku ominously said as he made a hand seal. Suddenly, a burst of icy winds came from his body, as he was surrounded by a blue and white aura that sparkled with the rays of sunlight. The ground around him started to freeze at a fast pace." Ice Release: Walking Winter!"

…

"Longsword Ninja Art: Wire Crucifixion!"

Kushimaru's tactic was a wicked one. He'd trap everybody with his jutsu involving the Sewing Needle and ninja wire, while his troops stopped anybody who attempted to cut the wire in order to release their allies.

 _"And the monster's leaving them alive, just to savor their suffering. He won't even give them an honorable death,"_ Ameyuri thought in disgust. "Alright, time to end this nonsense! Thundersword Ninja Art: Eye of the Storm!"

Ameyuri crossed her swords in front of her face in an X, producing a white electric flash. The red headed kunoichi began to rapidly spin with her arms spread forward, turning into a deadly electrical spinning top. Several enemy ninja tried to stop her.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

Multiple water projectiles flew at her. However, Ameyuri managed to dodge them without stopping her spinning. She was aware that she was left wide open when using that jutsu, that's why she developed a way to dodge attacks even if she was spinning. And while most enemies managed to avoid her deadly slashes, her true target, the ninja wire, did not. When several of the wires were cut, most of Kushimaru's victims were released.

"Bring some medics here, now!" Ameyuri ordered.

So far, Ino was one of the very few medics supporting that division, and right now, she was busy healing Asuma's shoulder wound.

"Are you feeling better, Asuma-sensei?" Ino asked, just as she finished healing the wound.

"Yes. I don't think the pain will go away completely for the time being, but I think I can fight," Asuma said as he stood up.

"We need to take out that swordsman. With their commander gone, dealing with the rest shouldn't be hard," Shikamaru suggested.

"Easier said than done. Any plan, Shikamaru?" Asuma hopefully asked.

Shikamaru shot his sensei a confident smirk.

Meanwhile, Ameyuri continued to fight Kushimaru. Or better said, Ameyuri fought off the red clad Kiri ninja who got in her way as she made her way to the tall, masked swordsman. Her already scant patience was reaching its limit.

"Stop throwing this rabble at me and face me in a duel, you coward!" Ameyuri angrily shouted as she dispatched an enemy Kiri Chunin.

"I might, given that you're starting to get on my nerves. Not to mention your daring to defile Raiga's swords," Kushimaru replied as he pierced a rebel with the Sewing Needle.

"Raiga's? These are MY swords! I earned them! And I'm way better than that fish lipped psycho obsessed with funerals!" Ameyuri protested.

Finally, Kushimaru ignored the rest of the Konoha and Kiri rebels, and focused his attention on Ameyuri.

"In that case, show me that you're worthy of them," Kushimaru taunted.

Ameyuri grinned in anticipation. "I'm more than happy to oblige," she said as she crossed her blades in an X. "Lightning Release: Lightning Fang!"

From the intersection of the crossed swords, several bolts of lightning flew towards the masked swordsmen, finding its mark. The electric blast produced an explosion, but when the smoke dispelled, all what was left was a charred log.

"Body Replacement? Dammit!" Ameyuri cursed as she looked around. "Enough of these tricks! Show yourself already!"

Suddenly, the Sewing Needle burst from underground below her, piercing her lower body.

"URK!" she choked, spitting blood, and forcing her to drop her swords. "Still, bad move," Ameyuri said as she made a hand seal, and her hands started to crackle with electricity.

"Like hell I'm going to let you!" Kushimaru said as he motioned his sword. "Longsword Secret Art: Wire Crucifixion!"

More ninja wire wrapped around Ameyuri's arms, forcing them apart, stopping her from making hand seals, and thus using ninjutsu. She struggled to break free, but the wire was wrapped really tight around her.

"See how easy it was to defeat you, pretender?" Kushimaru mocked, as he walked towards her. "Now, let's recover what belongs to our village."

"Human Bullet Tank!"

A huge shadow loomed over Kushimaru as he saw what appeared to be a gigantic red sphere falling towards him. However, he was fast enough to avoid being crushed to pulp. The human boulder wasn't done, as it rolled at the masked swordsman at high speed. He tossed his sword at it, but much to his chagrin, it bounced back, forcing him to dodge the incoming bulldozing sphere as well.

While Kushimaru was busy, Asuma got closer to Ameyuri and cut the ninja wire trapping her.

"Are you okay?" Asuma asked as he helped the younger ninja stand up.

"I've been better," Ameyuri sourly replied.

"Don't worry, Ino will patch you up. But first, we need to deal with that guy," Asuma pointed out. "My students are on it. Let's make sure nobody else gets in the way of their fight."

"I admit that, from what I've seen, they're good, but are they good enough to take out a member of the Seven Swordsmen who's also a veteran of the Third Ninja War?" Ameyuri asked, not being able to repress a sense of shared pride with their enemy.

Asuma just smirked. "Wait and see."

Back to the battle, Choji had returned to his normal shape, and moved to attack the masked swordsman.

"Partial Multi-Size Jutsu!" Choji's arm grew in size once again, and clenching his fist, he tried to smash Kushimaru under it.

However, the tall ninja proved to be too nimble for such an imprecise attack, and easily dodged it.

"Too slow!" Kushimaru mocked. He jumped over the still enlarged arm, and ran towards Choji as he threw the Sewing Needle at him.

But much to his confusion, Choji smirked. He then enlarged his other arm, and used it to catch the flying sword. It graced his skin a little, but it was nothing major.

"Guys, I have it! I got his weapon! Go for it!" Choji happily said.

"You're so naïve, kid," Kushimaru said with a chuckle as he rushed towards Choji. He pulled the ninja wire still attached to the sword, but thanks to Choji's increased strength, he was unable to retrieve it. Choji in return pulled back with even greater force, launching Kushimaru forward...just like the swordsman wanted. He then used the momentum to spin around Choji, wrapping him in ninja wire, and forcing him to drop the Sewing Needle, which Kushimaru easily recovered. "What do you say now, kid?"

"Mind Body Disturbance Jutsu!"

Kushimaru jumped out of the way just as Ino casted one of her family's most used jutsu. The masked swordsman looked at Ino, still holding that ridiculous pose, and laughed.

"If it's not becoming clear by now, I fought your clans during the Third Ninja War. I know how to counter all of your jutsu," Kushimaru boasted. "Plus I'm older and more experienced. My instincts and senses can't be fooled."

"Counter this then! Shadow Imitation Jutsu!" Shikamaru said, as he once again used his family's signature ability.

Kushimaru just shook his head. "You know, some people would have some qualms about kill or even just seriously harm children. Unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them."

As the shadow came close to him, Kushimaru rushed towards the Nara Chunin, who constantly redirected the jutsu in an effort to catch him, but once again he proved to be too fast. When he was close enough, he prepared his sword to impale Shikamaru.

"Die!" he shouted as he threw his weapon as if it were a javelin. At that distance, the Nara wouldn't be able to dodge it.

Then, something unthinkable happened. A Kiri ninja jumped in the way, getting promptly impaled by the Sewing Needle. However, it wasn't a rebel who tried to selflessly save Shikamaru's life, but one of the red-clan Kiri ninja fighting under Kushimaru's orders.

"What the hell are you doing, you idiot!?" Kushimaru bellowed.

"I...I don't know! My body moved on its own!" the poor impaled ninja cried, while coughing blood.

"Moved on its own? But how...?" Kushimaru wondered, and then remembered Ino's attack. "That blonde bitch! That jutsu wasn't aimed at me, but at one of my men!"

"That's correct. And now that you're that close to me, there's no way for you to escape my jutsu!" Shikamaru claimed, as he used the Shadow Imitation Jutsu once again.

"That's what you think!" Kushimaru said as he jumped backwards, pulling the ninja wire in order to retrieve the sewing needle. At that distance, he was sure he could avoid Shikamaru's jutsu. His keen senses would allow him to detect any kind of danger his eyes didn't see. "From this distance-!"

"I still caught you," Shikamaru flatly said.

"What!?" Kushimaru indignantly cried. Much to his shock, Shikamaru's shadow had touched his, and thus he was unable to move. "How? That's impossible!"

"The ninja wire your sword uses also projects a shadow, which I can use as a conductor for my jutsu," Shikamaru explained, as he shot the masked ninja a smug smile.

"You thought that just because you fought our parents, you already had us figured out, don't you?" Ino asked Kushimaru. "You should know that the new generation will always surpass the one that came before!"

"Hold him still!" Ameyuri called, as she held her swords up in the air, which started to crackle with electricity. "Thunder sword Ninja Art: Lightning Redirection!"

A lightning bolt fell from the skies, which was absorbed by Ameyuri's swords. She then motioned the Thunder swords in Kushimaru's direction, releasing all the stored electricity. The blast was powerful enough to end his life in a matter of seconds, and Kushimaru's lifeless, smoking body fell forward with a thud, releasing the Sewing Needle.

"We did it!" Choji cried in joy.

"Yay, go Tactical Squad!" Ino squealed, pumping her fist in the air.

"Don't celebrate it yet, brats! We might have taken out one of the commanders, but this battle is still far from over!" Ameyuri called out.

"Ameyuri-san is right. We need to continue pushing forward. And don't let your guard down," Asuma added.

The three Chunin nodded, and rejoined the rest of the rebel army in their onslaught.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, another fight with a Swordsman of the Mist continued. Sasuke, this time aided by the rest of his team, as well as many other Kiri rebels, were trying to take down Jinpachi Munashi.

"Blastsword Ninja Art: Blast Wave!"

Jinpachi slammed his sword into the ground, creating several waves of explosions that spread outwards. Some of them even hit his own men.

"Jinpachi-samaaaaaaaa...!" an unfortunate Kiri ninja cried after being caught in an explosion.

"If you get in the way, don't cry to me because you get hurt!" Jinpachi chided the wounded ninja.

"If you treat your own men like that, then your defeat is all but assured," Shizune told the swordsman.

Jinpachi chuckled. "Those who let themselves be killed are weak, and there's no room in Kirigakure for the weak!"

"Even if it's you who killed them?" Shizune fired back.

"If he was unable to dodge my attack, then he deserve to die, as so do all of you foreign invaders!" Jinpachi shouted as he charged forwards.

Shizune made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"

Tsunade's first apprentice released a torrent of water from her mouth, stopping Jinpachi on his tracks, and pushing him backwards.

"Sasuke-kun, Sakura, now!" Shizune called.

Sasuke and Sakura jumped from the sides, Sasuke holding his fire wreathed katana, and Sakura's fist surrounded by fiery blue chakra. However, before they could attack, Jinpachi unfurled more explosive tag roll and enveloped himself with it.

"Blastsword Ninja Art: Exploding Barricade!"

"Karin, your turn!" Shizune called.

Jinpachi realized that they were expecting him to do that, but it was too late. The explosions went off, but before they could catch Sasuke and Sakura, Karin pulled them out with her chakra chains. Shizune, meanwhile, proceeded on the offensive again.

"I have something your little explosions won't be able to protect you from! Posion Mist!"

Shizune released a purple colored, poisonous cloud from her mouth, which quickly moved towards Jinpachi cursed, and jumped backwards. Shizune jumped inside her own poisonous cloud, and a second later she came out of it, kunai in both hands ready to engage the swordsman.

"You're immune to your own poison. Oh, I see your plan. You want to stall me here and wait until the poison cloud reaches us. You'll be fine, but I will more than likely die ," Jinpachi deduced.

"It seems that there's a brain under that skull. Not that guessing my strategy will be of any help," Shizune replied, as she engaged Jinpachi in a duel.

"We'll see about that! Blastsword Ninja Art: Exploding Piledriver!" Jinpachi motioned slammed his sword into the ground, generating a line of explosions. _"From this distance, she won't be able to dodge them!"_

"Sasuke, Sakura, attack again!" Shizune said as she was engulfed by an explosion.

"What!?" Jinpachi said in shock. 'So she goaded me to attack her in order to be left wide open!'

Sasuke and Sakura tried to attack again, but even if Jinpachi couldn't use his blast sword again like he did before, he managed to jump back, avoiding being gutted by flaming sword, and seeing how Sakura's punch opened a large crater in the ground.

"You almost got me there, you brats! Your sensei died for nothing! But you'll need something more than-!"

"Water Release: Great Water Arm Jutsu!"

A gigantic fist, not unlike a certain Akimichi's, connected with Jinpachi's one eyed face, sending him crashing against the ground, dropping the Splatter as well.

"That was for my brother, you one eyed son of a bitch!" Suigetsu spat.

"I'll take care of this," Karin said as she caught the explosive sword.

"Not killing your allies has a lot of advantages, as you can see," Sakura told the downed swordsman in a mocking tone.

Despite the immense pain, Jinpachi tried to stand back, but when he tried to, he was pelted by a rain of senbon, much to his surprise thrown by Shizune.

"What? How can you be alive? Nobody survives my explosions!" Jinpachi protested.

"True, but you didn't kill the real me. While I was hidden in my poison mist, I created a Shadow Clone and sent it to fight you in my place, while I remained unseen," Shizune explained.

"You...YOU BITCH!" Jinpachi cried in anger.

Shizune smiled in a condescending way. "Stick and stones, Jinpachi, stick and stones. Now, Sasuke-kun, Sakura, would you kindly finish this off?"

Sasuke and Sakura nodded, placed themselves at the opposite sides of Jinpachi, and made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"

Sasuke's fireball and Sakura's flammable mud bullets crashed against Jinpachi, engulfing him in a multitude of explosions, and the swordsman ceased to be.

A fitting end for one of the Splatter's most infamous wielders.

…

They finally did it. After sneaking through plenty of battles, forcing Naruto and Mei to repress their urges to help their comrades, they had finally reached the Mizukage's palace.

The palace was a three story building, whose architectonic style was much refined than most of the village's buildings. To complement its beauty, it was surrounded by patches of green grass, as well multiple fountains. It had a giant kanji of "Water" drawn on it on the façade. There were several ninja standing guard on the outside.

Since the battles were still far away from the palace, these ninja weren't expecting an attack anytime soon. Naruto and Mei were about to prove them wrong. Hidden behind a fountain, the two of them inspected the zone.

"Okay Naruto, from this point on, stealth is no longer necessary. But before we attack, can you feel Yagura inside the palace?" Mei asked the blond Sage.

Naruto closed his eyes for a second, and nodded. "Yes, I'm sensing Tailed Beast Chakra inside the palace. It has to be Yagura."

"Can you sense how many guards are inside?"

Naruto checked once again. "Besides Yagura, I'm counting about twelve or so people. Their chakra is strong, but they shouldn't be a problem."

"They're the Mizukage's personal guard. While not the Seven Swordsmen , they're still elite ninja. Even so, we shouldn't waste much energy with them, or else Yagura will crush us," Mei instructed.

"Do you have a plan?" Naruto asked.

Mei bit a finger and started making hand seals. "We lure them out, dispatch them, break into the palace, and kill Yagura. Much easier said than done, but that's the best I have. Summoning Jutsu!"

Mei slammed her hand into the ground, and both she and Naruto found themselves standing on a massive sea squid.

"What the hell?" one of the guards asked, before he was snatched by a tentacle. His partners followed the same fate.

Wasting no time, Mei made more hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Mei took a deep breath, and released a massive stream of fire right at the palace's façade, opening a hole in its second floor.

"Ikamaru-san, take care of the guards! Naruto-kun, follow me!" Mei ordered both her summon and Naruto.

Naruto nodded and both she and Mei infiltrated the palace through the hole she had opened. Mei let Naruto lead her to where Yagura was no doubt waiting for them. A couple Jonin cut them off.

"Stop right there!" one of the Jonin called.

Mei replied by making more hand seals. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"

Once again, Mei breathed a cloud of highly acidic mist at the two enemy ninja. However, one of them was ready to counter it.

"Water Release: Water Wave!"

The Kiri Jonin expelled a stream of water that quickly dispelled the acid mist.

 _"Smart. Since Boil Release is a combination of water and fire, it's still weak to water. Oh well, this changes nothing,"_ Mei confidently thought.

Naruto pulled out and activated his Wind Blade, which projected a white, flame-like chakra blade. One of the Jonin unsheathed his katana, and went to meet Naruto in combat.

"You pretend to defeat a Kiri ninja in a sword fighting duel? Such arrogance!" the Jonin laughed as he and Naruto fought. However, the moment their blades clashed, Naruto's cut his as if it was made of butter. "WHAT!?"

"I'm not pretending. I'm doing it," Naruto said with a confident smirk. He then punched at the Kiri ninja, who dodged his fist by moving aside.

But much to his shock, he felt as if the fist had connected even if he clearly had avoided it. And it packed such force, he was knocked unconscious.

"Kademaru!" the other ninja cried. "Who the hell are you!?"

"Lava Release: Lava Shuriken!"

The other ninja was so focused on Naruto, he didn't notice Mei, and that proved to be fatal. His life came to an end the moment three shuriken made of burning lava embedded into his body, burning it from the inside out.

"Good work, Naruto-kun," Mei praised.

Naruto grinned at her. "Hehe, thanks. It was a nice warm-up." His face became serious again. "Yagura just went to the roof. He's not alone. I think he's waiting for us."

Mei's expression hardened, as she nodded. "In that case, let's not keep him waiting."

Unimpeded, Naruto and Mei climbed the stairs to the roof of the palace where, true to Naruto's word, Yagura was there, alongside some blonde woman. The Mizukage was watching the battles that were taking place still far from the palace. It appeared that he didn't notice the two newcomers.

"Hello, Mei-san. I was expecting you," Yagura said, without turning around.

"Let's cut the formalisms, Yagura. You know why I'm here," Mei firmly said as she crossed her arms.

"It's Mizukage-sama, you traitorous bitch!" the kunoichi snapped at Mei.

Yagura then held her hand. "Relax, Aiko-chan. Fretting over such thing is a waste of energy."

"Who's that woman?" Naruto whispered Mei.

"Aiko, Yagura's wife. While not as strong as him, we shouldn't underestimate her either. She's a Jonin," Mei told the blond Jinchuriki.

Yagura turned around, and looked at the two rebels, while at the same time allowing Naruto to get a good look at him.

"What? But...he's a child! A child is the Mizukage? And he's married to an older woman?" Naruto asked in shock.

"Despite my appearance, I'm not a child, you brat," Yagura said in a dark tone. He then glared at Mei. "I'm seriously hoping you brought something more than this slow-minded kid to take me down, Mei-san."

"You talk about not judging people by their appearances, yet you have no problem doing the same," Mei retorted. "Despite his young age, Naruto-kun here is one of the strongest ninja Konoha has to offer."

"She's not lying, dear. His chakra is both immense and very strong. I believe he may be a Jinchuriki," Aiko warned her husband.

"You failed to seduce Utakata, so you went to Konoha and begged them to loan you their jinchuriki in a vain attempt to depose me. Pitiful," Yagura spat. "What did they make you promise them in return? Some of the Seven Swords? All of them? Secret techniques? Clan secrets? Our resources? Or will you simply turn Kirigakure into Konoha's lapdog?"

"Even if that were true, it would still be better than what Kirigakure is now," Mei spat back. "Listen, no more blood needs to be spilled today. It may sound unbelievable, but we have reasons to believe that somebody has been messing with your mind. You're under somebody else's mind control."

"Lies! If that were true, I would have noticed it! I'm his wife, on top of a sensor!" Aiko protested.

"That's the thing, you don't notice anything!" Naruto countered," I've been mind controlled before, and it makes you think that everything's fine. But it's not. Deep down, you know there's something wrong, but you don't know what it is."

"You are right. It sounds unbelievable, as well as stupid. A desperate bid to avoid a fight you know you can't win," Yagura told her.

"I know I can defeat you, Yagura. I just simply don't want to kill a man that's just a victim of somebody else's crimes," Mei sorrowfully said.

"I think I've heard enough," Yagura said, as he and Aiko prepared to fight. "Try not to die too soon, and give me an entertaining fight."

Likewise, Mei and Naruto prepared for battle, knowing that they were going to face an opponent unlike any other.

The future of Kirigakure would be decided on the outcome of this battle.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, the invasion has begun. Sorry for those who were expecting Naruto and Mei to fight against Yagura already, but I felt that that fight deserved to have its own chapter. Besides, I wanted to have more fights besides that one, among them, the two remaining swordsmen, as well as Yagura's son Dagura. And yes, I made him up, so he's a quasi-OC. But given that the _Boruto_ anime gaves us his grandson Kagura, I thought it would be appropriate to show his son, and that way I could have an enemy that's not a random faceless elite ninja or ANBU.  
**

 **These fights also had the double purpose of give some spotlight to some of the other teams, namely Team Shizune and Team Asuma. Don't worry, Team Kakashi and Team Gai will have their spotlight as well in following arcs once we reach Shippuden, _especially_ Team Kakashi.**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading.**

 **So yeah, next time in Son of the Sannin, the much awaited clash between Naruto, Mei and Yagura (and Aiko, I guess)! And not just that, but Deidara and Kisame will join the fray! One way or another, the Kirigakure Civil War WILL end next chapter, but HOW will it end? In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	49. The Invasion of Kirigakure, Part II

**Author's Notes: Welp, here it is. The moment you've been waiting for so long. The climax of this rather long arc. Naruto and Mei finally facing Yagura. Hope you enjoy it:**

* * *

 **Chapter 49:**

The Invasion of Kirigakure, Part II

 _or_

 _The Shadows in the Water_

…

"I won't be the one dying today, Yagura. I won't rest until the Blood Mist becomes a thing of the past, and such thing can't happen as long as you're Mizukage," Mei said as she started making hand seals. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"

Mei opened the fight with one of her two Bloodline Limits, releasing a cloud of corrosive mist at the opposing duo. Yagura took a step forward, positioning himself between the attack and his wife, as he made hand seals of his own.

"Stand back, Aiko-chan," Yagura took a deep breath. "Wind Release: Passing Typhoon!"

Yagura blew a powerful gust of wind that easily dispelled Mei's attack. It had such force that Mei and Naruto were nearly blown away. Aiko took the chance to attack as well. She made a hand seal.

"Water Release: Famine Mist!"

A thin mist started to envelop the roof of the palace. However, unlike other times Naruto had seen a mist jutsu (mostly from Haku), the mist wasn't thick enough to block vision.

"Naruto, this isn't the usual mist jutsu," Mei warned him, as if reading his thoughts. "I don't know what it does, but stay alert just in case."

"Then the best solution will be dispel it as soon as possible!" Naruto reasoned as his hands ran through hand seals. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Naruto thrust his hand forward, casting an horizontal tornado. However, Naruto noticed that the jutsu was weaker than usual, and only succeeded in stirring the mist, which quickly reformed.

"The hell?" Naruto indignantly asked.

"You foolish child! This mist dampens the ninjutsu used by the enemy, while at the same time enhances mine!" Aiko gloated as she made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Gun!"

Aiko expelled a powerful torrent from her mouth at the duo. Instinctively, Mei reacted by using a jutsu of her own.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

A wall emerged, getting in the way between Mei and Aiko's attack, but much to the rebel leader's surprise, Aiko's water jutsu tore through Mei's earth wall, before the attack blasted her backwards. Fortunately, the wall at least had absorbed some of the jutsu's original power, and it didn't make as much damage as it could.

"Didn't you hear what I said? My ninjutsu is stronger while yours is weaker! Elemental weaknesses become irrelevant!" Aiko stated.

Thanks to his Sage Mode, Naruto could sense that Aiko was supporting the mist with her own chakra. Even then, the chakra consumption rate was very low, and Aiko had a respectable chakra pool. Waiting until she ran out of chakra wasn't an option. They had to take her down first if they wanted to have any chance against Yagura.

"Mei! If we take out Aiko, the mist will banish! We have to focus on her first!" Naruto shouted as he pulled out his trusty Wind Blade. Upon channeling his chakra, the weapon projected a white, flame like energy blade. "Let's hope the mist doesn't affect my Wind Blade either!"

Now armed, Naruto dashed towards the female Jonin but he was intercepted by the Mizukage. Naruto's wind blade clashed against what appeared to be a rather large black club with uneven sized hooks on its ends, and oddly enough, a green flower on the larger hook. Much to his surprise, the club resisted the wind blade's swipe.

"You're more foolish than I thought if you think I'm going to let you get my wife," Yagura replied in a threatening tone.

Naruto ignored Yagura's words and focused on the staff. 'He's channeling chakra through it. That's why he manages to make it durable enough to resist my wind blade. Boy, this is getting harder by the second. And the mist may weaken my sword as well.'

Still, thanks to his senjutsu enhanced strength, Naruto was able to overpower Yagura and push him backwards. Naruto then ran past him and headed for the kunoichi.

"I'm not afraid of you, Konoha scum!" Aiko challenged as she prepared to fight.

Yagura, however, wasn't planning to go back on what he said a second earlier. "Get away from her!"

"Earth Release: Mud Trap!"

Much to his shock, the ground around him turned into mud, rendering him immobile as his feet were stuck on it. He struggled to get out of it.

"Naruto, now!" Mei called.

Naruto didn't need to be told twice, and prepared to strike the Mizukage's wife down. Aiko unsheathed her katana and used it to parry Naruto's swing, but unlike Yagura, she didn't channel chakra through her weapon to make it stronger, and the Wind Blade cut through her katana as if it was made of butter.

"What?" Aiko asked in shock.

Naruto attacked once, again, and this time, Aiko was forced to dodge the swing, lest she fall prey to its ridiculous cutting power. Despite the power of such weapon, Aiko noticed the boy's swings were unrefined and slightly brutish. He more than likely didn't have anything more than basic sword fighting training.

Aiko pulled out a few shuriken from her tool pouch and tossed them at Naruto. As she was expecting, Naruto used his Wind Blade to parry them away, and she used that window of opportunity to attack. Rushing at Naruto, she extended her hand.

"Water Release: Water Blade!"

Like the name of the jutsu implied, a sword of water materialized in her extended hand, and ran her makeshift weapon into Naruto's gut.

"You're dead!" Aiko shouted before, much to her shock, she saw her sword breaking upon hitting the blond, almost as if he was made of steel. "WHAT?"

Naruto took advantage of the woman's astonishment and kicked her in the chest with such force that she was sent flying away before she fell onto the roof of another building. Even if she wasn't moving, Naruto sensed that she was still alive.

The mist dispelled instantly.

"Good work Naruto! One less problem!" Mei cheered, just as Yagura overpowered her Mud Trap. With Aiko out of the fight, taking out Yagura would be much easier.

"That was a mistake," Yagura said in an icy tone.

"Your wife is still alive. She's just unconscious," Naruto tried to reassure him.

But it was too late. Orange chakra started to form around Yagura, enveloping him in a fiery aura. The aura vaguely took the shape of a turtle with three long tails.

"Get ready, Naruto. Even if we got rid of Aiko, the fight had become much harder," the rebel leader grimly noted.

…

In another part of Kirigakure, Chojuro and Kumori were leading an offensive against what their intelligence believed it was Kiri's Chakra Golem factory, hidden under a mere textile workshop. They were doing a good job so far, but the arrival of reinforcements forced them to fall back.

"Where did these reinforcements came from?" Chojuro asked as he engaged a rather skilled ANBU.

"These ninja were probably guarding the docks. By this point, they must have realized that we don't plan to attack the docks in any way, so they're moving their remaining forces here," Kumori explained as he engaged another red-clad Yagura loyalist.

"We need some time to fall back and regroup, Kumori-san. Do you think you can provide it to us?" Chojuro asked the hooded ninja.

Kumori smirked under his mask. "Just leave that to me," he said, as he started to make hand seals. "Demonic Illusion: Shattered Reality!"

Suddenly, all the Kirigakure defenders saw how the village, its houses, streets, roads, everything, started to crumble and disappear into an endless void below. Naturally, plenty of them fell prey to panic.

"What the hell's going on?" a ninja asked.

"I've never seen anything like this!" another one cried.

"You idiots, it's a genjutsu, dispel it!" a more veteran ninja warned the others.

Even if his illusion was identified, it send the enemy troops into disarray for enough time to allow the rebels to disengage and safely retreat to a more secured position from which they could strike back.

In the rear guard of the division, many medics, Rin Nohara among them, were working tirelessly to heal the wounded rebels. Many of them were too wounded to continue fighting and had to be taken out of the village, but fortunately there were as many who could continue fighting after being patched up.

Among the ninja protecting the medics were Kakashi's Animal Squad, who were positioned close to Rin, as well as other medics.

"How it is going, Rin?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm working as fast as I can, yet I have the feeling that I could do more," Rin replied, as she focused on healing a wounded rebel.

"Even if the situation may not allow it, it's best not to let yourself be carried away by the stress, or else you'll do a worse job than intended," Shino told her.

"Yeah, don't get so worked up. We're here to keep you safe," Tamaki added with a tender smile.

"I know, but still..." Rin insisted. "I think I have enough chakra now to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu. That way I could heal multiple people at once."

"While risky, it's an intelligent idea," Shino commended. "Unfortunately, most people don't have the necessary chakra reserves to carry it out."

"That's why I said that I think-AAAAAAAHHH!" Rin yelled as she clutched her body.

"Rin!" an alarmed Kakashi yelled as he rushed to her side.

"What's happening?" Kiba asked, mildly panicked.

"The...the Three-Tails..." Rin panted. "It's the Three Tails...it's unleashing its power right now!"

…

Despite his small size, the Tailed Beast chakra cloak made Yagura look rather intimidating. His look of pure fury and anger at the rebel leader and her Konoha ally only made it worse.

"Very few people push me far enough to make me use the Three Tails' power. However, such accomplishment will do you no good," Yagura darkly stated.

The Fourth Mizukage leaped forward, his hooked staff raised above his head. A mass of water formed around the hook. Naruto tried to parry the incoming blow with his Wind Blade, but the water exploded outwards, forming a small torrent that blasted both Mei and him backwards. He then raised a hand, forming a massive orb of water.

"Water Release: Great Water Missile!"

Both Naruto and Mei wasted no time to made hand seals in order to counter Yagura's jutsu.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

"Lava Release: Volcanic Roar!"

The mass of water met a powerful gust of wind as well as a stream of burning hot molten rocks, resulting in a explosion of a multitude of elements. Yagura, however, wasn't going to be deterred, and slammed his staff into the ground.

"Coral Ripples Rising!"

Yagura generated a long row of coral spikes to rise out of the ground. Mei's eyes were wide open.

"Naruto, jump! Don't let those corals touch you!" Mei cried in an uncharacteristic panicky tone.

"Why? What's so bad about them?" the blond asked, unable to repress his curiosity.

"No time to explain! Just trust me on this one! You don't want those corals to touch you," Mei vehemently warned her ally.

"You made your homework after all, Mei. It seems that you have a brain under that pretty face," Yagura complimented. "Too bad no amount of brainpower will save either of you from being crushed by the sheer power I posses!" Yagura brought his hands together, and formed a hand seal. "Water Release: Three Headed Water Dragon!"

Yagura created three massive blobs of water that moved forward when the Mizukage motioned his hands in the same direction. The blobs quickly took the shape of three roaring dragons. Mei was already preparing a defensive measure.

"Earth Release: Double Earth Style Wall!"

Mei slammed her hands into the ground, erecting two large stone walls between her and Yagura. However, much to her shock, her walls proved to be ineffective as the water dragons merely jumped above them, and crashed against the two rebels, exploding into a torrent of water that blasted the two of them high into the air before falling into a nearby empty street.

"Uggggh..." Naruto groaned as he tried to get himself back on his feet. "Mei? Are you alright...?"

"Y-Yes," the rebel leader said, before coughing some blood. "I never imagined Yagura was this strong. And from what I know, he isn't even using his full strength yet..."

"We've been in the defensive all the time. We're not going to do anything like this, we need to attack!" Naruto claimed.

"I know. But we're an even bigger disadvantage now. It won't be long before some of Yagura's troops spot us and join the fray," Mei told him.

Yagura landed in front of them with a loud crash, leaving several cracks in the ground.

"Does it look like I need help to deal with you two?" Yagura mockingly asked. "You're on your last legs, while I'm pretty much untouched. Some help you got there, Mei."

Yagura's taunting had the desired effect on Naruto, who gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the Three Tails jinchuriki. Naruto extended a hand, and formed a Rasengan.

"Let's see how you like this help!" Naruto shouted as he charged at the Mizukage, who smirked.

"Naruto, wait!" Mei called him.

But it was too late. Yagura motioned his free hand in a circle. "Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu."

Yagura created a flat, circular pool of water of reflective surface, almost like a mirror, showing a perfect reflection of Naruto. A replica of Naruto came out of the mirror, dashing to meet the original.

"Rasengan!"

Both attacks clashed against each other, but original Naruto's attack was more powerful, destroying the clone, which dissolved into a puddle of water.

"You...you overpowered my jutsu," Yagura noted, genuinely impressed. "How? Is because of your Sage Mode? Yes, it has to be that. Senjutsu can't be replicated."

"Still thinking I'm of little help?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. You might provide a slightly greater challenge than I had originally imagined, but in the end the result will be the same," Yagura confidently said. "Senjutsu is still inferior to the power of a perfect Jinchuriki."

"Naruto, don't try a frontal attack like that again, much less on your own. We're two against one, let's use that to our advantage as long as it last," Mei told him.

"Right, sorry," Naruto replied as he tried to calm down.

"How long until Sage Mode runs out?" Mei whispered the blond.

"It won't until I start using my strongest jutsu. I'm trying to save them for the right moment," Naruto whispered back.

Mei nodded. "Well thought. I'll try to create one such moment shortly."

With that, Naruto and Mei spread out a bit so Yagura couldn't target the two of them at once. The Mizukage noticed that they were making hand seals, Naruto just once, while Mei did several.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Burning Whip!"

Two clones appeared at Naruto's side, while a lash made of flames appeared on Mei's hand. Yagura realized that Mei would try to distract him so he'd be wide open for whatever Naruto was going to prepare. He wasn't going to let such thing happen.

Just as he predicted, Mei rushed forward and used her fiery whip to attack Yagura. The Mizukage parried the blows with his water-enhanced club, all while never taking his eyes away from Naruto.

"I'm your enemy! You have no time to look away!" Mei shouted as she pressed her attack. A second whip made of flames appeared on her other hand, and she continued her onslaught, successfully pushing Yagura back.

The Mizukage frowned and channeled even more water chakra into his hooked club. He swung it at Mei, creating a watery explosion that put out Mei's fire lashes. Mei, however, jumped in time in order to avoid the water attack. Suddenly, a loud, high pitched noise could be heard, coming from Naruto.

"Naruto, now!" Mei shouted.

Yagura looked at Naruto and saw that the blond was holding in his raised hand what appeared to be a huge shuriken made of pure chakra and wind. Wasting no time, Naruto threw it at Yagura.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Upon seeing the chakra shuriken flying at him, Yagura was overtaken by a fear of the like he never experienced before. If he let that jutsu hit him, it would be the end. Not even the Three Tails' chakra cloak could save him. At least not the first version. Fortunately for him, he hoped there would be a jutsu that could save his skin right now. He made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu!"

Yagura motioned his hand in a circle, creating another mirror of water between himself and the deadly attack, successfully blocking it. Now a second Rasenshuriken, would pop out of the mirror, counter the first one even if it was weaker due the lack of nature energy. Then, the unthinkable happened

The Rasenshuriken tore the mirror apart and exploded into a massive wind vortex. Even if the explosion didn't catch him, the shockwave was powerful enough to blast the Mizukage backwards, being painfully slammed against the floor.

"Ugh..." Yagura groaned as he slowly got up. He raised his head, shooting a look of fury to where Naruto was standing. "You finally show your true-"

But Yagura's words were cut by the unsettling sight of a second Rasenshuriken flying at him. He had learned that blocking them wasn't going to work, he had to dodge it. As fast as he could, he made a hand seal before slamming his hand into the ground, creating a burst of water that propelled him upwards, successfully dodging the Rasenshuriken, which crashed against a nearby building, reducing it to rubble in a few seconds.

 _"Let's hope those houses were empty, since the collateral damage of this fight alone is going to be colossal,"_ Mei grimly thought.

The rebel leader then looked at Naruto, and noticed that his eyes had returned to normal, meaning that his Sage Mode had run out. Then, he looked at Yagura, and her face became extremely pale.

"Naruto-kun?" Mei asked, a bit panicky. "Can you go back into Sage Mode?"

"Yeah. I have two clones nearby gathering nature energy for me. I only need to dispel one of them and that energy will be mine," Naruto explained.

"Good, because you're going to need it," Mei said, still staring at the coming Yagura.

Naruto looked at Yagura, and was taken aback. "Uh, what's with him? Why does he look like that all of sudden?"

Yagura had turned into a completely different being. He looked now like turtle-man hybrid with three tails, arms ended in claws and spikes on his shell and shoulders. His body was covered by a thick cloak of dark red chakra, and his eyes had become two glowing white dots.

"Naruto, get ready. Yagura is about to unleash the full power of the Three Tails upon us..." a slightly fearful Mei warned, as she knew the real fight against Yagura was about to begin.

…

Haku stood on guard as he saw the bat flying in circles about him. At any time, the bat would swoop down at Haku, and Dagura would attack him from the top of his flying summon, before returning once again to the safety of the skies. While not very effective from an offensive point of view, it kept Dagura safe from Haku's attacks.

This time, he was taking his sweet time to attack. Haku was waiting for him to attack at any moment, and delaying his move would get the Ice Ninja on the edge. However, Haku was somebody blessed with near infinite patience. Especially for battle. That's how he managed to become so good.

He had to be this good. Zabuza wouldn't deserve any less.

Not being able to reach Dagura in close combat, Haku had deactivated his Walking Winter jutsu, since it would be a senseless waste of chakra. He needed to be careful if he wanted to defeat this opponent. The Mizukage's son had to be somebody powerful

Finally, it was Dagura who got impatient, and commanded his giant bat to dive at the Ice Ninja. The flying mammal let out a high pitched cry as it swooped down once again. Both ninja prepared to trade attacks once again.

"Soundwave Jutsu!"

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

When the attacks collided, Dagura's jutsu shattered Haku's, and still had enough power to push forward. The Ice Ninja jumped sideways, barely dodging the sonic attack, which created a small crater on the ground upon hitting it.

 _"My Ice Jutsu is ineffective against his sonic attacks. I have to change my tactic, or else he'll beat me,"_ Haku thought as he saw Dagura return to the sky. _"Guess it's about time to test that new jutsu."_

Haku made several hand seals before clapping his hands together.

"Ice Release: Crystal Bird!"

Ice particles started to gather in front of him, growing into a mass of frost that soon took the shape of a medium sized bird. The Crystal Bird let out a cry, and flew towards Dagura. The Mizukage's son noticed the frozen avian flying at him. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it couldn't be good.

"Better get rid of that as soon as possible," Dagura said to no one in particular as he pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and tossed it at the bird.

However, much to his shock, the bird nimbly dodged the explosive kunai and continued its flight towards Dagura unimpeded. The Mizukage's son started to panic a little. The ice bird was dangerously close.

"I'll give you something you won't be able to dodge!" Dagura shouted as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Dagura breathed a wide stream of fire that, true to his word, engulfed the ice bird in a torrent of flames, and it instantly melted, much to Dagura's relief. But his relief was short lived when the fire dispelled and saw that Haku was nowhere to be seen. He was alerted to a creaking sound coming from above, accompanied by an odd cold breeze.

"What the...?" Dagura looked up and saw Haku coming from what appeared to be a mirror made of ice. He made a hand seal.

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

The mirror above him shattered into a hundred shards, which elongated and turned into needles and rained upon Dagura and his summon. The bat was too large, and was unable to move in time in order to avoid the rain of razor sharp ice shards, dealing enough damage to undo the summon, and causing Dagura to fall below.

Despite being caught off guard, the Mizukage's son managed to land on his feet and one hand, leaving a crack on the floor due the force of the impact. Haku landed softly in front of him, as if carried by gentle winds.

"You're good, Yuki, getting rid of my summon like that. Too bad you're fighting for the wrong side, Kirigakure has a constant need of strong ninja," Dagura praised.

"Did you not hear what I said before? I'm not going to side with the village that cost me my family," Haku stoically replied with some repressed anger seeping into his words. He made a hand seal and raised a foot. "For more bloodshed to be prevented, your father and his supporters need to be removed from power by any means. Ice Release: Crystal Blade Field!"

Haku slammed his foot into the ground, creating a row of large ice spikes towards Dagura. Dagura jumped backwards, pulled out a couple of explosive kunai, and tossed them at the incoming ice spikes. While it successfully halted their advance, it was a temporary solution as the spikes reformed and continued advancing towards him.

"Don't focus on the jutsu, focus on the ninja who cast it," Dagura reminded himself as he jumped back even further while making hand seals. "Fire Release: Blazing Nightmare!"

Dagura summoned another flock of bats, though these one appeared to be made of fire, and following Dagura's hand motion, they all flew at Haku, letting out annoying screeches. Haku, however, merely made a hand seal with a single hand.

"Ice Release: Walking Winter!"

Haku's ice aura was reactivated just as the fire bats were close to him. Making another hand seal, the aura expanded, creating harsh, cold winds that pushed the burning fliers away, some of them even being put out by the freezing gusts.

"You can't win this fight. Your father created far too many enemies during his bloodstained reign. Even if we fail today, another group will raise in the future to finish what we started," Haku told Dagura as he walked forward, freezing the ground as he moved.

"Then we will crush them again! That's how the ninja world rolls! Only the strongest are able to survive!" Dagura replied.

"Then you won't mind if I kill you, right? Since so far, I'm proving to be the strongest of the two," Haku fired back. He made several hand seals. "Ice Release: Never ending Winter!"

Haku's freezing aura started to grow around him, blowing with more intensity, freezing everything around him. But it didn't stop there. The cold became more and more intense. All the nearby buildings and Kiri loyalists were covered in frost and snow, until they were completely frozen. The ice spread as far as their eyes could see.

"No!" Dagura made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

The Mizukage's son breathed a massive stream of fire around, hoping to melt some of the ice, but it was useless. The ice was so strong that it was impervious to his fire attacks. Soon, the cold also caught Dagura, as ice began to grow all around him. His body started to feel numb, and his movements slowed down.

"No...this...can't..." Dagura said before freezing completely.

What Dagura didn't know is that Haku wasn't really freezing the village, the Kiri ninja, or anyone for that matter. He had caught him in a genjutsu, which made him fall into a harmless coma. Being the son of the Mizukage, Haku thought of a way to disable him without killing or even hurting him much. He hoped keeping Dagura alive would smooth the transition.

A shadow passed over the ice ninja, alerting him. Looking up, he saw two large, strange looking birds flying above him. One of the birds dropped something. It was too small to notice, but there were many things.

The street Haku and other rebels were fighting Kiri loyalist was then engulfed by a massive chain of explosions.

…

"Woohoo! What do you think about my art, you uncultured swines?" one of the men riding the giant bird yelled. He was a young, girly looking man with long blond hair styled in a ponytail, with a bang covering one of his eyes. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. He then looked at his partner, and asked: "Hey, Kisame, you don't mind if I share some of my art with your village, do you?"

The man's partner, riding the other bird, merely shrugged. He was a tall, blue haired man with blue skin, small and sunken eyes, what appeared to be gills under them, and sharp teeth, which gave him a shark like appearance. He was carrying a massive sword covered in bandages on his back. "Do as you please. This village has its days numbered one way or another. Just make sure you don't drop your 'art' where the Jinchuriki is," Kisame warned him.

"Don't worry, he should be in the palace, right?" Deidara asked, as he saw the Mizukage's Palace in the distance. "It seems like there was a battle there. I better check that they didn't kill the jinchuriki before we can nail it, hn!"

"Well thought. I'll stay back, and make sure nobody gets in the way," Kisame said, as he prepared to jump off the giant bird.

Deidara grinned at him. "Liar! You only want to have some fun killing those idiots!"

Kisame grinned back, and shrugged. "I'm not lying. Those two things aren't mutually exclusive," the shark-like man said before jumping.

While he was falling, Kisame made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

While mid air, Kisame expelled a massive amount of water from his mouth into the ground, which safely cushioned his fall. Unfortunately, his jutsu drowned a few ninja, rebels and loyalists aside, that were fighting at the moment. While on the mass of water, Kisame then bit his finger, and made more hand seals before slamming his hand into the water.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

A trio of sharks appeared inside the mass of water, which quickly tore the unfortunate ninja caught inside Kisame's previous jutsu.

"Look at that! It's Kisame Hoshigaki!" a red clad loyalist said.

"What is he doing here?" a rebel asked.

"Is he with us or with Yagura?" another rebel wondered.

Kisame couldn't help but chuckle at the rebel's rather naïve question.

"What makes you think that I'm on either side, brat?" Kisame answered, letting out a small laugh. "Now, my pets are a bit hungry and all the blood being spilled around us really got them on edge. And unfortunately for you, they really have a thing for human meat."

Kisame motioned his bandaged sword forward, and the mass of water moved in that direction as if it had life of its own. Most of the ninja there stopped fighting and tried to run away. Some of them managed to avoid Kisame, less fortunate ones were caught by the wave and were devoured by the sharks in a matter of seconds.

"Ah...it's good to be home."

…

In another part of the village, Ao was leading a group of rebel ANBU, when he received a rather distressing news through his radio. His men noticed his expression.

"Sir, is everything alright?" a masked ANBU asked.

"Our men are reporting that Kisame Hoshigaki has been spotted in the village and has joined the fight," Ao gravely replied.

"Is he fighting for Yagura?" another ANBU asked.

"It seems that he's killing indiscriminately rebels and Yagura's men alike. I think I may have an idea as for why he's here, and it's not good," Ao replied. He then tapped his earpiece before relaying his orders. "Attention everybody, according to recent reports, Kisame Hoshigaki has been seen in the Trade District! Zabuza, Ameyuri, Chojuro, move there and engage him before he causes more loses! Everybody else, stay away from him! Kisame is an S-Rank ninja, and only Mei-sama or our Swordsmen would have any chance against him!"

"Ao-sama, do you think Zabuza and the others will be able to beat Kisame?" a female ANBU asked.

Ao sighed. "I hope they can. If they don't, the damage he can do could be catastrophic."

…

Kisame was many things, but subtle wasn't one of them. In just a few minutes, he had killed dozens of ninja of both sides, and brought down half a dozen buildings. He started to notice that most ninja, rebel and loyalists aside, were staring to flee on him the moment he appeared.

"Aw come on, don't leave so soon!" Kisame whined in a painfully fake hurt tone. "Don't you want to play with me?"

"How about if I play with you, you fucker?" a female voice said.

Ameyuri Ringo landed in front of him, her Thunder swords crackling with electricity, as she fixed a determined stare on the missing nin.

"They gave Raiga's sword to a little girl?" Kisame shook his head. "You know, you guys are giving me more and more reasons not to regret defecting."

"I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL!" Ameyuri roared as she stomped her foot into the ground.

"But then again, if you at least have the courage to face me, maybe then you're worthy of having those swords," Kisame added, almost in an approving tone, as he adopted a fighting stance. "Are you ready then...?"

"A-Ameyuri-san won't fight alone!" a new voice stammered as Chojuro landed besides her.

Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Another one? And this one has Mangetsu's preferred blade. Oh well, the more the merrier, as they usually say."

"If that's the case, then you won't mind if I join them," a third voice said as Zabuza landed in front of them, his Executioner's Blade in hand.

"My, my, Zabuza Momochi! Such a surprise seeing you here! I can't believe that you ended up joining Mei-chan's ragtag group. I thought you had a little more self-respect," Kisame told him.

"Mei is stronger than you think, Kisame. Anyway, it's a fortunate coincidence that you decided to drop by. That way, we can finally collect all of the seven swords," Zabuza pointed out.

"What? You guys killed Jinin, Jinpachi and Kushimaru?" Kisame asked in disbelief, then he smirked. "Even if that's true, it won't change anything. Those three, while strong, were still nowhere near my level. I will send you to hell with them, and I'll take your swords with me."

The three rebel swordsmen tensed up as they felt the killing intent Kisame was releasing. Zabuza needed for them to keep their cool, or else they would be dead.

"Listen, brats, I know we fought and defeated other swordsmen, but Kisame's more than capable of backing those boasts. I can't defeat him alone, but with the three of us working together, we might have a chance. However, you two must not give into the fear, and do everything I say, understood?"

"Y-Yes, Zabuza-taicho!" Chojuro stammered.

"Sure, whatever!" an antsy Ameyuri replied as she crossed her swords and aimed them towards the sky. "I'll finish this with one move! I can call down a lightning bolt from the sky and fry both him and his fishes!"

"Don't!" Zabuza warned as he forced Ameyuri to lower the swords down. "Kisame's sword, Samehada, is able to absorb chakra and ninjutsu attacks and funnel that chakra to Kisame. Using ninjutsu will only make him stronger."

"So...we can't use ninjutsu? Only our swords?" Chojuro asked.

"You're part of the Seven Swordsmen, brat. That should be enough," Zabuza chastised.

"I know, but so is he," an unsure Chojuro replied, pointing at Kisame.

The rogue swordsman adopted a fighting stance, moving his sword to the front, as the sharks under him became visibly restless.

"As much as I love a nice conversation with my fellow Swordsmen, my pets are still hungry. Time to fight!" Kisame shouted as he motioned his sword forward.

The mass of water, that was completely still, turned into a massive torrent, ready to add Zabuza, Ameyuri and Chojuro the list of victims it had already swallowed. Fortunately, the three rebel swordsmen were fast enough to avoid the incoming wave, and jumped out of the way before being crushed by tons of water.

Unfortunately for them, though, Kisame had already planned for that. Without even having to give them a command, verbal or otherwise, the sharks swimming under Kisame leaped out of the water, their jaws full of sharp teeth wide open, ready to taste fresh blood. Too bad their targets were much to closer to being predators rather than prey, and mowed down the attacking animals when they got too close, undoing the summon.

"Aw, why did you do that to my pets? You guys must hate animals," Kisame said as he shook his head.

"Don't worry, you'll go next!" Ameyuri shouted as she leaped at him, bringing down the Thunder swords upon him in a vertical swing.

Kisame raised his sword with just one hand, and easily blocked Ameyuri's attack. Heeding Zabuza's words, she wasn't channeling any chakra through them, lest it feed Samehada.

"Come on girl, that's the best you can do? I'm only using one hand!" Kisame laughed.

While Kisame was busy dealing with Ameyuri, Chojuro landed behind him with a splash, ready to cut Kisame open as he reared back his Hiramekarei.

"Too slow!" Kisame said as he easily kicked Chojuro away, while still keeping Ameyuri at bay.

Ameyuri then removed one of her swords and tried to use it to slash Kisame's legs. The shark-like man, however, reacted in time, disengaged her and jumped backwards. However, before he could counterattack, Zabuza appeared before him, and delivered a flurry of swings with his Executioner's Blade, which Kisame parried with great expertise.

"Ah, I always regretted not being able to cross my blade with you, Zabuza-san. Of all the swordsmen of our generation, I always thought you were the least pathetic," Kisame chuckled as he defended from Zabuza's attack.

"You shouldn't have come back, Kisame. You're alone, all sides of this conflict are your enemies, you have no allies to rely on. You died the moment you set your feet here!" Zabuza told him as he pressed the attack.

Kisame couldn't help but laugh uproariously.

"When did you develop a sense of humor, Zabuza-san? Trust me, there's no ninja, either rebel or a servant of Yagura, that's a threat to me, no matter their number. The few ninja that could be a challenge are far away fighting each other. In fact, the only ones they dared to send against me were you three!" Kisame countered, as he pushed Zabuza backwards with a mighty tackle. He then make several hand seals. "Three versus one is not very fair, let's even the odds! Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"

Four water clones of Kisame emerged from the mass of water the original was standing on, all of them also carrying a copy of Samehada, before he directed them at the two youngest swordsmen. Chojuro audibly gulped, while Ameyuri growled at them, and prepared to fight.

"Now that the kids have somebody to keep them busy, how about a duel, just the two of us, Zabuza-san?" Kisame asked as he grinned evilly.

"Alright, but no swords. You carry the strongest of the Seven Swords, but how much of that strength is yours, and how much is Samehada's? Prove you're better than me," Zabuza said, as he extended his right hand, ready to drop his Executioner's Blade, hoping Kisame would do the same.

Kisame, however, replied with a mocking laugh again.

"Do you really think my ego is so fragile that I'm willing to discard my most powerful asset?" Kisame asked incredulously. "You disappoint me, Zabuza-san, resorting to such foolish tactics. I have nothing to prove, and much less to the likes of you."

Zabuza said nothing in return. Kisame had won this round. All he could do is try to best his fellow swordsman in a fight, as impossible as it looked.

 _"Snap out of it, Zabuza. Don't you want to become Mizukage? You never will with that attitude,"_ the masked swordsman chastised himself, as his expression grew more determined, and adopted a fighting stance.

"I see you stopped fooling around," Kisame said, noticing Zabuza's change of attitude. "Much better. It wouldn't be fun otherwise!"

Kisame then launched himself at Zabuza, Samehada raised above his head. Taken aback by Kisame's deceptive speed, Zabuza raised his sword to parry the incoming hit. He struggled against the shark-like man as their swords were locked against each other, when said man noticed a disturbance in the water.

And indeed, two Zabuza water clones came up from the water they were in, and tried to hack Kisame, forcing him to disengage and fall back. He grinned widely at Zabuza and his clones.

"Not bad, Zabuza-san. Not bad," Kisame praised.

"You forgot I'm also a Water Release user. Even if it was you who summoned all this water, there's nothing that stops me from using it!" Zabuza replied as he directed his two clones to attack Kisame.

"It's you who forgot who's the better Water Release user here, Zabuza-san. The terrain is way more to my advantage than it is to yours," the shark-like ninja confidently replied as he watched the clones approach.

After easily dodging the first one, he smashed it with Samehada, not only destroying it, but absorbing its chakra as well. The second soon followed. The sound of a third splashing footsteps warned Kisame that those clones were merely a distraction to leave him wide open to the original. He wasn't going to let Zabuza catch him off guard like that.

Much to Kisame's surprise, Zabuza pulled out a few shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed them at Kisame, who he easily blocked them with Samehada. The Akatsuki laughed.

"You weren't very fond of shuriken back then, if I remember correctly. And if that amateurish throw is any indication, you aren't much fond of them now," Kisame replied as he dashed towards Zabuza as well.

Displaying a deceptively fast speed and agility, Kisame dodged Zabuza's rather slow diagonal swing, and smashed Samehada against him. With a hit like that, victory was assured.

Then, much to his surprise, Zabuza dissolved into water, just like the other clones did.

"What...?" Kisame said, mildly surprised. He didn't remember Zabuza creating a third clone. Then he remembered that when he raised Samehada to block Zabuza's shuriken, his view of his enemy was momentarily blocked. _"Shit! Those shuriken were just a distraction!"_

That brief moment of surprise was the window of opportunity Zabuza needed. Waiting from underwater for the best moment to strike, the Demon of the Hidden Mist rose to the surface, delivering a wide swing upwards. Kisame was able to notice the disturbance in the water and jump away, but not fast enough to avoid a slash to the chest. Kisame's hand was instinctively brought to the wounded area, as he slid backwards.

"You...you made me bleed!" Kisame said, outraged, as he looked at the blood on his hand.

"I already warned you that I could use your water against you, but you didn't listen," Zabuza said, grinning under his mask. "Samehada is a powerful sword indeed, but counting on that much power has dulled your abilities. I don't know what kind of opponents you're used to fighting, but keep in mind that you're against another Swordsman of Kirigakure!"

Surprisingly, Kisame's anger was brief, and the shark-like ninja shot Zabuza an unnerving grin.

"Yes, I admit I probably grew a bit confident in fighting you. Trust me, not only you won't be able to touch me again, but this wound will remain here very little," Kisame replied.

"We'll see about that!" Zabuza retorted as he charged against Kisame once again.

Meanwhile, Ameyuri and Chojuro were fighting the four Kisame clones. Despite being weaker than the original, they were still pretty tough, and their Samehada's retained the original's chakra absorption ability.

The two younger swordsmen were back to back, fighting the Kisame clones, two of them each. However, when they tried to attack, one of the clones would parry the attack, while the other would take advantage and strike them, forcing them to fall back.

"Goddamn it Chojuro, tell me we are not being cornered by goddamned clones!" Ameyuri complained as she dodged a swipe from one of her enemies.

"T-They very strong! Way stronger than normal Water Clones!" Chojuro replied, as he blocked a swipe with Hiramekarei.

"I have an idea. When I tell you, bend forwards!" Ameyuri told him.

"What? What do you plan to-?"

"Don't question me, goddamn it, just do it!" Ameyuri angrily snapped, cutting Chojuro off.

"Y-Yes!"

They kept going like that for some time, until the red headed swordswoman finally saw the opening she was waiting for.

"Chojuro, now!" she yelled.

After pushing a Kisame clone backwards, Chojuro bent forward, placing his back perpendicular to the ground. Then, much to his confusion, Ameyuri jumped on his horizontal back as she dodged another attack as well. The two Kisame clones attempted to strike her once again, but she leaped above them, channeled lightning chakra through her blades, and slashed their backs as she landed.

"Way to go, Ameyuri-san!" Chojuro praised, jubilant that they were finally making some progress.

"Don't get distracted!" Ameyuri warned, as she ran past him, and parried an attack from a Kisame clone.

This time, Chojuro's resolve didn't waver, and slashed the clone across the chest as Ameyuri held it in place, which dissolved into a puddle of water. After that, the two eyed the remaining clone and lunged at it at the first time. The clone was unable to defend himself from both ninja and fell prey to their blades as well.

"We did it!" Chojuro yelled in joy.

"Don't let that get to your head. We only killed a bunch of clones. Come on, Zabuza-taicho needs our help," Ameyuri told him.

Chojuro nodded and the two young swordsmen joined their captain in his fight against the real Kisame.

…

Meanwhile, far from there, Naruto, Mei and Yagura continued their duel. The two parties eyed each other, Mei and Naruto looking cautious and pensive, while Yagura's new visage shot them a terrifying grin.

 _"Naruto-kun seems to be okay, but I already used a good chunk my chakra. Now that Yagura is using his jinchuriki powers to their fullest, I need to be careful with how I spend my remaining chakra,"_ Mei warily thought.

Yagura didn't wait, and made the first move.

"Water Release: Oceanic Bullet!"

Yagura opened its mouth, and released a huge water missile at Naruto and Mei. The two of them jumped away in opposite directions. However, Yagura wasn't done. Much to their shock, he kept firing watery projectiles nonstop at the two of them. Naruto made several hand seals while running to avoid them.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Naruto blew a powerful gust of wind at the incoming water missile. It spun mid air for a few seconds, trying to overpower Naruto's attacks, before it ran out of momentum, and fell to the ground with a splash. Yagura, however, chuckled, and fired a volley of more water missiles at Naruto.

 _"Now's my chance to strike!"_ Mei thought as she made several hand seals. "Lava Release: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"

Mei expelled a stream of lava from her mouth and hit Yagura in the side. The transformed jinchuriki let out a scream of pain as he looked at Mei with hate filled eyes.

"You'll pay for that," he darkly said, before he curled into a ball. "Shadow Stroke!"

Yagura then rolled into Mei at a quick pace, trying to bulldoze her. Mei was agile enough to dodge him, but much to her surprise, after passing her, Yagura spun around and charged back at her. The process was repeated several times.

"Naruto-kun, I could use some help here! I don't know how long I will last!" Mei called, in an almost pleading tone.

"I'm almost there! Bring him closer!" Naruto said as he was preparing his strongest attack, helped by a clone.

Mei nodded, and started to run towards Naruto as fast as she could. Yagura, however, was much faster, and would catch her in no time.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto tossed the chakra shuriken at Mei, followed by Yagura. Mei was fast enough to jump out of the way. However, Yagura's speed was turned against him when he saw that he had build so much momentum he couldn't maneuver properly, and thus, the attack connected.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHH!" Yagura screamed as he was engulfed by a vortex of extremely powerful and razor sharp winds.

"Finally!" Naruto said, happy to see that his jutsu had connected.

"Will he survive?" Mei asked a bit worried, as she watched Yagura in pain, as the wind currents tore him apart.

"I don't know. A normal human shouldn't. But given the control he has over his Tailed Beast. He might," Naruto said, placing a finger under his chin. "Even then, he won't be in any shape to fight after that."

"Alright then. Let's get ready to...what?" Mei asked, her eyes looking at Yagura once again.

Yagura was completely immobile. His skin had been covered by a coral-like armor that protected him from the razor winds. When the vortex subsided, the coral armor shattered, revealing a very angry Yagura. He was grumbling and moaning in pain, though there was no visible injury on his body. Even then, the Three Tails' chakra would heal them over time.

"That jutsu..." Yagura replied, panting, as his arms and legs trembled. "For the first time in a long time, you, Konoha jinchuriki, made me feel fear..." Yagura said, as if it was an unforgivable offense. "That was your strongest jutsu, right? In that case, let me show you mine!"

Yagura raised his head, and opened his mouth. Red and blue Chakra particles started to gather, forming a dark purple chakra orb that continually grew in size. Mei paled in horror, while Naruto looked worried.

"Naruto-kun, Yagura's charging a Tailed Beast Ball. That's a Tailed Beast's most powerful move. If he hit us with that, we're as good as dead," Mei ominously warned. "Your Rasenshuriken is powerful, maybe enough to stop it?"

"You think so?" Naruto asked, unsure, but realized there was no time to waste asking questions. "O-Okay!"

Naruto and his clone started to work on a second Rasenshuriken as fast as they could. Mei, meanwhile, looked at the forming jutsu with interest.

"So you spin your chakra into a spiraling sphere, then channel elemental chakra through it, right?" Mei said, after a quick glance.

"Pretty much. You're pretty smart if you guessed it after seeing it just once," Naruto praised. Mei didn't say anything, walked close to him, and placed her hands above the jutsu. "Uh? What are you doing?"

"Increasing our chances. Do you think it can handle a second element?" Mei asked, and before Naruto could answer, she started to pump fire chakra into the jutsu.

"We'll see it soon enough," Naruto said as he warily looked at Yagura. The orb in his mouth had reached a worrying size.

"NOW TASTE DESPAIR!" Yagura yelled as he launched the ball forward. "TAILED BEAST BALL!"

"Scorch Release: Spiraling Burning Wind!"

Mei and Naruto tossed the burning chakra shuriken as well, and both attacks met in the middle. The combination attack expanded into a vortex of raging flames powered by powerful winds, while the Tailed Beast Ball tried to power through. Still, Yagura's attack was unable to push forward, ending it in a massive explosion. When the resulting smoke of both attacks dispelled, there was a massive crater in front of them.

"We did it!" Naruto cheered.

"Yes, but don't celebrate it yet. That Tailed Beast Ball wasn't very powerful," Mei told Naruto. "My guess is that Yagura is holding himself back due not wanting to level his village, but that may change soon."

"Damn..." Naruto muttered. Noticing that he was no longer in Sage Mode, he dispelled his last clone. "I have no more clones gathering nature energy. Once all my current nature energy runs out, I will be useless, so we have to finish this now."

"I think that we'll need Tailed Beast power to match his," Mei said, shooting a meaningful look at Naruto.

Understanding what the rebel meant, Naruto looked downwards. "I know but...I still can't control it. Is that a good idea? It can only create even more trouble."

"I know, but may have no choice. And don't worry if you lose control, your sensei gave me..." Mei's hand reached into her ninja tool pouch, to make sure the suppressing seals were there. And the moment her fingers touched them, an idea dawn upon her. "Of course, that's it! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Your sensei gave me some sealing tags that would suppress the Nine Tails' chakra in case you lose control," Mei explained.

"Ah, yes. My dad made them so I don't endanger my friends if the fox goes out of control," Naruto continued.

"And if he works on the Nine Tails, do you think it will work on one of its siblings?" Mei asked, as she looked at the approaching Yagura.

Naruto slapped his forehead. "Oh damn! I can't believe we didn't think of that!"

"Do not fret. It's not too late to carry the idea out. Alright Naruto, I need you to distract Yagura. He must not suspect anything," Mei instructed him.

"Alright. Since I don't have clones gathering nature energy, now I can use as many shadow clones as I want, so this shouldn't be hard," Naruto said, as he prepared to face Yagura once again.

Meanwhile, not far away from there, the unconscious Aiko started to stir, as her consciousness slowly returned to her. Blinking a couple times until her eyes adjusted to the light, the Mizukage's wife saw a medic-nin using the Mystic Palm Healing jutsu on her.

"Ah, you're awake, Aiko-sama! Don't worry, I treated all your injuries, you'll be fine in an instant," the medic-nin assured with a reassuring smile.

The blonde woman looked around, and saw a bunch of other Kiri ninja surrounding her. Some looking at her, others looking at something she couldn't see. It was then when she realized of something important.

"What are you doing here!? That rebel whore is trying to assassinate my husband! Go and help him!" Aiko commanded.

"We tried, Aiko-sama, but the scale of the battle is greater than us. I'm afraid that we'd be more of a hindrance for Mizukage-sama than actual help," a Kiri jonin pointed out.

"You were part of that battle, right? That's how you ended up like this," the medic-nin guessed. "If we follow your example, we'll only get caught in the crossfire and become collateral damage."

"You lot of cowards! When this is over, I won't forget this! Now get out of the way, my husband needs me!" Aiko said as she tried to stand up, but winced when a wave of pain surged through her body.

"Easy there, Aiko-sama, I haven't finished with you yet," the medic-nin said as he forced her to remain lying down in the ground.

"Don't worry, we won't plan to let Mizukage-sama die against the rebels. We'll wait for the best moment to strike," a masked ANBU assured her.

…

"Is everybody okay?" Haku asked the people around him.

There were both rebel and loyalist Kiri ninja, and a couple of Konoha ninja as well. All of them equally confused, no longer fighting. Dagura was still in the ground, unconscious. If it wasn't for Haku, all of them would likely be dead.

Haku looked up, and saw his almost destroyed, two-layered ice dome. He saw a strange looking bird dropping something on them. Even if he didn't know what it was, the Ice Ninja had a bad feeling, and tried to protect both him and his allies from the incoming danger. And Haku himself wasn't sure if his ice barriers could resist all those explosions. It was close, but they did.

In all honestly he didn't care about the enemy ninjas, but it was either save everybody, or no one. Though even then, Haku was a bit grateful that he had avoided unnecessary deaths, even from the side he was fighting against.

Looking at the sky, Haku saw the strange bird flying away. Now he could see there was a figure riding it. Dread started to set in as the ice ninja realized that the bird and his rider were heading towards the Mizukage's palace, where Naruto and Mei were fighting Yagura.

"Naruto-kun...please be safe..."

…

"Rasengan Barrage!"

Yagura saw multiple Narutos leaping at him, a Rasengan on hand each. Yagura grinned. While this was a formidable attack, for a ninja of his caliber this would be still insufficient. The transformed jinchuriki once again curled into a ball.

"Shadow Stroke!"

Yagura used the same attack he had employed on Mei, and dashed towards the blond. He plowed into the clones at such speed they were unable to strike him with their chakra spheres. He took advantage of both his building momentum and the rebound to freely bounce from one cluster of clones to another, easily destroying them all.

"That's the best you can do?" Yagura taunted.

"How about this?" The other clones replied as they surrounded Yagura from different directions. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Yagura was assaulted by multiple tornados coming from different directions. The resulting clash ended up forming one massive tornado, so brutal it threw Yagura into the air.

"Mei, now!" Naruto jumped.

Yagura saw a red and blue blur leap into the tornado, and use its currents to fly at him. Whatever they were planned, it couldn't be good. Even if he doubted they could do any real damage to him, he'd better not take any chance. He opened his mouth and started to gather Tailed Beast chakra on it.

"Die, you traitor!" Yagura bellowed as he swallowed the small energy ball. "Tailed Beast Wave!"

Upon opening his mouth, Yagura released a destructive wave of chakra that hit Mei full on, almost instantly vaporizing her. The attack also managed to dispel the tornado, and Yagura landed on the ground with a loud thud. He couldn't help but rejoice at the thought of Mei finally dying. His attack had wiped her off of the face of the planet so fast...and that was exactly what tipped Yagura that there something off.

"Wait a second, that wasn't Mei, but a clone!" Yagura said, looking around. "Where's the real one? What are you planning?"

The ground at Yagura's feet cracked, and the real Mei burst from underground. Before Yagura had time to react, she slapped the sealing tag onto the jinchuriki's forehead, as she made a hand seal while pumping chakra into it.

"Suppressing Seal...activate!"

The seal started glow, as tendrils of blue chakra formed from it and began to wrap around Yagura.

"AAAAAARGGHH! WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT IS THIS!?" The jinchuriki roared as he tried to pull it away, to no avail.

Naruto and Mei watched carefully as the Tailed Beast chakra started to fade, little by little. Yagura eventually regressed into his human form, with a chakra cloak that it too started to vanish. Once there was no more Tailed Beast chakra, the seal instantly burned in a flash.

The experience had left the Mizukage completely drained and exhausted. He tried to call the Three Tails' chakra again, but found himself unable to. He didn't know if it was because of the seal or his current state, but he didn't care. Those bastards had deprived him of his greatest asset, and he would make them pay. That's it, if the rest of his body didn't hurt so much.

"You...you..." Yagura groaned as he tried to get back on his feet.

"It's over, Yagura. You've lost. Surrender so no more lives have to be wasted in this war," Mei told him.

"Like hell it's over! For you, you betraying whore!" a vaguely familiar female voice said.

At that moment, Aiko and a group of Kiri ninja landed around Yagura, Mei and Naruto. Aiko quickly went to check Yagura, and helped him back on his feet.

"Are you okay, dear?" A concerned Aiko asked.

"Much better now that you're here, and you're okay," Yagura smiled at her. Then, he turned at Mei and Naruto, and smirked. "You may have defeated me, but even if you won this battle, you're about to lose the war! My loyal ninja, execute these traitors immediately!"

Mei and Naruto tensed up, and adopted fighting stances as the Kiri ninja unsheathed their weapons and came closer. Mei gritted her teeth at the sight of the current situation. She has been so close to defeating Yagura, and now the tables had been turned. Would her and Naruto, tired as they were, be able to fight Yagura's ninja, and finish the fight before the Mizukage fled? Well, on the bright side, Naruto had still Sage mode.

Said blond then took his eyes from the current enemies to look at something in the sky.

"Hey, what's that?" Naruto asked.

Aiko, being a sensor, realized that Naruto wasn't lying and something was flying above them. Looking up, she saw a giant white bird dropping something on them. A bad feeling washed over her.

"Everybody, duck and cover!" she cried.

But it was too late, and the entire area was engulfed by explosions. While the explosions weren't strong enough to kill them, they did their job and left them temporarily disabled for the bomber to do his job.

The giant white bird landed, and everybody saw a long haired blond man wearing a black cloak with red clouds. While such attire didn't mean anything for most people there, there was one person who paled in horror upon seeing it.

"Akatsuki!" Naruto cried. "Yagura, you need to leave! That man has come for you!"

Yagura didn't hear Naruto. The explosion had sent him to the ground again, and was trying to get back on his feet. Aiko, however, did, and placed herself between her husband and the new threat.

"If you want to get the Mizukage, you'll have to get through me first!" she defiantly yelled.

"While a tempting offer, it won't be necessary," the Akatsuki said, before clearing his throat. "There were nine, but now there's just one!"

The Akatsuki then waited expectantly for something to happen, but everything remained the same.

"Wasn't that the line?" he asked. "Oh, right! It was 'Let's the nine be one now'!"

But again, nothing happened. Everybody looked at each other awkwardly.

"What the hell, those weren't the words either?" the Akatsuki indignantly asked. He then started to search through his cloak. "Where did I put the cheat sheet...?"

Yagura got on his feet, and glanced at his men.

"Execute this idiot too as well," he ordered.

His ninja nodded, and moved to attack the Akatsuki. However, at that point, the Akatsuki pulled a crumbled paper out, and read its contents.

"The time has come for the nine to become one!"

The effect was instant. Yagura clutched his head as he fell to his knees. His ninja forgot about his orders, and went into the Mizukage's aid.

"Yagura, what's happening!?" Aiko asked.

"Mizukage-sama, are you okay!?" a worried Kiri ninja asked.

The, Yagura stopped screaming. He stopped clutching his head and rose back on his feet. He didn't look to be in pain anymore.

"What are your orders, master?" Yagura asked the Akatsuki.

The blond man grinned. "I've been sent to pick you up, so get over here and let's get going," he said, as he pointed at his artificial bird.

"Right," Yagura nodded as he started to walk towards the Akatsuki, much to the everybody else's shock.

"Yagura, what are you doing?" Aiko asked as she grabbed Yagura's arm.

Yagura wordlessly shook her arm off of his, and pushed his wife back.

 _"That's it. The definitive proof he was under someone else's mind control,"_ Mei thought.

"We can't let this man kidnap Mizukage-sama! Everybody, attack!" a Kiri Jonin said. His comrades snapped, nodded, and prepared to attack.

"Naruto, let's join them! We can't let Akatsuki take Yagura away!" Mei told the blond jinchuriki, whom nodded in return.

"Ah, trying to stop me? That's not good," the Akatsuki said, shaking his head, before he made a hand seal. "Then again, I'm more than happy to have a chance to show off my art!"

A second artificial bird dived from above, releasing more bombs over the group. The Kiri ninja were forced to abort the rescue attempt and run to find some cover. Using the explosions as a smokescreen, the Akatsuki and Yagura took off and flew high into the sky.

"NO! Yagura, come back! YAGURA!" Aiko impotently screamed as she saw her husband being spirited away by the Akatsuki. She fell on her knees and continued screaming as tears rolled down her cheeks.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So there you have it. Akatsuki ends up abducting Yagura. I know it's not the ending some of you were expecting, since you were hoping for him to live, but I can't just spare everybody. Akatsuki needs to score some victories, or they would come off as rather ineffective villains. And boy, poor Aiko. Seeing her husband flying to his death shortly after finding about his brainwashing.  
**

 **Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and all its fights. Naturally, the one I liked to write the most was the main event with Mei and Yagura, but I also loved to do the Zabuza, Chojuro and Ameuri vs Kisame. That's one fight I always loved to do, since unlike Mei vs Yagura, I didn't see anybody doing it, and hope that you liked it as much. Also, this won't be the last time Zabuza and Kisame clash in the battlefield ;)**

 **If anybody is wondering, yeah, the war has finally come to an end. The next chapter will be the last one of this arc, it will feature the reunification of Kirigakure, Mei finally becoming Mizukage, and will wrap up all the remaining loose threads, such as what will happen with Zabuza and Haku. I know that this arc has been rather long (way longer than I had anticipated) and some of you want this story to adapt Shippuden already. To those who think like that, just bear with this a little more, just one more chapter.**

 **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	50. End of the Civil War

**Author's Note: And with this chapter, not only does the Kirigakure Arc comes to an end, but we also reach the 50th chapter milestone! Let's see how much the story has grown upon this point:**

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 **Thanks a lot to everybody who reads, favorites, follows and reviews this story. It wouldn't be the same without you.**

 **Boy, 50 chapters already. Time surely flies, doesn't it? Wonder how much it will take until we reach chapter number 100. Anyway, enjoy the end of the current arc:**

* * *

 **Chapter 50:**

End of the Civil War

 _or_

 _And Here Ends the Detour_

…

"NO! Yagura, come back! YAGURA!" Aiko screamed as she saw her husband being spirited away by the Akatsuki.

Mei looked on as the artificial bird flew away. While some of her Konoha allies could summon flying animals, by the time she managed to contact either of them, the Akatsuki would be far away, probably even beyond the Land of Water's borders.

The rebel leader couldn't help but feel a tinge of sympathy for Aiko. The blonde kunoichi had been her mortal enemy not even a minute ago, yet in that minute, her whole world had crumbled. However, it was no time to feel sorry. Mei walked towards the kneeled Aiko, still crying her eyes out. The Kiri ninja besides her looked at Mei apprehensively, but didn't try to stop her. Mei placed a comforting hand on Aiko's shoulder.

"Aiko-san, what has happened here is tragic, but this isn't over," Mei began. "There are fights going on all around the village. We have to stop them before more lives are senselessly wasted. Being the Mizukage's wife, they'll listen to you."

Aiko fought back the tears, tried to compose herself, and stood back on her feet. She tried to gave Mei a determined stare, but she was unable to hide her sadness.

"Y-Yes," Aiko replied. "It's just...I can't believe you were right..."

"It's okay, Aiko-san. There may still be time. We can still send a squad of Hunter-nin to track down Yagura," Mei told her in a reassuring tone, though deep down, she doubted they could save Yagura. "But not before stopping the fighting first."

"If I cooperate, do I have your word that my men will be spared?" she asked.

Mei nodded in return. "You have my word they will. It would be unbelievably cruel of me to punish them for just defending their village."

Aiko nodded, and turned towards her men. "Everybody, spread and tell our forces to stop fighting, and surrender to the rebels."

…

Meanwhile, back in the streets of Kirigakure, the fights went on. Among those, one of the most intense was the clash between Kisame and the three rebel Swordsmen. Despite the numerical disadvantage, it was obvious that Kisame had the upper hand. Despite the wound caused by Zabuza earlier, it had already closed and fully healed thanks to the chakra absorbed by the living sword Samehada.

"Water Release: Multiple Water Shark Bullet!"

Several watery shark-shaped missiles came from the mass of water, and flew towards the rebel swordsmen with their jaws wide open. Zabuza's hand flew through hand seals as he prepared a counterattack.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

Using that same water, Zabuza created a huge, serpentine dragon, But rather than directing it towards Kisame, he made it coil around the three swordsmen, blocking them from Kisame's attack. Ameyuri and Chojuro then took the opportunity to leap at Kisame and attack.

 _"He may not be able to use ninjutsu directly against me, but he knows how to use it in a defensive manner. Not bad, Zabuza-san. Not bad,"_ Kisame observed, before he directed his attention towards the incoming youths.

"Die already, you walking fish!" Ameyuri angrily shouted as she brought down her two swords.

Kisame raised his own sword, easily parrying both her and Chojuro's attack. He looked at Ameyuri, and laughed. "Walking fish? That's the best you can come up with, girl?"

While he was struggling, Zabuza Body Flickered behind him, and raised his sword for the kill. Unfortunately for him, Kisame had noticed the masked swordsman's tactic, and prepared a countermeasure accordingly. As Zabuza was about to attack, a Water Clone formed between the two senior Swordsmen, parrying the attack.

"Come on Chojuro, it's two versus one! We should be able to overpower him!" Ameyuri said, as she tried to push harder.

"You should also count Samehada as your enemy too, girl. It's not like the rest of the swords," Kisame chuckled as he overpowered Ameyuri and Chojuro, pushing them back. "Now-!"

"Hey, Kisame!" a voice shouted from the sky.

Recognizing his temporary partner, Kisame disengaged the young swordsmen and jumped backwards in order to put some safety distance between him and his foes. Two artificial birds flew towards him, one of them being ridden by his temporary partner and the jinchuriki they came to find.

"The package is safe and ready to deliver! We need to go, now!" Deidara urged him.

"Awwww, so soon? I was having so much fun..." Kisame said in a mock sad tone, before jumping onto the second bird. "Guess work comes before pleasure. Alright then, let's go!"

Of course, it took no time for the rebels to realize that Yagura was with the Akatsuki, and much to their confusion, he wasn't restrained nor unconscious. Then again, that didn't matter, their mission was to either capture or kill Yagura. Letting him escape wasn't an option.

"Is that...Yagura?" Chojuro pointed out as he adjusted his glasses.

"We can't let them escape!" Ameyuri said as she spread her arms forward, with the tip of her swords pointing to the sky. "This attack will drain all my chakra, but it'll be worth it! I doubt that blond guy can absorb ninjutsu too. Thundersword Ninja Art: Thunder Gate!"

Ameyuri's swords send bolts of electricity towards the sky. In a few seconds, all the gathered electricity would be redirected towards the blond Akatsuki and Yagura in the form of a devastating and impossible to avoid lightning bolt. Too bad she won't be able to complete the jutsu in time.

"And before we leave, let's give this boring village another taste of my art as a goodbye gift!" Deidara said as he dropped several of his clay figurines from above.

Zabuza's eyes widened as he realized what was going to happen. "Ameyuri, cancel the attack! Everybody, duck and cover!"

Thankfully, the younger swordsmen didn't waste precious time asking him what was going on, and followed their captain's orders. Their curiosity, however, was sated when several explosions rocked the area, explosions that would have engulfed them if they didn't do as Zabuza told them and found a safe place to hide. They spent hidden a few more moments, until they made sure the Akatsuki won't feel like finishing them off.

However, once they came out of their hiding spots, they saw that the Akatsuki were far into the sky, with Yagura in their power. This cast a doubt over what would be of their rebellion now.

"That was a close one. Thanks, Zabuza-taicho," Ameyuri told the senior swordsman. "It seems you were familiar with his jutsu. Did you met that Akatsuki before?"

Zabuza shook his head. "No, but he appears in my bingo book. Deidara, a missing-nin who formerly served Iwa, and one of the best masters of the Explosion Release despite his young age."

"That was very knowledgeable of you, Zabuza-taicho," Chojuro praised.

Zabuza huffed in response. "Of course! Being a ninja isn't just a matter of knowing jutsu or even killing people. Knowledge of your potential enemies is always a must."

"Alright, and now that Yagura has fled, what do we do now? Do we keep fighting?" Ameyuri asked.

"For the time being, yes. Though I presume that, with Yagura gone, the battle should end soon. From now on, let's disperse and support our allies across the village," Zabuza stated.

"Yes, sir!" Ameyuri and Chojuro said at once, before leaping away in different directions.

…

With Aiko's help, all the Kirigakure defenders were told to surrender to the rebels. She told everybody that the rebels were right, Yagura was a pawn of the Akatsuki brainwashed to weaken the village from the inside, and had been abducted in order to extract his Tailed Beast once his uselessness had come to an end.

Many took the orders with a decent amount of skepticism, but all of them complied in the end, since they did saw the Akatsuki flying on white artificial birds made of clay (the explosives those birds dropped as they flew by were pretty hard to miss).

The first one to stop fighting weren't the ninja, but the Chakra Golems. As most rebels guessed and every loyalist knew, the golems were bound to Yagura, so the moment the Mizukage was too far away from the village, the link was broken and the machines became inert.

Thankfully, despite the invasion, the village ended up much less damaged that both invaders and defenders feared. The area with the most damage was, ironically, the one with the least people fighting. But when said people were two jinchuriki, one of them a Kage, and the Rebel Leader, it was only logical.

The two days following the invasion were the more chaotic. While the loyalist ninja were briefly incarcerated, it didn't last long since they needed all the available hands to help with the reconstruction effort. And when they heard from Aiko's own mouth that yes, the Mizukage had been brainwashed by the Akatsuki, they had no qualms working under the rebels. Some of them even volunteered to be part of Yagura's search and rescue team.

The fact that the rebels managed to save Yagura's son from a certain death definitely helped to ease to tensions a lot.

And after two days, they decided it was time for a new Kage to take the hat. While the palace wasn't completely repaired, it was good enough for the ceremony to be held. A large crowd formed in front of the palace, composed of mostly civilians, Kirigakure ninja –all of them wearing the rebel blue uniform, since the red one has been discarded– and Konoha ninja. The six Swordsmen were proudly standing at the front. Miyako could finally show her Helmet Splitter, while Suigetsu and Kumori were given the Sewing Needle and the Splatter, respectively.

"Whoa, she did have a boyfriend!" Suigetsu exclaimed to himself, as when he got sight of Karin holding hands with Neji. "And a hot one to boot! How did that redheaded nerd got to date such a guy otuside her league?" the white haired teen asked, before being shushed by Ameyuri.

Ao appeared in the palace's central balcony, and addressed the crowd.

"People of Kirigakure, friends of Konoha, without further ado, meet Kirigakure's Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi!" Ao announced, as he took a step back.

Wearing her usual clothes, with the Mizukage's hat covering her head, Mei walked into the balcony, and gazed at the crowd below.

"For a long time, Kirigakure had been nothing but a pawn of a terrorist organization, and locked in a civil war. But that time is over! Today, a new era begins! An era in which civilians and foreigners won't fear us nor think of us as bloodthirsty savages, but admire us for our strength and unbreakable resolve!" Mei shouted, and her speech was met with a huge uproar. "There are still many things to do. We need to rebuild our beautiful village. And healing the wounds caused over the past years on both sides will be a long and hard process. But I have faith that together, we will be able to do it!"

…

Naruto and his friends were among the crowd, clapping and cheering for Mei. They were happy that, after such a brutal battle, the civil war had finally ended, and Kirigakure would enter a new, better age.

"So, how was fighting the Mizukage, Naruto?" Kurenai asked the blond.

Naruto sighed upon remembering the battle, but then grinned. "The most brutal fight ever! There were times I thought I was a goner, but not even a perfect jinchuriki can stand before my awesomeness!" Naruto boasted.

"I'd wish I was there to help you, Naruto-kun," Hinata told him, as she held his hand. "The thought of you having to fight such an opponent with no help other than Mei-san was distressing."

"Aw, you don't have to worry for me, Hinata-hime. Besides, I don't think I would have been able to focus properly if you were there. Yagura was a tough opponent, and you could have been seriously hurt," Naruto told her.

"I know," Hinata said, not without resignation. "This made me realize that I have to be stronger if I ever want to fight alongside you."

"Don't feel bad for not being able to measure to a Kage, Hinata-san," Haku reassured her. "Zabuza-sama is a strong and skilled ninja, and he was no match for Yagura either."

"Speaking of the devil," Kurenai mentioned, as she nodded forward.

The group then noticed that Zabuza was heading towards them. It was obvious what he wanted. Wordlessly, Haku walked towards the swordsman, while the rest of his team stayed behind, but carefully watched the scene.

"Zabuza-sama," Haku greeted him.

"Haku, there's something I need to talk you about," Zabuza began. "Since the day I took you in, you've been my greatest asset. Skilled, obedient, and incredibly loyal. Not only you helped me during countless dangerous situations, but your mere presence even spared me from being executed when the Uchiha Insurrection failed. And when the time came to bring the fight back to Yagura, you were by my side. I could have never asked for a better tool to fulfill my ambitions."

"I'm happy to hear that, Zabuza-sama," Haku said with a slight head bow. "I live to fight for you, and always will."

"That's the problem, Haku," Zabuza said, much to the Ice Ninja's shock.

"What? Zabuza-sama, is there something wrong?" Haku titled his head in confusion.

"Even if I'm not Mizukage yet, I'm the closest I've ever been to fulfill my ambitions. Being the captain of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist grants me the best chance to become Mizukage, and I know that Mei won't hold onto the hat forever. However, what remains of the path, I can walk it alone. I have no more use for you, Haku. Your usefulness has come to an end," Zabuza coldly stated.

Despite the harshness those words were coated in, Haku's heart was filled with rejoice, as he gasped in pleasant surprise.

"Zabuza-sama, does that mean...?" Haku dared to ask.

Zabuza nodded. "Yes. Since I do not require your help anymore, you can stay in Konoha if you wish to do so."

Haku didn't say anything, just remained there, silent, and motionless. Despite being a native of the Land of Water and loving Zabuza like a father, he didn't want to leave Konoha. He had grown there, and grew to see it as his home. In fact, he had already prepared to leave his life behind in order to continue working under Zabuza. Yet now, he was told that he wouldn't have to give that up.

Overwhelmed with joy, Haku jumped forward and wrapped his arms around Zabuza. While startled at first, Zabuza hugged his protégé back, this time without anybody having to tell him to.

"Thank you, Zabuza-sama. Thank you for everything..." Haku softly said as tears started to come from his eyes.

"It's okay, kid. You did a good job. Consider this is your reward," Zabuza said as he himself was fighting back the tears.

They broke the embrace, and looked at each other in the eye.

"If you ever need me, Zabuza-sama, you can always call me. I'll never turn down a request from you," Haku said.

Zabuza smirked under his mask. "For the time being, that won't be necessary, but I'll keep that in mind."

"HAKU!" Naruto shouted as he glomped his teammate. "You're staying! That's so great!"

"Indeed it is. When a team loses a member, it never goes back to the way it used to be, even with a replacement," Kurenai said.

"Thank you for letting Haku stay with us, Zabuza-san. I know you must have grown to love Haku like a son, and it must be really hard for you to let him go," Hinata thanked Zabuza as he made a bow.

"Like a son...? What nonsense are you talking about, girl!?" Zabuza asked, visibly nervous. "Haku is nothing but a tool to me, no more!"

Both Kurenai and Hinata couldn't help but giggle in amusement, while Haku smiled knowingly. They decided it would probably be for the best not to tease the swordsman too much.

"Well, I think everything that had to be said has been said already. Before you leave, Haku, Mei wants to have one last talk with you, so follow me," Zabuza said as he turned around and walked towards the palace.

"Hey, Zabuza, wait a second!" Naruto called.

Zabuza turned around and glared at the blond. "What do you want, brat?"

"I just remembered something. I need to talk with Mei, I mean, with the Mizukage, too, about an important issue," Naruto began.

"Say no more, brat. Follow me," Zabuza said as he continued walking towards the palace, with Naruto and Haku behind.

…

 _Mizukage's Palace_

While Naruto had been in the Mizukage's Palace not even a week ago when he stormed it alongside Mei, he didn't have the time to admire it. Unlike the Hokage's Tower, which has a rather plain and utilitarian design on the inside, the Mizukage's Palace had much more emphasis on decoration. The floors were covered in beautiful rugs, plenty of pictures of the Land of Water's landscape, alongside portraits of some of Kirigakure's most prominent past ninja. Multiple weapons also decorated the walls.

The trio eventually reached a double door, which Naruto guessed it would be the palace's council room. His guess was proven right when Zabuza opened the door, and they saw Mei talking with some of her ninja, and some civilians. When Mei looked at the newcomers, she smiled.

"Oh, good, you're here," Mei then turned towards the people she was talking to. "Can we continue this discussion later? I need to discuss something with these Konoha ninja before they leave."

"Of course, Mizukage-sama," one of the ninja replied, before he and the rest of them left Mei alone with Zabuza, Haku, and Naruto.

"Here is Haku," Zabuza announced. "Naruto wanted to tag along. Said he had something important to discuss with you. I guessed you could spend some time hearing him before he leaves."

"Of course. Thanks for being so swift, Zabuza-kun. You can leave now," Mei politely dismissed him.

"Mizukage-sama," Zabuza replied with a slight bow, before leaving quietly.

"Wow. I never thought I'd see Zabuza acting so...submissive towards anybody," Haku noticed, rather surprised. "You certainly made an impression when you fought against him, Mizukage-sama."

Mei smile grew. "Zabuza-kun needs a strong woman that can set him straight and put him in his place. He also needs a woman so he can blow some steam, if you know what I mean," Mei replied, as she winked at both Haku and Naruto. Both boys started to blush like crazy and smile awkwardly. Mei's smile vanished, and let out a weary sigh. "And I need to blow some steam too, and I'm not talking about my Bloodline Limit. Kami knows when was the last time I had some action..."

"With all due respect, Mizukage-sama, but I presume you didn't call me to talk about your more intimate aspects of your personal life, right?" Haku asked, hoping the answer would be 'no'.

"Oh, right, sorry. Guess I got a bit carried away, hehe," Mei chuckled as well. "You see, thanks to Konoha's help, we managed to oust Yagura and unite Kirigakure. Given how valuable allies they turned out to be, I'm planning a series of measures to strengthen our bonds. Among them, is the establishment of an embassy in Konoha. Naturally, Konoha can also establish an embassy here if the Hokage wishes to," Mei said, looking at Naruto.

The blond got the hint. "Right! I'll tell dad when we arrive home."

"That's an excellent idea, but may I ask what it has to do with me?" Haku asked.

Mei chuckled again. "It isn't obvious, Haku-kun? I want you to become Kiri's ambassador in Konoha. You will be the link that keeps the two villages together."

"While I'm honored to see you want me to take such a position, I don't think I may be the most appropriate candidate. I'm not even a Kiri ninja," Haku countered.

"I know. But you're a Land of Water native. And don't forget that, besides the training you got from Konoha, you were also instructed by my current captain of the Seven Swordsmen. So in a way, that makes you both a Konoha and a Kiri ninja. And that makes you the ideal candidate to become our ambassador," Mei explained.

"I guess I can't argue against such arguments. Therefore, I accept being Kirigakure's ambassador in Konoha," Haku said, as he bowed politely.

"Good, I knew we'd reach an understanding. This yours, by the way," Mei said, as he handled Haku a Kirigakure forehead protector. "You can wear it alongside your Konoha one, if you choose to."

"I will wear it with pride, Mizukage-sama," Haku replied.

"Good. You can leave if you wish. And now that's settled..." Mei then turned towards Naruto, who was waiting for her to be done with Haku. "I believe Zabuza-kun said there was something you need to discuss with me?"

"Indeed it is," Naruto replied. "Remember those golems we had to fight during the war?"

"Hard to forget them. Something that can absorb ninjutsu like that is my natural enemy," Mei chuckled. "What about those?"

"The seals they used to power up the golems, their ninjutsu-absorption abilities...they were all Uzumaki seals," Naruto pointed out.

"Oh..." Mei replied in realization.

"I know those seals were the spoils of a war that happened before the two of us were even born, but since you want to improve the relationship between our villages even further, it would be nice if you returned the stolen sealing knowledge to their original owners. The Uzumaki clan still exists in Konoha, even if we're just three people," Naruto explained.

Once again, Mei smiled tenderly at Naruto. "Of course, Naruto-kun. Having not one, but two Bloodline Limits myself, I know better than anybody the importance of a clan treasure. I'll order the original scrolls and books that were plundered from Kirigakure to be handed to you before you leave."

Naruto earnestly smiled in joy. "You mean it?"

"You have my word. It's the least I can do, given how much you helped me against Yagura," Mei told him.

"Really? Thanks a lot! I'd thought you'd be more resistant to give them back, but I'm glad you weren't! Anyway, that's all what you wanted to tell you! Good luck with the whole Mizukage thing! One day, I'll be your equal as the Hokage!" Naruto cheerfully said.

Mei laughed softly. "I'm sure you will, Naruto-kun. Have a nice trip back."

Naruto nodded and left the council room. Once she was alone, Mei allowed herself to smile. Oh, children were so naive and easily to trick. Sure, she was going to return the original scrolls and books to the Uzumaki Clan. After all what Konoha did for her, that would have been extremely rude, not to mention foolish.

Too bad Naruto didn't say anything about all the _copies_ the previous Mizukage had made of such sealing knowledge...

…

With everything said and done, there was nothing left for the Konoha ninja to do in Kiri, so they decided it was time for them to return home. Most Konoha ninja had already boarded the ship that would take them back to the Land of Fire. Only a few of them remained. Among them, Haku Yuki.

The Ice Ninja was about to say goodbye to the most important person in his life, Zabuza. Mei was also there to bid the Konoha ninja goodbye.

"Well, kid, this is it. From now onwards, our paths will diverge," Zabuza said, his voice having a tinge of melancholy.

"I know I said this already, but if you ever need me, don't hesitate to send me a message," Haku insisted. "Thanks for everything, Zabuza-sama. It was thanks to you that I got a second chance at life, and I'll never forget what you did for me."

"I'll never forget what you did for me, either," Zabuza replied. "But don't be so down. I'm sure we will meet again, sooner than you expect."

Haku nodded. He then turned at Mei, and in front of her, he pulled out the Kirigakure forehead protector, and wore it on his neck like Hinata did, since he was already wearing the Konoha forehead protector there, like Naruto and most Konoha ninja did.

"Thank you to you as well, Mizukage-sama. I'll keep working on making Konoha and Kiri's bond even stronger," Haku promised her.

"I have no doubt you will," Mei smiled tenderly at him. "Now you better get into the ship. All your friends are already on board, and I'm sure all of you want to get back home."

"Indeed. Goodbye then," Haku said, before making a polite bow, and got into the ship.

As the last Konoha ninja boarded, the access stairs were removed, and the ship started to move. Wordlessly, Zabuza turned around and started to walk. Mei walked besides him.

"You did the right thing, Zabuza-kun," Mei reassured, as he patted the swordsman in the shoulder. "The kid will be better in Konoha."

Zabuza sighed. "In moments like this, I miss the times in which I wasn't ruled by any kind of moral compass."

For a split second, Mei could have sworn she saw tears forming on Zabuza's eyes.

…

Haku was leaning against the ship's railing, watching Kirigakure become smaller and smaller as the ship departed. Zabuza has been there to bid him a goodbye. It was short and to the point, like most of the time he opened his mouth.

"Everything all right, Haku?"

Haku noticed that Naruto and Hinata were besides him. Haku smiled a little, and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry," Haku reassured them.

"Come on Haku, we can see something troubles you," Hinata insisted.

"It's not much. It's that...well, I never imagined the day Zabuza-sama and I would part ways," Haku confessed. "I thought I would always be at his side, and if there was a time in which we wouldn't be together it would be because one of us wouldn't be among the living."

"It has to be hard, leaving somebody like him behind. Despite his rough exterior, he really cared about you," Hinata replied.

"Indeed it is. But I know Zabuza-sama will be fine without me. And one day in the future, we'll hear the news about how he has become the Sixth Mizukage," Haku hopefully guessed.

"Let's hope this time around he tries a less violent method, hehe," Naruto joked. "Anyway, did you tell Tenten about the news?"

"It was the first thing I did after I left the Mizukage's Palace. She couldn't be happier. Despite her promise to move to Kiri if I stayed here, I can tell she really didn't want to go with it. Konoha is her home. And truth be told, it's also mine," Haku admitted.

"We're also really glad that you're staying with us. If you left and they forced some new chump into our team...gah! That would be so lame! Thank goodness it's never going to happen!" Naruto said.

The three of them laughed merrily at the idea. No, their team would remain solid and stable until the three of them retired as ninja. Or at least, that's what they hoped.

"There you are, Naruto," a new voice said. The Assault Squad turned around, and saw Sasuke looking at them. "May I talk with you?"

Before Naruto could reply, Haku and Hinata decided to leave the deck, leaving the two of them alone.

"We'll go to the dining room to eat something. We'll wait you there, Naruto-kun," Hinata told him as he left.

Naruto nodded, and then turned at Sasuke. "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"You fought against Yagura alongside Mei." Sasuke stated. "Was he really mind controlled like they said?"

Sadness began to crept Naruto's face, as he regretfully nodded. "Yes."

"Judging by your mood, I presume you weren't successful in breaking the mind control," the Uchiha inquired, though it was pretty much a statement.

"No. Akatsuki got in the way before we could. At this point, the poor guy has to be dead," Naruto replied, as he let out a weary sigh. "Why do you ask? Does it remind you of the time I was mind controlled."

"Indeed," Sasuke laconically answered. "There's not a single day in which I don't ask myself what would have happened if I failed to break the mind control. That was the most intense fight I ever had, and even if in the future I-"

"Sorry for being rude but...what is your point?" Naruto interrupted. "This is not something I like to wallow in, given my failure."

"Sorry, guess I digressed" Sasuke replied, his tone unchanged. "I was going to say that, if you want to talk with someone about it, you can tell me."

Naruto was taken aback by Sasuke's sudden...openness. Usually, the Uchiha wasn't the most social or welcoming person.

"What?" Sasuke asked, noticing Naruto's reaction. "You think I won't understand?"

"No, it's not that. It's that..." Naruto began, trying to find the best way to word it. "It's just that...well, you're not the kind of person to offer emotional support to others, you know?"

Sasuke scowled a bit. "Hn," he grumbled, as he fixed a stare at Naruto, who chuckled awkwardly. "I know I never valued personal relationships much before. But then again, you were one of the few who offered me his support after my clan rebelled, and I'd like to return you the favor."

"Oh. Well, thanks. It means a lot to me," Naruto sincerely replied.

"Yagura...since he was also a jinchuriki, did you feel any kind of kinship towards him?" Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. He...he didn't deserve this," Naruto said. "He got a target on his back the moment he was made a jinchuriki, whenever it was, just like it happened with me. Hell, did you know that the whole Uchiha Insurrection was orchestrated by Obito just to create a smokescreen in order to get into the village and kidnap me? And I'm sure Orochimaru's invasion served a similar purpose. That's not even getting to my biological parents," Naruto bitterly recounted. "Despite we technically won, it really didn't feel like a victory. The only ones who won were the Akatsuki. Kirigakure may be at peace now, but they lost plenty of their ninja in a senseless conflict, their Kage among them."

Sasuke didn't say anything, just kept listening to the blond. He always found him so upbeat and optimist to the point of obnoxiousness, so seeing Naruto showing such an unknown side of him was a sight to behold. Not that it made anything he said any less true.

"There will always be scumbags like Obito and his Akatsuki pals who won't rest until they can get their hands on us, or better said, our Tailed Beasts, for whatever purposes they may have," Naruto continued. "And do you know what's the worst part? All the collateral damage. All the people who die and suffer that have nothing to do with this."

Sasuke looked pensive. He then opened his mouth. "That makes me think that there may be other turmoil in foreign villages regarding their jinchuriki that we may not even be aware of," the Uchiha pointed out.

Naruto opened his eyes in realization. "Whoa, you're right!" he said.

"Too bad there's nothing we can do about them," Sasuke replied.

Naruto scowled at the Uchiha. "Says you!"

"No, say international borders. Naruto, I know that protecting the remaining jinchuriki is important, but we can't meddle into other village's affairs because we feel like it," Sasuke explained.

"Then I won't rest until dad talks with other Kage and form some sort of plan or coalition," Naruto suggested.

"Not to sound like a contrarian, but that might be way harder than you think," Sasuke warned Naruto. "Such action might be seen as Konoha trying to meddle with other villages' affairs. And from what Itachi and Shisui told me, they can be rather touchy when it comes to jinchuriki."

"I know, but I can't just sit down and do nothing. I can't let what happened with Yagura to happen again," a determined Naruto said. "So far, I know Gaara from Suna, and Fu from Taki. Kumo also had that weird rapping guy. Besides Yagura, there are other four jinchuriki we know nothing about their whereabouts."

"Whatever you plan to do, you can count me in," Sasuke told him.

Naruto smiled sincerely at the Uchiha. "Thanks a lot Sasuke. That means a lot."

In a rare display, Sasuke smiled back.

…

 _Konoha, a few days later_

"Hokage-sama, the group sent to Kirigakure has returned to the village a few minutes ago," an owl masked ANBU told Jiraiya.

The Sannin was busy as usual with the never ending paperwork when an ANBU appeared to deliver the news. Jiraiya often wondered how they were doing in Kirigakure. That is, until he got a letter in which he was told that Yagura was no longer Mizukage, and that Mei Terumi had been recently inaugurated. That told him almost everything he needed to know, and knew that his ninja would come home any time now.

"Good. Did all of them make it back?" Jiraiya asked.

The ANBU shook his head. "Negative, sir. We had reported eleven casualties. Eight Chunin and three Jonin," the ANBU informed.

Jiraiya weighed those words. While the Konoha casualties were less than ten percent of the group that left with Mei, it was still disheartening to hear about them.

"Understood. Tell me their names so I can write a proper condolence letter to their families," Jiraiya instructed. "Also, I want to have a meeting with all the Jonin to hear from them how the campaign went."

"As you command, Hokage-sama," the ANBU said, but he didn't leave just yet. "One more thing, your son is here. He wishes to speak with you."

Jiraiya smiled upon seeing this. "Ah, good! So nice of Naruto to drop to see his old man, hehe! Tell him to come in!"

The ANBU nodded, and left the office. A couple seconds later, the Hokage's adoptive son walked in.

"Hey, dad," Naruto softly greeted.

"Naruto, it's so great to have you back!" Jiraiya happily greeted his son back. "Take a seat. Come on, tell me everything! How was the mission?"

"It was good," Naruto said as he sat down in front of the Sannin. "Yagura's reign of terror came to an end, and Mei is now Mizukage. Kirigakure is no longer embroiled in a civil war."

Despite the good news, Jiraiya frowned. He knew Naruto far too well to know that there was something more to those news. Naruto looked far way too subdued, to the point of sounding melancholic. There was something wrong going on that was eating him from the inside.

"But not everything went as good as you make it look, right?" Jiraiya guessed. "Did something bad happen? Was any of the deceased close to you?"

"Yes. Well, no. I mean, yes, but not in that way," Naruto was starting to get confused. "You see, the fight against Yagura didn't go as planned."

"But Yagura was ousted. Did you kill him?" Jiraiya asked. "Listen, I know that it had to be hard to kill a fellow jinchuriki, but sometimes-"

"No, it's not that. Yagura is probably dead right now, but I didn't kill him. Akatsuki did," Naruto said.

Those words took Jiraiya aback. The Sannin raised an eyebrow, as he fixed a questioning stare on his godson. "Come again?"

"You see, Mei and I were fighting against Yagura, right? And things were going fine. Turn out those seals you made to keep the Nine Tails in check worked with the Three Tails too, so we were able to nullify his power. Anyway, the thing is, an Akatsuki appeared and got involved. We were pretty exhausted, so we weren't able to put much of a fight against him. He took Yagura away, and left," Naruto said, summarizing the turns of events as good as he could. "Turns out he was mind controlled. That Akatsuki said something weird, and Yagura became his puppet. That's how he was able to spirit him away so easily."

"That is...troubling news indeed," Jiraiya gravely said, as he weighed down Naruto's words. "Did he try to capture you as well?"

Naruto shook his head once again. "No. He didn't pay me any attention. Guess he didn't know who I was, or else he would have tried to kill two birds with one stone. Then again, I wish he did try to capture me. I was still in Sage Mode, and I think I could have freed Yagura before he could fly away."

"The Akatsuki...flew away?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto nodded. "The guy had some weird-ass bloodline limit that could create figures of clay that exploded. He used a giant clay bird to fly."

"Clay? Explosions?" Jiraiya asked, as he opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out a Bingo Book. He quickly flipped through the pages, until he found the one he was looking for. "Was this the man?"

Naruto took a look at the profile, and upon seeing the picture, he nodded. "Yeah, that's him! So, his name's Deidara? You know about him?"

"I heard about him, but never met him in person. A young prodigy of Iwa that liked explosions too much for his own good. He defected from Iwa after stealing some forbidden knowledge regarding explosion jutsu. He then became a freelance mercenary, and worked for several terrorist groups," Jiraiya explained. "Though I never imagine that he'd join Akatsuki. While troubling, at least we have some more intelligence on the enemy."

"He wasn't alone. He brought another Akatsuki. I think his name is...Kasumi? No, that's a girl name. Kisame? Yeah, Kisame! He also has one of Kiri's Seven Swords."

This time, the news didn't shock him as much, since he knew from Mei what Kisame was doing now.

"Anyway, the thing is, Yagura was captured by the Akatsuki, and now they probably have the Three Tails," Naruto then fixed an intense stare on his father. "Dad, we need to make sure this doesn't happen again. Akatsuki can't have more jinchuriki."

"Don't worry son. I have extensive data on all current jinchuriki. Though sadly, I guess that information on Yagura won't be of much importance in the future," Jiraiya said. "Our allies of Suna and Taki are already aware of the Akatsuki threat. From what I know, two of the jinchuriki are from Iwa, and the other two from Kumo. I'll try to contact them and see if we can work together on this issue."

"What about the remaining one?" Naruto asked.

"You must be talking about Utakata. That's going to be a little trickier, since he doesn't work under any village, despite hailing from Kirigakure. He's a vagrant and a wanderer, and given his condition, he'll try to keep a low profile," Jiraiya explained. "Then again, while that might work against us, it will also make Akatsuki's job all the harder. But don't worry, once Itachi comes back from his mission, I'll tell him to work on this."

Naruto smiled in relief. "Thank you, dad. That's what I wanted to hear. While I know it's mostly a matter of security, protecting the other jinchuriki means a lot to me."

"Don't sweat it, son," Jiraiya replied.

"By the way, is anybody at home? Mom, the twins?" Naruto asked.

"Tsunade-hime is in the hospital, working, and I guess your siblings are still in the Academy. So I think the house is going to be a bit empty until it's lunchtime," Jiraiya told him.

"Alright then. I'll hang out with Hinata-hime a bit more then. See you later!" Naruto replied, as he walked out of the office.

"Same. Good to see you made it back in one piece, kid."

…

 _Root Lair, somewhere under Konoha_

Inside a dark instance illuminated by a few oil lamps, Danzo and some of his most loyal agents were gathered. While the elderly leader of Root was standing in front of a kneeling boy, the rest of his men inspected several large scrolls.

"Uzumaki knowledge that was thought to be lost forever, including the schematics for Chakra Golems," Danzo said. "Sending you to take part in the Civil War was a good decision, Sai. You made a good job."

"Thanks, Danzo-sama. I live only to serve Konoha," Sai stated.

During the journey back home, Sai had infiltrated the ship's cargo, and made copies of all the fuinjutsu scrolls and books he could. Sai was somebody that rarely stood out, so almost nobody noticed his prolonged absence. His lack of friends or meaningful connections also worked in his favor, since nobody really missed him. Even Sasuke and Sakura, the ones who openly showed distrust of him, seemed to pay him no mind.

"Were you able to obtain one of the Chakra Golems so we could reverse engineer them?" Danzo asked, sounding a bit disappointed.

"Unfortunately, we were only able to take with us a limited number of them. If one of them disappeared, somebody would have noticed it rather soon," Sai explained. "So I decide to follow my judgment and not steal one of those."

"I can't find anything wrong with that line of thinking, so you're excused this time. Guess the blueprints will have to do for now," Danzo decided.

"However, I also brought something else that it might be very helpful, Danzo-sama," Sai said, as he pulled out a small sealing scroll from his pocket, and handed it to his superior.

Danzo took the scroll, and unsealing its contents. A lone, severed finger appeared before him.

"Explain," the one eyed man demanded.

"That finger belongs to Rin Nohara, the one who came back from the dead, and has now the power of the Wood Release. I thought it was something you'd want to have," Sai replied.

Danzo sealed the finger back again into the scroll, and put it under the folds of his robe.

"Indeed I do, Sai. You did good work. Now, leave. You're dismissed," Danzo said.

Sai nodded. "As you wish, Danzo-sama."

And the pale boy left, leaving the elder alone.

Danzo couldn't believe his luck. He had been trying to gather some DNA sample from Rin since the moment his agents revealed the way she had been revived and the abilities she possessed now. So far, all his men could gather were hair strands, but that wasn't enough. Now, Sai had brought him a sample of flesh, blood and bone in perfect state. Yes, this would make great strides in his research regarding Hashirama's power.

Soon, Danzo would have enough strength to become the leader he was always meant to be, and nobody would get in his way.

…

 _Forests of the Land of Fire_

A new day arrived for the inhabitants of the green ocean of leaves and branches known as the Land of Fire. As nocturnal animals returned to their lairs, diurnal ones exited theirs and took their place. Herbivores started to eat from the green grass and green leaves from the many lush trees, while predators stalked what would be their daily meals.

However, today it wasn't going to be a normal day in the forest. Today, the forests would receive a new inhabitant, if briefly.

Wind started to blow. Softly at first, but stronger over time. It didn't came from the clash of cold and hot air currents, as normal wind does, but from a certain point in the forest. A clear among the trees, that became much bigger thanks to a clash between several human ninja. Yes, in that clear, more than a year ago, Jiraiya and Anko fought against the resurrected Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Fortunately, Minato and Kushina's love for their son gave them a sense of closure, and were able to return to the afterlife. Back then, it looked like it was the end of their battle.

What neither Jiraiya, nor Minato, nor even Orochimaru knew, is that such action brought back somebody else from the guts of the Reaper.

The wind continued to blow out, this time with more intensity. The animals that were wandering the area stopped what they were doing, and ran away, no matter the direction. Their instincts told them that something was about to happen, and they shouldn't be there.

After a few seconds, red threads of chakra started to gather in the clear. More and more red chakra gathered, forming a red sphere. The sphere started to grew as it became whole. Then, once the process was complete, the sphere changed shape, and took the form of an animal.

A fox.

A gigantic fox.

A gigantic fox with nine tails.

The beast opened his eyes, and looked around, confused. He tried to remember, but he couldn't. He didn't know anything. Who he was, where he was, what he was supposed to do.

Oh well, he could always find out for himself.

As the fox left, a white Zetsu emerged from the grass.

"This is a...most interesting turns of events," he said to no one in particular. "I should warn the boss about this."

And the Zetsu sank back into the grass.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So there you have. Kirigakure is now at peace, and the Konoha ninjas return home. Given the number of reviews, it seems that this arc wasn't as interesting as the ones that came before, which sadly, seems to be a thing with all my original arcs, for some reason, they get a more lukewarm reception than those adapted from the manga/anime. Even then, I don't regret writing this arc (even if it ended up way longer than I expected), since it allowed me to write and focus on both an event I found mostly interesting, characters I like a lot, really cool battles, and flesh out a village beyond what little we saw in canon.  
**

 **Yes, Zabuza is staying in Kiri. It was always the plan from the very beginning. Many stories that feature a redeemed Zabuza had him stay in Konoha permanently, but even if I don't have anything against those, to me it didn't feel natural. It's as if Naruto decided he wants to be Raikage rather than Hokage. Zabuza being closer than ever to realize his ambition of being Mizukage is a nice way to end his character arc. And to all Zabuza fans there, don't worry! I assure you this is not even close to the last time you'll see the Demon of the Hidden Mist again, as well as Mei, Suigetsu, Ameyuri and the rest of the Kirigakure gang ;)**

 **On the other hand, Haku is staying. Unlike Zabuza, most of his life is in Konoha, so it makes sense that he'd choose to stay, even if it'd mean not being alongside Zabuza anymore. Some people were worried that given that both his potential leave coincided with Sai's introduction, I planned to replace him with Sai, kinda like how Sai replaced Sasuke in canon. HA! Haku is one of my favorite characters of the manga (he isn't Naruto and Hinata's third teammate for no reason) while I'm not very fond of Sai. Hell, the only reason I introduced Sai is for him to be Ino's love interest, and because I need him for a future arc focused on Danzo and ROOT. Otherwise, I wouldn't even have bothered with him to begin with (and on top of that, he's proving to be super hard to write for). Though that doesn't mean that I'm going to bash him or anything. I don't have a very high opinion on authors that indulge in bashing, and there's no room for such thing in this story.**

 **And regarding the end of the chapter...how many of you saw that coming? Yeah, I didn't forget about the Kyubi's half sealed inside Minato, which died the moment Minato's edo tensei body was destroyed. However, Tailed Beasts are immortal, and after some time, they reform in the place they died. And unfortunately for the newborn half Kyubi and the good guys, Akatsuki now know about this. How this development will affect the story? Not in a good way for the heroes, that's for sure.**

 **** ** **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter****

 **Well, next chapter, we will finally enter Shippuden with the Gaara Rescue Arc! Yay, since I was dying to bring the Sand Siblings back into the story at last! In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	51. The Wind Stops Blowing

**Author's Note: And with this chapter, we officially entered Shippuden! Yay!**

 **This chapter finally feature the return of the Sand Siblings, not seen since the end of the Chunin Exam arcs. And boy, did I miss writing for them, all three of them. Oh, and unlike the canon Kazekage Rescue Arc, rest assured that Kankuro and Temari are NOT going to be pushed away to put Chiyo in their place. All arcs that focus on Suna in some way should have them front and center.**

 **Anyway, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 51**

The Wind Stops Blowing

 _or_

 _When the Sand Explodes_

 _Fifteen and a Half Years since the Nine Tails attacked_

A year had passed since the Kirigakure Civil War came to an end, thanks to Mei Terumi recruiting Konoha ninja to her side. After she was inaugurated as the Fifth Mizukage, she and Jiraiya wasted no time in formalizing an alliance treaty. With both Suna and Kiri as its allies, the future seemed bright for Konoha.

 _Seemed_ being the key word.

Turns out Suna hated Kiri with a passion. During the previous war, they sent Pakura, one of Suna's strongest ninja, and a hero the village looked up, to formalize and alliance with them. However, the Kiri ninja betrayed Suna and ambushed Pakura and her squad, revealing that their intention was to kill one of Suna's greatest ninja. Suna never forgot such transgression.

So naturally, when the news of Konoha's alliance with Kiri reached Suna, the Kazekage wasted no time and expressed his thoughts in a rather...colorful letter to the Hokage. Jiraiya learned at least five swear words he wasn't even aware they existed after reading that letter.

It took almost a whole year to smooth things up, in which multiple negotiations and diplomatic visits had to be made. Jiraiya was really thankful for keeping his old sensei around as an advisor, as Sarutobi's diplomatic skills saved his skin multiple times. Even then, it took giving Rasa a few Chakra Golems –with Naruto and Karin's explicit permission– to satisfy him. The fact that Kirigakure was under new leadership helped to alleviate some of the tensions between Suna and Kiri.

Eventually, they did manage to convince the Kazekage to let go of the old hatred of Kiri, and form a three way alliance with them and Konoha. However, Kiri had to make quite a few concessions, some of them of the monetary kind, but in the end, everybody was happy.

Right now, the long, arduous process was finally coming to an end. The Kazekage had sent his own children to Konoha in order to deliver the final draft of the alliance treaty Jiraiya had to sign in order to make it effective. Rasa, however, had forced Mei to come to Suna to sign the treaty herself. Given the circumstances, she had no choice but to comply.

Right now, both parties were gathered at the Hokage's Tower Council Room. Jiraiya was surrounded by his four advisors, Sarutobi, Koharu, Homura and Danzo, with the document on the table in front of him. At the other side of the table were Gaara and Kankuro. Wordlessly, Jiraiya took out a pen, and signed the document.

"Alright then, this should be it," Jiraiya picked the document as he got up from his chair, walked towards Gaara, and handed him the piece of paper.

"That was...quicker than I expected," Gaara said, as he took the paper from Jiraiya's hands. "Don't you want to negotiate more?"

"I discussed this with my advisors, and we found your father's terms pretty reasonable. Even Danzo, and that should say something!" Jiraiya laughed as he looked at Danzo, who shot him a neutral stare with his one eye. "Besides, after this year, I'm pretty sick of negotiations."

"So send your father our regards, and tell him that Konoha will always be a friend of Suna," Sarutobi interjected.

"Don't worry, he already knows that, even if he doesn't really show it," Kankuro assured. "It's just...well, your alliance with Kiri really pissed him off. It's like if we decided to ally with Orochimaru without telling you first."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Honestly, I can't picture that. But yeah, I can empathize with him. Hopefully, we can put this mess behind us."

"Yes," Gaara agreed. "Well, as much as I'd like to stay more, Father wants us to deliver him the treaty as soon as it was signed. So we will pick Temari up and leave."

"Sad, but understandable," Jiraiya said. "Anyway, have a good trip back home."

"Thank you, Hokage-dono," Gaara said as he made a polite bow, before he and Kankuro left.

They walked outside of the tower, and saw Naruto and Hinata still there. The couple had walked with the brothers to the tower and told them they would wait for them when the meeting was over. Gaara told them not to since it could last several hours, but in the end, it ended up being as short as Naruto had expected.

"So, I presume everything went alright?" Naruto asked with a hopeful grin.

Gaara nodded. "Indeed. I was expecting for Hokage-dono to try to negotiate better terms, but he's a far more generous leader than most."

"Heh, yes, dad knows the value of friends and allies," Naruto chuckled. "So, what now?"

"Now that the treaty is signed, we need to return to Suna as soon as possible and deliver it to Father," Gaara replied.

Naruto deflated a little. "Aw, shucks. I was hoping you guys would stay a little more. I feel I haven't seen you guys in forever."

"Don't worry, we'll return to see the Chunin Exams," Kankuro told them. "Temari is planning to enter her Genin team for the exams, so we'll come to help her."

"Ah, the Chunin Exams..." Naruto said, as he became a little nostalgic. "It feel like they were so long ago, given that all of us are Jonin now!"

"Well, I'm just Special Jonin, but hopefully I'll become one soon..." Hinata said, rubbing her arm. "Then again, so is Haku-kun."

"By the way, where is he?" Gaara asked. "I wanted to have a chance to talk with him as well, yet I didn't see him."

"Haku-kun is a bit busy now. Yugao-san and Hayate-san had a child recently, so Haku-kun is a bit busy helping them taking care of the little boy. His name's Seiichi, by the way," Hinata explained.

"In a way, I can understand him. Shizune-neechan also had a second child, and she sometimes calls me whenever she needs a babysitter for her and Shiro," Naruto explained.

Shizune and Shisui had decided to call their daughter Shizuka. The name got even more groans and eye rolls when they decided on it.

"Speaking of the absent, where is Temari-san? I thought she would be present for the signing of the treaty," Hinata inquired.

Kankuro snorted dismissively. "She wanted to spend some time with Pineapple Head," Kankuro said, rolling his eyes. "I'm betting the two of them are having some fun while we are here stuck doing all the boring diplomatic chores."

…

 _Training Ground Ten_

"I'm so NOT having fun right now!" Shikamaru cried as he barely avoided a powerful gust of wind, which shattered into splinters a tree stump.

"Really? Because I'm having a blast here," Temari laughed as she prepared her giant folding fan for another attack.

Shikamaru knew he had no one but himself to blame for this. He promised he'd give the Suna kunoichi the rematch she demanded since his first Chunin Exams. Whenever he would meet Temari –and he did meet with her A LOT during the past year– she would always bring that up, but Shikamaru wanted to leave it for the next time, arguing that ne needed to train more in order to be a match for her. Which wasn't a complete lie either.

However, Temari couldn't wait anymore, and pretty much forced him to fight her before she would leave for Suna. Shikamaru realized he couldn't delay their clash for any longer, and decided to get over it already.

Feeling it was his time to attack, Shikamaru's hands flew through hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Flame Jutsu!"

Shikamaru took a deep breath, and exhaled a large stream of fire at Temari, which widened as it flew. Temari just shook her head, and smirked.

"Tsk, tsk, still thinking you can defeat me because your affinity beats mine," Temari confidently said as she wounded back her giant battle fan. "Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Temari motioned her fan forward, creating a powerful gust of wind that stopped the fire stream right on its tracks. The fire stream then burst into a multitude of embers, that set several parts of the battleground on fire. Temari smirked confidently as she stopped her opponent's attack, but her smile disappeared the moment a realization dawned upon her.

 _"Wait a minute, the flames, they're casting shad-"_ she started to realize.

"Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

With all the shadows created by the small flames scattered across the battlefield, Shikamaru could expand and extend his shadow far beyond his usual limit, and catch Temari from a safe distance. The Suna kunoichi started to run and jump around, trying to avoid the multiple shadow threads attempting to bind her shadow. She did try to get closer to Shikamaru in order to counterattack, but the Nara was cleverly pushing her away from him with his jutsu.

"Enough!" Temari said as she reached for something inside her ninja tool pouch, before tossing it at her feet.

A cloud of smoke formed, hiding her from Shikamaru's eyes. He probed the cloud with his shadow threads, but was unable to find Temari. And before he had time to keep probing, several shuriken flew out of the cloud of smoke towards him. Having no other option, Shikamaru cancelled the jutsu and jumped sideways in order to avoid them.

"Now's my chance!" Temari said as prepared to attack. She then motioned her giant folding fan downwards, creating a gust of wind under her. She then hopped onto her fan, and flew on it as if it was some sort of glider.

"This has to be a joke..."

Joke or not, Temari was coming from him from the air. He could barely jump and hit the dirt before Temari passed over him. Unfortunately, the danger wasn't over, since Temari maneuvered her fan to spin around, and glided at him once again, a sadistic smile on her lips.

"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru muttered as he rummaged through his ninja tool pouch, in order to find something that could save his ass. "Take this!"

Shikamaru tossed a handful of kunai and shuriken at the flying kunoichi. While it looked like a lame counterattack at first, it proved to be effective as Temari had nothing to protect herself with, and was forced to jump out of her fan, which fell to the ground a few meters from her

"Now that she's unarmed, this is my chance!" Shikamaru said as he pulled out several kunai with explosive tags attached to it, and tossed them to the intermediate space between Temari and her fan.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work!" Temari declared as she boldly rushed through the improvised minefield. Explosions went off as she passed the tags, but she soldiered on. With one final leap, she landed besides her fan, and recovered her trusty weapon. "You failed, Shikamaru!"

"You think so?" Shikamaru's voice said behind the cloud of dirt and dust the explosions had created. "Shadow Imitation Jutsu!"

Once again, several shadow threads appeared from the vanishing cloud of dust, but Temari wasn't deterred.

"Trying to put me on the defensive again? Ha, fat chance!" Temari said as he blew her fan once again. "Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Temari made sure to put as much chakra into the attack as possible in order to give it enough power to reach and hit Shikamaru. She felt her body going stiff as Shikamaru's jutsu bind her shadow, but it would be temporary. The gust of wind caught the Nara, and violently hurled him against a tree.

"Yes!" she cheered.

However, there was something wrong. Despite cancelling the jutsu, Temari didn't recover her mobility. She looked down, and saw that the shadow thread was gone. Then how is that she couldn't move anymore? Was that a new jutsu that permanently left you paralyzed despite only touching your shadow for a few seconds?

Then, to answer her question, 'Shikamaru' disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Shadow Neck Binding Jutsu!"

A shadowy arm crept through Temari's body as it reached her throat, and put a slight pressure on it.

"And unless you think otherwise, I believe the fight goes to me," Shikamaru's voice said from behind.

Temari sighed. "Okay, okay, I admit defeat."

Shikamaru smirked in victory and undid the jutsu. She then walked towards Temari, hoping she wouldn't be too mad for the loss.

"So, was the fight to your liking?" Shikamaru asked.

Then, in a split second, Temari pushed Shikamaru backwards as she tripped his feet, making him fall on his back. Temari then sat on top of his chest, and pinned his arms to the ground.

"Ugh..." Shikamaru groaned, as she looked at Temari, staring into his eyes. "If I won, how is that I'm in the ground and you're on top?"

Temari smirked at him. "Because that's the way it should be."

Temari then closed her eyes, lowered her head, and planted a kiss on Shikamaru's lips. A kiss the lazy Nara happily welcomed.

"See? Just like I said, having fun with her boyfriend and leaving all the work to us," a new male voice complained.

Temari quickly broke the kiss, and realized that her brothers, Naruto and Hinata were staring at them. Gaara looked as stoic and unexpressive as usual, Kankuro was looking at them un-amused, Naruto was grinning widely, while Hinata was smiling at them. Temari blushed a little, quickly got on her feet, and helped Shikamaru on his.

"Um...what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the Hokage's Tower?" Temari awkwardly asked.

"We were. The meeting is over, and the treaty is signed. Time to go back home. Unless you want to spend more time here sucking face with Pineapple Head," Kankuro retorted.

"Why does everybody calls me that?" Shikamaru complained to no one in particular. Then he turned at Temari, and smiled sadly at her. "So, you're leaving then?"

Temari nodded, returning the sad smile. "Yeah. I was expecting that things would last longer. But oh well, I'll be back for the Chunin Exams."

"Well, I can still walk you to the gates then," Shikamaru offered.

"You better," Temari replied, as she and Shikamaru started walking with the others. "By the way, when did you learn the Shadow Clone jutsu? It requires a lot of chakra, and you don't look like having a big chakra pool to me."

"My mom taught it to me," Shikamaru replied. "After failing the first Chunin Exam, she pretty much ran me into the ground with training exercises until I had enough chakra to create a single clone. Then again, she wanted me to expand my chakra reserves. Learning the Shadow Clone was just an added bonus. Though I have to admit it's very useful. No wonder Naruto spam's it nonstop," Shikamaru mentioned, making Naruto chuckle a little.

"Your mom sounds like my kind of woman," Temari said, interested. "Speaking of which, how is that you never introduced me to your parents yet?"

"I don't think our relationship is in the appropriate stage for such thing to happen," Shikamaru uneasily replied, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Temari frowned. "I'll be the one to decide that. Plus you met my father already."

"Yeeeeeeesh, and I'm trying to forget that day as hard as I can," Shikamaru replied.

"Why? It was hilarious!" Kankuro interjected, followed by a loud laugh. "I can't wait until Temari brings you to have dinner with all of us!"

Shikamaru let out a weary sigh, and realized that Kankuro's words would be true sooner or later. Why couldn't he just have dated an orphan...

…

A few minutes later, the group of six were heading towards the gates of Konoha, making some small talk among them, when suddenly, a brown blur passed in front of them at an almost imperceptible speed, causing the three Suna ninja to startle and get ready for a fight. Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru though, didn't, since they were used to it.

"Boy, she did last a lot longer this time around," Naruto chuckled.

"Yes. Wonder who will be the unlucky ones tasked to catch her this time," Hinata giggled.

"What are you guys talking about?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Somebody stop that cat!" a high pitched female voice yelled, answering both Hinata and Temari's questions.

The group of six saw Kaida, Hagane and Hanabi running from the same direction the blur had came from. The three of them were wearing Konoha headbands, indicating their status as ninja.

"Hey there, guys," Naruto greeted the trio. "So, you got the Tora mission?"

Hagane nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. This is the second time in a month that we got it. Honestly, this isn't what I was expecting when I graduated the Academy."

"I'm the closest thing Konoha has to a princess! I can't spend all my time chasing cats!" Kaida whined.

"Do you guys need some help?" Hinata offered.

Kaida's face beamed in response. "That would be-"

"No, thank you," Hanabi interrupted her. "We are now full-fledged ninja, we can't let others do our work for us."

Hinata smiled at her sister. "That's a very mature way of thinking, Hanabi-chan. I'm proud of that."

Hanabi smiled back at her older sister. Kaida, however, shot her a murderous glare.

"So, where did that damn cat go?" Hagane asked.

"I'll tell you right now. Byakugan!" Hanabi said as she activated her Bloodline Limit. "There! It's hidden behind a trashcan in that alley!"

"Good, that alley is a dead end!" Kaida said as she rushed towards the alley. "That damn cat is about to feel the power of the First Hokage!"

"Sister, wait...!" Hagane said as he and Hanabi trailed behind her.

"You have nowhere to run down, Tora! Nobody's going to save you!" the heard Kaida's voice yell. "Wood Release: Great For-AAAAAAAAHHHH!

"MEOOOOOOOOWWWW!"

"STOP! STOP IT, YOU DAMN PEST! NOT IN THE FACE, NOT IN THE FACE! BROTHER, HANABI, SAVE ME!"

Eventually, between the three of them, they managed to subdue Tora. The cat was now trying to break from a wooden cage made by Kaida, as Hagane used medical ninjutsu to heal his sister's many, many, many scratch wounds. The Team's Jonin-Sensei, Tenzo, appeared shortly after in case they needed help.

"I hate that cat so much..." Kaida seethed.

"Good job catching Tora, kids," Tenzo congratulated them. "Madam Shijimi will be happy to have her beloved pet back."

"Why can't we just kill it and tell her she went to live to a farm?" Kaida protested. "I'm tired of having to catch that cat!"

"Sadly, we can't. Tora represents a fifteen percent of the village's mission income. It would be a huge blow to our economy," Tenzo explained to her. "Now let's go back to report that the mission has been a success."

As Team Tenzo left, Naruto, Hinata, Shikamaru and the Sand Siblings continued their way to the village's gates.

"I see you guys also have your own Emi," Kankuro noted.

"Emi?" Shikamaru asked, looking a bit confused.

"The Wind Lord's pet dwarf pig. It constantly tries to escape, and many Genin team are assigned to catch it. From what I heard, it's quite the nightmarish beast despite its small size," Temari explained. "Thank goodness we never had to catch him."

"How so?" Hinata asked.

"Being the Kazekage's kids has some perks, you know," Kankuro said with a wide grin.

"Well, I'm the Hokage's son and that never got me out of doing an awful mission," Naruto bitterly said.

"Come on, don't complain. None of us got to catch Tora when we were Genin," Shikamaru told him. "Thankfully so, I admit."

"Because we had Tamaki-san to summon her. But even Tamaki-san got tired of doing that all the time," Hinata interjected. "Not to mention that now that she's Chunin, there's no way for her to take that mission again."

Finally, they reached the gates, and the group stopped.

"Our stay in Konoha has been pleasant, but now we must leave," Gaara announced. "We'll come back for the Chunin Exams in a couple months, though."

"I'll be looking forward it, then!" Naruto happily said.

"Yeah, me too. Of all the women I ever met, you're the least annoying," Shikamaru told Temari.

Temari shot an un-amused look at her boyfriend. "You know, we'll need to work on your compliments a bit more."

"Come on, you know I'm just kidding," Shikamaru said with an earnest smile. "I'll be looking forward seeing you again."

"You can always visit me in Suna, you know," Temari suggested, placing her hands on her hips.

"I could but...crossing a desert sounds beyond troublesome..." Shikamaru whined.

"What!? You wouldn't cross a desert to see me? Some boyfriend you are!" Temari protested, before Kankuro grabbed her arm and dragged her out of Konoha.

"Enough of love quarrels, we need to go, now!" Kankuro told his sister.

"Don't think I'm ever going to forget this, Pineapple Head!" Temari said as she and her brothers headed back to Suna.

Shikamaru sighed. "Oh boy, I better prepare a good way to make up to her for that when she comes back. Man, sometimes I almost feel that girls are not worth the effort. Almost."

"Well, you weren't exactly very sensitive there, Shikamaru-san," Hinata told him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Eh, it's who I am."

As the three Suna ninja disappeared behind a sea of trees, the three Konoha ninja headed back to their village. And unbeknownst to both groups, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground, and smirked.

"Yes, the Jinchuriki finally left Konoha, and has minimal protection. Time to warn the artists..." the Zetsu said as he sank back into the ground.

…

Sometime later, deep in the forests of the Land of Fire, the Sand Siblings continued their trek back home, leaping from one tree branch to the next as fast as they could.

"If we can keep this pace, we'll be home in less than two days," Gaara told his older siblings. "Father will be pleased when he hears the news of our early arrival."

"I don't know why we have to bring the treaty ourselves. Couldn't a courier bird do the trick?" Kankuro said, unhappy with the idea of being a courier himself.

"This treaty is far too important to trust an animal to carry it back home, Kankuro," Temari pointed out. "The fact that it has been trust to us of all Suna ninja should speak volumes of its importance."

Kankuro just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I just want to go back to do real missions as soon as possible. I've been carving for some action recently."

Shortly after those words left Kankuro's lips, a set of explosions rocked the forest, engulfing the Sand Siblings in fire and shrapnel. Several birds that were calmly perched on nearby tree branches flew away, letting out caws of fear. A couple trees toppled down after the explosions shattered their trunks, and fell to the ground with a loud thump.

When the smoke and dust raised by the explosions, there were several craters in the ground, surrounding a large sand dome. The dome then dissolved into sand, which returned to Gaara's gourd on his back.

"Are you okay?" Gaara asked, as he looked around for whoever attacked them.

"Yes," Temari grumbled, before he glared at his hooded brother. "Way to go, Kankuro! Hope you're happy with all this 'action'!"

"Hey, how did I know something like this would happen?" Kankuro protested as he raised his arms in defense.

"Silence," Gaara said, softly but firmly. "We need to stay alert. Whoever attacked us is still there, and will strike again soon. There's no time for meaningless quarrels."

Temari and Kankuro nodded somewhat sheepishly, and prepared for the incoming fight. Temari unfolded her giant war fan, while Kankuro unfurled three scrolls before him. From the scrolls, three puppets were unsealed: Karasu, his very first puppet, and the one he had used in the Chunin Exams –to very little success– . The second one was similar to the first, only with a bulkier, barrel-shaped body, a bucket shaped face, and six arms instead of four. The third one, however, resembled a large mechanical lizard.

A minute passed, but the attack never came. Gaara managed to remain calm, but his older siblings were starting to grow antsy. That's it, until they saw a shadow quickly passing over them.

"Kankuro, up there!" Temari pointed somewhere in the sky.

Kankuro wasted no time and directed Karasu towards the spot the enemy has been seen, and directed it to attack. Raising its four arms, the puppet fired a barrage of senbon and kunai while moving its arms in an arc to cover a wider range.

The shadow appeared again, moving between the branches. This time, it wouldn't escape as Gaara prepared to attack.

"Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

Several sand projectiles fired towards the shadow, and a loud "ouch!" could be heard. Then emerging from the treetops, a large, artificial looking white bird appeared, with a blond young man wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it riding on top of it.

"Akatsuki. I knew it," Gaara said as he eyed his attacker.

"Dammit, so much for stealth," the Akatsuki grumbled.

"Wait a minute, I think I know this guy," Temari mentioned. "Konoha told us that two Akatsuki appeared in Kiri to abduct the Mizukage, and one of them fits your description. Are you Deidara, the missing-nin of Iwa?"

"You bet I am!" Deidara proudly confirmed. "And today, you three will have the luck to die by my magnificent art!"

"Gaara, he's coming after you. Stay behind us," Temari said, as she took a step forward, ready to face the Iwa missing nin.

"Actually, I don't believe he's alone. Akatsuki usually attack in pairs. His teammate must be close," Gaara warned his siblings.

"Here it comes!" Kankuro warned.

Deidara started to fly above them, close enough so they could be seen, but far enough so their attacks couldn't reach him. Reaching into his bag, the Akatsuki pulled out some explosive clay, and molded it with the mouths he had on the palm of her hands. After chewing the clay a bit, they spat it in the form of ugly looking birds.

"Let's start with something soft," Deidara said as he dropped his bombs as he flew above the trio of Suna ninjas. He then made a hand seal. "Boom!"

The clay birds exploded just before they were about to touch the ground. Kankuro and Temari jumped away in different directions to avoid the explosions, while Gaara shielded himself once again with his sand.

"Scatter! If we're together, his explosions won't be able to reach us!" Kankuro suggested.

"No! That's what the Akatsuki wants! To drive us away from Gaara and leave him unprotected!" Temari argued back.

Gaara had to admit that both his siblings had a point. Remaining together would make them too vulnerable to Deidara's explosive attacks, but it was very clear that the Akatsuki were playing a divide and conquer strategy.

"Both of you are right. However, we can't play into the Akatsuki's hands. We need to be smarter than them," Gaara told them.

"What do you suggest, then?" Kankuro asked.

"Let's remain split apart, though close enough to provide help. The Akatsuki want me, so they'll focus their attacks on me. Of the three of us, I'm the one with the best defenses, so I'll be able to handle them better. Attack the Akatsuki when they're vulnerable," Gaara told them.

Both Kankuro and Temari admitted that it was a sound strategy, even if a little risky. But then again, they weren't in an advantageous position, so they'll have to work with what they had. The three Suna ninjas placed themselves in a triangular formation, with Gaara in the middle, as if tempting the Akatsuki to go and get them.

"You think you're so smart, do you?" Deidara said with a snarl. "But your little plan has a hole on it!"

The Sand siblings were alerted but multiple piercing whistles, as a multitude of equally piercing senbon flew towards them. Temari and Kankuro sprang into action. Placing herself in front of Gaara, she fully unfolded her fan and hid behind it as if it was a shield. Kankuro, meanwhile, used his own puppets to parry the needles.

"You should look were you're stepping into, girl!" Deidara shouted from above.

"What the...?" Temari asked as she reflexively looked down, and much to her horror, she saw some of Deidara's clay animals emerging from underground. "OH SHIT!"

Deidara made a hand seal. "Boom!"

Once again, more explosions rocked the battlefield. Gaara was able to shield himself with the sand, but he wasn't fast enough to protect his siblings, which were painfully hurled into the air, before falling back into the ground, away from Gaara.

"Well, now that I got rid of those two, we can focus on the matter at hand, hm?" Deidara said with a wicked grin.

Gaara fixed a deadly glare on Deidara, as more sand started to pour from his gourd. "You will pay for that."

Far from being intimidated, Deidara grinned in response. "And how do you plan to do that, jinchuriki?"

"Sand Suspension."

With a hand motion, he gathered all his sand under his feet in the form of a platform, and with another gesture, the platform elevated him high into the air, above the trees below almost as high as Deidara's bird was.

"I don't think I've ever had to fight against an airborne opponent. Anyway, this going to be fun!" Deidara said with a glee as he threw something forward. Gaara could see there were tiny birds made of clay that flew towards him.

 _"More explosives. Better get rid of them as soon as possible,"_ Gaara deduced before making another hand gesture. "Sand Bullets!"

Gaara formed bullets of super compressed sand and shot them towards the incoming explosive birds. The clay figurines detonated once the bullets impacted them, but being that far away from Gaara, the explosions were harmless.

Before the ensuing clouds of smoke could dispel, a few insects made of clay flew out of them, and dashed towards Gaara. The jinchuriki was unfazed, as with another hand motion, he prepared his defense.

"Wind Release: Infinite Sandstorm!"

Gaara blew a massive sandstorm forward. Deidara commanded his clay insects to dodge it, but the sand jutsu's range was way too wide, and the insects were caught, prematurely exploding once again.

 _"Okay, I think I have a good assessment on what this dude can do. Catching him off guard won't be easy, but there's no challenge my art can't overcome!"_ Deidara confidently thought.

 _"I can't let him push me into the defensive. If I want to win this, I have to attack,"_ Gaara thought, and with a hand motion, he commanded the sand platform to fly closer to Deidara.

The blond Akatsuki noticed this and, flew away, trying to keep the distance, since he wouldn't be able to use his explosives on such a short distance. Well, technically he could, but his self preservation instincts told him otherwise.

As Gaara began his chase, he saw Kankuro and Temari in the ground from the corner on his eye. They were back on his feet and looked ready to fight, filling the redhead with relief.

"Oi, you don't have time to look around!" Deidara called him out, as if reading his mind. "Don't worry about your friends. My pal's down there with them, and he will make sure that they enjoy a slow and agonizing death. Then again, that might be a reason to worry, don't you think so?" Deidara asked, shooting him an unnerving grin.

"Kankuro and Temari are far stronger than you think. Your partner is going to be for a rough time," Gaara fire back.

"I won't worry about him, just like you shouldn't worry about those two other kids. All you should worry...is my art!" Deidara said as he threw more explosive clay figurines at Gaara.

…

Meanwhile, down below, Kankuro and Temari were back on their feet. They were looking at the sky high battle above them, which filled them with a sense of uselessness upon realizing that there was nothing they could do to help their little brother.

"That guy's smart. They sent a fly-capable Akatsuki to deal with Gaara, knowing that Gaara can fly as well and thus forcing him to fight alone," Temari said, as she intently watched the fight.

"When this is over, I'm going to build a flying puppet," Kankuro said.

"Forget about the future. We need to find a way to help Gaara NOW!" Temari stated, stomping his foot for an added emphasis.

"I know, but what can we do, Temari? We have no jutsu that can reach that high!" Kankuro protested.

"Don't worry about not being able to help your brother, kids. I'll keep you busy in the meantime. After all, I know how tedious can be when somebody makes you wait," a new, deep and raspy voice said.

Temari and Kankuro quickly turned around, ready to fight however was there, and as expected, another Akatsuki was standing before them. Well, 'standing' might not be the right word.

In front of them was what appeared to be an extremely hunched man, almost looking like he was walking on all fours, wearing the standard black cloak with red clouds of the Akatsuki. The lower part of his face was covered by a piece of black cloth, obscuring his identity.

"Here's the other one," Temari said to no one in particular.

"What's with that guy? Is he even human?" Kankuro asked, taking note of the being's strange appearance.

The Akatsuki seemed to find Kankuro's question amusing, and let out a small laugh.

"Human? No. At least not anymore. Funny you ask that. You are right, though not for the reasons you're thinking," the Akatsuki chuckled.

"Well, human or not, you're about to become a corpse!" Temari said as she took a step forward, and wounded her fan back. "Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

However, before the ensuing gust of wind could blast the Akatsuki, it disappeared, shocking both siblings.

"He's fast!" Temari said in awe.

"Of course he is! If he was a weakling, I doubt he'll be part of Akatsuki!" Kankuro said, as he motioned his puppets to place themselves in a formation surrounding both he and Temari. "Get ready for his attack!"

"Your name is Kankuro, right? Or so I heard," the other Akatsuki asked. "I see you're a puppeteer. It's been a while since I met one. Do you mind if I test your abilities for a bit? Since I have nothing better to do until Deidara finishes the job."

"Show yourself, you coward!" Kankuro shouted back.

The Akatsuki chuckled. "I'll take that as a yes."

Multiple whistling sounds warned the two Sand Siblings of another attack, several senbon coming flying from a nearby group of bushes. Temari turned around, and swung her war fan once again.

"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

A wall of wind stopped the barrage of senbon dead in their tracks, while clearing the area of small vegetation, leaving the weird looking Akatsuki in the open, though unaffected by Temari's wind attack. Meanwhile, Kankuro moved Karasu and Kuroari to attack their now uncovered enemy, and positioned them to make sure the Akatsuki wouldn't escape nor have space to evade them.

"Take this!" Kankuro yelled.

Karasu and Koruari started to spin around the Akatsuki at high speed. Then, with a tiny flick of his finger, Kankuro triggered their hidden weapon mechanisms. Karasu fired several poison coated kunai, while Kuroari fired several senbon, also poisoned as well. The Akatsuki didn't move. He didn't need to, as a segmented, metallic tail ended in a triangular tip appeared from under him, and parried all the attacks at a break-necking speed.

"What the...?" Kankuro asked in shock.

It didn't finish there. The metal tail slammed into Kuroari, dismantling it to pieces, before it wrapped around Karasu, and lifted it above his body.

"Is this the best you can do, puppeteer?" the Akastuki asked in his guttural voice. "Not only I'm not impressed. I'm disappointed even," he finished, before tossing Karasu against Kankuro and Temari.

Both of them jumped aside to avoid the incoming puppet, but soon they would find that was a mere distraction. The metal tail flew at Temari, ready to impale her. The kunoichi reacted in time, folded her war fan, and used it to parry the blow. Still, she was unprepared for the amount of force the metallic tail was carrying, and she was hurled backwards.

"Ugh!" Temari groaned as her back hit a nearby tree.

"Temari!" Kankuro instinctively yelled, but forced himself to ignore his sister's predicament. "No! I have to take advantage now and attack while he's focused on Temari!"

Kankuro reassembled both Kuroari and Karasu, and send them again after the Akatsuki. It proved to be fruitless, as the black and red clad man...thing repelled the attack with another swing of his powerful tail.

"You bore me," the Akatsuki flatly said, before digging underground.

"For such a strange being, he doesn't lack in mobility," Kankuro said to no one in particular, as he gathered his puppets around him, waiting for the inevitable attack.

It didn't take long before the iron tail burst from underground and lunged at Kankuro. The Suna Jonin quickly moved Sanshouo between him and the impeding attack. The lizard shaped puppet deployed an iron shield above its head, which successfully parried the attack.

"You won't be able to pierce Sanshouo's iron hard defense!" Kankuro boasted. "Now, let's get you back into the open!"

With another hand motion, Karasu fired a barrage of kunai with explosive notes attached to them at the area where the tail came from, creating multiple explosions. Predictably, the Akatsuki was forced out in the open. The strange-shaped being chuckled.

"Heh, maybe you have-"

"Wind Release. Wind Pillar!"

A powerful gust of wind hurled the Akatsuki into the air, much to his surprise.

"Don't dare forget about me!" Temari called.

"Good job, sister. Karasu and Kuroari will finish this now!" Kankuro said, as he moved Kuroari where the Akatsuki would fall.

The puppet then opened its barrel like stomach, revealing a large empty space inside. The Akatsuki fell inside, and in a heartbeat, the compartment was closed. Meanwhile, Karasu disassembled into many body parts, all of them ended in sharp blades, which floated around Kuroari.

"Time to finish this," Kanuro said, making a hand motion.

…

Meanwhile, back above the trees, Deidara and Gaara continued their aerial duel, exchanging explosions and sand-based attacks.

"You're a tough nut to crack, I admit that," Deidara said. "Say, let's make a deal: you come with us in piece, and you dear siblings will be spared. What do you say, hn?"

"You suppose my siblings will fall to that partner of yours. They're strong ninja, and those who underestimate them will pay for it dearly," Gaara stoically replied.

Deidara couldn't repress a smirk. "I'd knew you'll turn down that deal, that's why I offered it in the first place. It won't be no fun if you gave up like that. Then again, I'm afraid it's you who's underestimating Sasori."

The name seemed to resonate with the redheaded Jinchuriki. "Sasori? As in...Sasori of the Red Sands?"

Deidara chuckled. "Do you know any other Sasori? Besides, that guy's from the same turf as you are, hn?"

Gaara never met Sasori, but he heard about him multiple times. Sasori of the Red Sands was probably Suna's greatest puppeteer, as well as one of deadliest ninja the village ever produced. Almost nothing was known about him after his defection. But if what Deidara said was true, then his siblings were in grave danger.

"I have to help them!"

On instinct, Gaara turned around and headed down once again, but Deidara got in the way.

"Where are you going, kid? Don't forget that I'm your opponent!" Deidara shouted, sounding almost indignant.

Gaara's face formed a dangerous scowl. "Then I'll take you out of the picture."

Deidara grinned widely. "That's the spirit! You're the kind of opponent I love to unleash my best art against!"

Gaara prepared to resume the fight. It was one thing when it was just his life was on the stakes. But if he wanted to save his siblings, he'll have to fight like he never did before. He made a hand seal.

"Wind Release: Multiple Sand Dragon Bullets!"

The sand floating around Gaara took the shape of multiple serpentine dragons, who all launched themselves at Deidara, their jaws wide open ready to chomp the Akatsuki to bits. Deidara cursed under his breath, and maneuvered his giant clay bird to evade the incoming attack. He tried to make the dragons to crash against each other, however, they would easily rebuild themselves in no time, and continue the chase.

"Okay, let's see what he thinks of this then," Deidara mused as he molded more explosive clay with the mouth on his palms.

He produced what appeared to be an insect with a bloated body. He tossed it forward, and after a smoke explosion, it grew to the same size of its bird. Art its bigger size, Gaara could appreciate it was a crudely made bee that carried a large egg shack on its abdomen.

"Let's see what you do about the Explosive Clay Hive Queen, hn!" Deidara boasted, as the giant clay insect flew forward.

The Hive Queen opened its jaws and spat two clay balls that quickly took the form of clay insects that flew towards him. The redhead stopped directing the sand dragons, and sent a barrage of sand projectiles towards the clay insects, causing them to prematurely detonate. The Hive Queen pressed the attack, this time spitting four explosive insects. When Gaara tried the same tactic, the insects skillfully maneuvered around the sand projectiles. Gaara put an end to them with a wide ranged sandstorm.

Gaara's sand reacted on his own and formed a protective dome above him. Several explosions shattered the dome, but absorbed most of the impact, protecting the jinchuriki. Taking a quick glance upwards, Gaara saw Deidara flying above him in circles.

Gaara realized that Deidara's plan was to force him to divert his attention to something else so he could attack when the jinchuriki was distracted, yet this knowledge wasn't of much help.

 _"Come on, Gaara, think!"_ Gaara chided himself as he tried to focus on both Deidara and the Explosive Hive Queen.

Speaking of which, the latter released four more clay insects at him. Gaara decided to fight fire with fire, and tried something he had never done before. He formed four globs of sand, shaped them like bats, and send them after the explosive insects.

"Sand Flying Ambush!"

Each of the bats focused on the targets, which tried to evade them, but unlike previous attacks, this one was homing, and even if the bats didn't catch the insects, they would keep them on the run pretty much forever.

 _"Now is when the Akatsuki would try to attack me,"_ Gaara thought as he looked upwards, but saw nobody above him. "Where did he-?"

Suddenly, an explosion from below knocked him out of the sand cloud, and fell to the ground below. Fortunately, his sand reacted in time, and formed a sledge that allowed him to slide to the ground safely.

"The bastard attacked from below this time around," Gaara said in realization, far too late.

"Oi! No time to get distracted!" Deidara mocked from above.

Not forgetting about the other enemy, Gaara turned around to see the Explosive Hive Queen flying towards him once again. It spat four more globs of clay that turned into clay insects.

"If I have to fight two enemies at once, I might as well split in two," Gaara said as he made a hand seal. "Sand Clone Jutsu!"

Part of his sand gathered and formed a humanoid shape, that quickly morphed into an almost perfect replica of Gaara. Both Gaara and the clone summoned sand clouds once again, and hopped onto them in order to return to the aerial fight.

"So, a clone. You must think you're pretty smart," Deidara said in a taunting tone. "Too bad that by doing so, you cut the amount of sand you can use in half."

"That's all what I need to defeat you, Akatsuki. And if it's not, I can assure you that getting more sand is not a problem to begin with," Gaara retorted as he made a hand motion. "Wind Release: Sand Shuriken!"

A large barrage of star-shaped sand projectiles flew at Deidara. The Akatsuki maneuvered his bird with great skill to avoid the deadly projectiles, but the amount of them were too many this time, and some of them ended up finding its mark, producing multiple cuts across his skin, some of them rather deep.

"ARGH! So, you like to play rough, hn? Well, so do I!" Deidara said as he made a hand seal. "Explosion Release: Swarm of Fire!"

The Explosive Hive Queen, who was dealing with the sand clone, start to spat globs of clay like crazy until it emptied its egg sack. The globs quickly took the shape of flying insects. With a loud buzz that sounded more like a roar due the sheer intensity, the insects charged forward. Their first target was the Gaara clone, who, being much weaker than the original, perished instantly upon being engulfed by a chain of explosions, obliterating it. The remaining of the swarm set their sights on Gaara, and began the chase.

Gaara frowned upon seeing the swarm approaching. He made a single hand seal with both hands.

"Wind Release: Infinite Sandstorm!"

Gaara gathered all the sand he could, and directed it at the incoming swarm in the form of a devastating sandstorm. The winds were so powerful it successfully halted their advance, some of the clay insects.

Unfortunately, that left him wide open for Deidara to attack, and the Akatsuki sent two explosive clay birds at him. Seeing that if he remained in the air, the insects would have more ways to attack him, Gaara descended upon the ground, and formed several layers of sand domes around him in order to protect himself against the incoming swarm.

 _"Let's hope this will be enough,"_ Gaara inwardly pleaded.

He was soon about to find out, as multiple explosions rained upon him and his makeshift bunker.

…

Back to Temari and Kankuro, the hooded Suna ninja was about finish Sasori off.

"Black Secret Move: Iron Maiden!"

The improvised swords that were Karasu's limbs inserted into the slits around Kuroari's torso, impaling the Akatsuki inside.

"...and done!" Kankuro said, with a triumphant smirk.

Temari, however, wasn't so optimistic. "No blood spilled. I have a bad feeling about this. Open up. I want to make sure the bastard's dead," Temari asked as she got her giant fan ready.

Kankuro nodded, and with a pull of his finger, he opened Kuroari's stomach. And much to his shock and anger, there was a log in the Akatsuki's place, impaled by the improvised blades.

"The hell? Where did he go?" Kankuro indignantly asked.

"Goddammit Kankuro, he fooled us! Get your puppets back to normal before we're attacked!" Temari urged him.

"Too late for that," the Akatsuki's raspy voice said, as his metallic tail burst from behind a nearby bush, and stabbed into Kankuro's stomach.

"Kankuro!" Temari screamed.

Kankuro grunted in pain, before he wrapped one of his arms around the metallic tail. Then, he created several chakra threads with the other, and tied those threads to nearby branches. When the Akatsuki tried to pull his tail back, he found unable to.

"I got him, Temari! Go for the kill!" Kankuro cried, as he spat some blood.

Temari nodded and rushed towards the Akatsuki. She folded her fan, and hoisted it over her head. Once the Akatsuki appeared before her, she got ready to attack. The Akatsuki, however, opened his mouth, and fired a barrage of senbon that sank into Temari's flesh. The kunoichi ignored the sharp pain and smashed her fan against the Akatsuki's head with all her might.

The effect was instant. Temari had put so much strength into her swipe, that the Akatsuki shattered instantly as if he was made of wood, metal and plastic. And, upon closer inspection, that was the case, much to the Suna kunoichi's bewilderment.

A hooded man wearing the Akatsuki cloak came out of the shattered construct. Pulling his hood back, he revealed to be a very young man with soft facial features and short red hair, not unlike Gaara's.

"Congratulations, you destroyed Hiruko," the Akatsuki said, his voice no longer sounding deep and raspy, but soft and youthful. "Too bad you did it at the cost of your lives."

"Wait a minute, that thing...it was a puppet!" Kankuro said in realization, before he winced and brought one hand to his wounded gut.

"Yes, it was. Not that it would have been of much help had you realized of that earlier," the Akatsuki replied in a bored tone. "The weapons I hurt you with are coated in a lethal, slow acting poison. You might not notice it now, but trust me, you're already dead."

"Who the hell are you!?" an enraged Kankuro asked.

The redhead smirked. "I am what you strive to be. I am the strongest ninja Suna ever produced, as well as its most skilled puppeteer. The hilariously outdated puppets you tried to use against me were some of my earliest creations. Though, to your credit, I'll admit that you handled them with mastery.

"My name is Sasori of the Red Sands. You might have heard of me."

Kankuro paled. If this man was who he said it was, then no wonder he defeated them so easily. But there was something that didn't make sense. Sasori disappeared from Suna twenty years ago, back during the Third Ninja War, when he was just fifteen. Yet the young man in front of him couldn't be older than eighteen.

"You lie!" Kankuro called him out. "If you were really Sasori-"

At that moment, a long chain of explosions happened nearby, raising powerful winds and several clouds of smoke and dirt.

"And it seems that my partner is done. Just in time. Good, since I hate waiting," the redhead said with a smirk.

…

"Hmmm...I think I overdid it..." Deidara wondered, as his bird began to fly in circles around the clouds of dirt and smoke product of the explosions. He then smiled and added: "Nah! It was epic! One of my best jobs!"

As the dust started to clear, among a field of craters, Deidara could see his prey: the redheaded jinchuriki, lying on the ground, motionless. His clothes were torn apart, and his body was covered in burns and bruises. A bad feeling started to creep through the Iwa missing-nin's back, and grimaced in result.

"Boy, I may have overdone it there..." Deidara mumbled as he got off his bird, and started to walk towards Gaara. "If I killed the jinchuriki, then I...no, better check before jumping to conclusions. Oi, are you alive, hn?" Deidara asked as he kicked Gaara's body.

Then, "Gaara" dissolved into a mound of sand, much to Deidara's shock.

"Another clone!" Deidara said in realization, as he looked around trying to find the real deal.

But it was too late. Sand started to burst from underground with the same power as a geyser. The sand then started to form thick tendrils which took no time to wrap themselves around the Akatsuki, leaving him immobilized.

"What the hell is this!?" Deidara screamed as he futilely tried to break free.

"A decoy. They're widely used by ninja around the world," Gaara's voice said from behind as he walked towards the trapped Deidara. "Don't bother, you won't be able to break free of that sand prison. Now, we're going to head towards your partner, and you'll tell him to leave, or else I'll turn your bones and organs into pudding."

"And you'll kill me afterwards. You think I'm an idiot?" Deidara retorted.

"You won't die. At least, not yet. A live Akatsuki member is too valuable. That's why I'll bring you back to my village, where our Torture & Interrogation department will make you spill everything you know about Akatsuki. If you cooperate, you might live."

"So, you want to know Akatsuki's secrets, hehehe..." Deidara laughed mischievously, before shooting Gaara a taunting look. "I think I might share one of those secrets right now with you..."

"I'm all ears. And that would be...?"

"That's not the real me, but a clone," Deidara's voice said from behind.

Gaara instinctively turned around and saw the real Deidara standing there. Startled, Gaara prepared to attack the real one before he could and that proved to be a fatal mistake. The clone behind him gathered its chakra and released it in the form of yet another explosion that engulfed Gaara. The sand trapping the clone tried to move towards Gaara in order to protect him, but it was too late.

After the explosion ceased, Gaara laid there, motionless, just like his clone had been just a few minutes ago.

"I think you're not a clone this time, are you?" Deidara mockingly asked. He then pulled out what appeared to be a compass. The needle in the compass moved a little at a constant pace. "And you're not dead. Alright, our job here is done!"

Deidara jumped onto his giant clay bird, who proceed to catch Gaara with its talons, before it flew to the concurrent battleground. There, he saw Sasori, no longer inside his puppet, with the other two Suna ninja at his feet.

"Oi, Sasori, I already beat him! Shall we move or what, hn?" Deidara asked.

"Gaara..." Temari whispered, disheartened upon seeing her defeated brother being held by that clay bird.

"You did? Nice," Sasori said, before turning to the fallen Suna nin. "The poison inside your bodies will kill you in three days. You will experience the most excruciating pain any human being has ever felt. By the end of the second day, you'll try to kill yourselves. The merciful thing would be to kill you right here and right now," Sasori concluded, shooting them a painfully fake sympathetic smile. "But you destroyed Hiruko, one of my dearest puppets. It's beyond repair, which means I'll have to rebuild it from scratch. And thus, I don't feel especially merciful. So enjoy your last three days of your existence, if you can, that is."

Sasori then turned around, and jumped onto Deidara's bird. The artificial creature flapped its wings vigorously to gain altitude, and started to fly towards the west.

Once the Akatsuki were no longer visible, Temari gathered what little strength she had, and using her folded war fan as support, she got back on her feet.

"Kankuro...get up! We're going to...make those bastards...regret leaving us...alive," Temari said, as she started to cough.

"You aren't thinking in...going after them...?" Kankuro weakly asked.

"Of course not! We need to look for help...for both Gaara and ourselves..." Temari replied.

"We're too far away from Suna..."

"But we're still close to Konoha!" Temari energetically said, as she helped his little brother back on his feet. "Come on Kankuro! Tsunade-sama can...heal us, and then Konoha will help us to...to save Gaara..."

And with the knowledge that not only their lives, but their little brother's life was at stake, the two fallen Suna ninja proceeded to move towards Konoha, as fast as their weakened bodies allowed them to.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And the Gaara Rescue Arc begins! Will Temari and Kankuro reach Konoha in time to save both their lives, as well as Gaara? I think the answer is pretty obvious, not only because if they didn't there would be no arc, but there's no way I'm going to kill the Sand Siblings. You NEVER kill the Sand Siblings. Only villains do that.  
**

 **And yeah, Shikamaru and Temari are an item already, which happened offscreen during the second time skip. Sorry if it feels rushed, but if I gave all couples the same focus as Naruto and Hinata, the story's pace would be brought to a screeching halt. Romance is good and all that, but it's secondary to the main plot. Also, you enjoyed their rematch. Some people were unsatisfied with their short match in the Chunin Exams preliminaries, so hope this serves to convince you that no, I don't have a grudge against Shikamaru.**

 **Hope you enjoyed the Sand Siblings versus Akatsuki fight. Like I said in the note at the beginning, Chiyo won't upstage Kankuro and Temari from what should have been their rightful place in this arc, and they will get their revenge match against Sasori and Deidara.**

 **BTW, I'm going to leave here a list of rank progression of all the characters of Naruto's age group:**

 **Konoha:**

Naruto: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Special Jonin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Jonin (Part II)

Hinata: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Special Jonin (Part II)

Haku: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Special Jonin (Part II)

Sasuke: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Special Jonin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Jonin (Part II)

Sakura: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Karin: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Shikamaru: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Ino: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Choji: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Kiba: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Shino: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Tamaki: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Chunin (Part II)

Neji: Genin (Part I), Special Jonin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Jonin (Part II)

Tenten: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Special Jonin (Part II)

Lee: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Kiri Civil War Interlude), Special Jonin (Part II)

Hanabi: Academy Student (Part I), Genin (Part II)

Kaida: Academy Student (Part I), Genin (Part II)

Hagane: Academy Student (Part I), Genin (Part II)

 **Suna:**

Gaara: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Jonin (Part II)

Kankuro: Genin (Part I), Jonin (Part II)

Temari: Genin (Part I), Jonin (Part II)

 **Taki:**

Fu: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Jonin (Part II)

 **Kumo:**

Karui: Genin-Chunin (Part I), Chunin (Part II):

Omoi: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Part II)

T: Genin (Part I), Chunin (Part II)

 **Thanks ato gio08 for betareading the chapter.**

 **Anyway, with this the Gaara Rescue Arc, and Shippuden, have officially begun! I hope that with all the changes I'm going to make, you end up enjoying it better than the original! Tell me your thoughts via review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	52. Gaara's Rescue Team

**Author's Note: Well, the beginning of Shippuden got an overall much better reception than the Kiri Civil War arc. Guess that people really wanted to see the Sand Siblings back. Anyway, enjoy the second part:**

* * *

 **Chapter 52**

Gaara's Rescue Party

 _or_

 _Snakes in the Grass_

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate gate duty?" Kiba asked his teammates.

"Many times. And doing so doesn't make our job here any less tedious," Shino fired back.

"You know, I heard that if you get promoted to Special Jonin, you no longer have to do these kind of chores," Tamaki replied. "Problem is, I have no idea what could I do to get that promotion."

"I plan on specializing as a tracker, just like my mom did," Kiba replied. "Tracking missions are always fun."

Tamaki noticed that a faint light was starting to appear in the horizon, and little by little, the forest around Konoha started to become clearer.

"The sun is rising," the Cat Kunoichi said as she stifled a yawn. "That means the day shift will soon come, and we can go home and sleep a little."

Akamaru then started to sniff the air. He walked closer to the wall's edge and started to loudly bark at something below.

"What is it buddy, did you find something?" Kiba said, and soon he also got wind of a foreign smell coming closer.

Tamaki narrowed her eyes, and saw two figures slowly approaching the gates. "Hey, down there! Two people are coming!"

"Can you see who they are?" Shino asked.

"Their smell...I think they're Suna ninja. And not just Suna ninja, but I think they're Gaara's older siblings!" Kiba pointed out.

"Are you sure about that?" Shino asked, as he tried to get a better view of the incoming strangers.

Then, the two figures dropped to the ground, and laid there, motionless.

"Oh shit!" Tamaki said.

"Kiba, go warn somebody about the situation at hand! I'll go down and see if I can heal them. Tamaki, guard my back in case it's a trap," Shino quickly commanded.

"Right!"

"You got it!"

Kiba and Akamaru quickly dashed towards the Hokage's tower, while Shino and Tamaki jumped from the wall, landing on the ground with a 'thud', as they cautiously approached the two fallen Suna ninja.

…

 _Land of the Rivers_

A couple hours after Kankuro and Temari had arrived to Konoha, so did Deidara and Sasori to the designated Akatsuki lair in the Land of the Rivers. While they could have arrived there much earlier, they decided to stop for the night and rest, since neither of them came out unscathed from their clash with the Sand Siblings.

They reached the main door, a massive boulder with a seal attached to it. Deidara made a hand seal, and the boulder elevated above the ground, revealing a cave entrance. The two Akatsuki, with their captured jinchuriki hoisted on Deidara's shoulder, entered the cave, and the boulder slammed down as soon as they were inside.

Deidara walked forward and tossed Gaara's unconscious body in front of him.

"So, I see that you were successful in your endeavor, Deidara, Sasori," a deep, distorted voice said above them.

Both Akatsuki looked upwards and saw eight astral projections, each of them belonging to the other Akatsuki members.

"Of course! When did I fail Akatsuki?" Deidara asked, indignantly. "That's two for two, need I remind you!"

"You shouldn't count Yagura, given that all you had to do was to activate the trigger phrase I implanted inside his mind," Obito dismissively said.

Deidara angrily glared at the Uchiha. "I'd like to see YOU getting into a warzone and take a jinchuriki out of it alive, hn!"

"Then again, we shouldn't dismiss their accomplishments like that, should we?" Orochimaru chuckled. "After all, Sasori lost his beloved Hiruko in order to bring us this jinchuriki."

This time, it was Sasori who frowned at Orochimaru. He hated how that man was able to give praise and diss insults in the same breath. Still, the best thing to do was not to dignify that gratuitous jab with a response.

"Enough of that. Time is of the essence. We need to extract the Tailed Beast from its host," the leader said as he made five hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"

A massive statue emerged from the ground. The statue had an extremely ugly visage, composed of a large, open mouth full of teeth and nine eyes, two of whom were opened. Disconnected from the statue were two arms with their fingers pointing forward. Each Akatsuki placed themselves on one of the fingers.

"The extraction process will take three days, so make sure you're ready," the Leader advised, before making another hand seal. "Sealing Art: Phantom Dragon Nine Consumption Seal!"

Nine ghostly dragons emerged from the statue's mouth and engulfed Gaara, lifting the young jinchruiki above the ground. A stream of red energy started to flow from Gaara's mouth into the statue. The extraction process had begun, and if it wasn't interrupted, Gaara would lose the One Tail. But most importantly, he would also lose his life.

…

 _Konoha Hospital_

When Tsunade crossed the doors of the hospital like she did every other day, she expected to have a day like every other. Sure, medical emergencies happen every day, but nothing she or her qualified and in some cases, personally trained staff wouldn't be able to handle.

What she didn't expect, though, was a medical emergency not even five minutes after she sat on her desk in her office. A nurse immediately requested her to come down, as two people of utmost importance were on the verge of death, and they needed her help as soon as possible. Tsunade's surprise was gigantic when she saw who the patients were.

"Temari and Kankuro? What are these two doing here?" Tsunade asked as she helped the other medic-nin to stabilize them.

"We don't know. The Chunin of Team Kakashi were about to finish their night shift at the gates when they saw them coming," a medic nin explained. "We can ask them when they're awake."

"What's their status?" Tsunade asked.

"Their wounds suggest that they've been in a battle recently. But that's not the reason of their current state," another medic-nin said. "We detected a powerful poison coursing through their bodies. If we don't eliminate the poison, they might not last long."

Tsunade knew what she had to do. "Quickly, fetch my apprentices! We'll need them if we want these two to live!"

She did not mention Shino. He was in her mind, being her apprentice and all, but after being all night awake, he would be way too sleepy to be of help. And for their task ahead, they needed to be as focused as possible.

…

 _Training Ground Eight_

Kurenai's Assault Squad had gathered at their usual training spot, and were about to begin their morning training routine. Since all of them were either Jonin or Special Jonin, none of them were bound to the extra duties all Chunin had, such as guarding the gates, or patrolling the city. And thus, they usually spend the morning training until they were called for a mission.

And unbeknownst to them, today would be one of those days.

"Okay, since we're all here, let us begin," Kurenai said. "I have a good feeling that if we keep this training regime, in a few months you two will get that promotion to Jonin," Kurenai told Haku and Hinata.

"Today I suggested Kurenai-sensei that you should fight me in Sage Mode. I won't go all out on you, but it will be good practice," Naruto said. "You won't find many enemies that are stronger than a master of Senjutsu like yours truly, hehe."

"Alright, Naruto-kun, I'm ready," Hinata confidently said.

"Me too. Besides, that way we can go all out without worrying about causing you irreparable harm," Haku added.

"In that case, get into position. I'll watch and-" Kurenai was saying before she noticed an ANBU pretty much appearing between them. "Huh?"

Haku immediately recognized the ANBU, not just for her cat-shaped mask, but also for her bright purple hair. "Yugao-san?"

The ANBU nodded and removed her mask, revealing her face. "Hinata Hyuga, Tsunade-sama requests your presence at the hospital. You need to assist her with two gravely injured patients of utmost importance."

"I will go immediately," Hinata nodded as she started running towards the hospital.

"Yugao, do you know who are those patients?" Kurenai asked the purplette.

"Yes. Temari and Kankuro, from Sunagakure. We don't know what happened to them since they're unconscious, but we presume they've been attacked," Yugao explained.

Naruto felt his heart sink. He had talked to them not even a day ago. Then, much to his horror, he noticed that Yugao didn't mention a certain somebody. "What about Gaara? He left with Kankuro and Temari. Is he alright!?"

Yugao just shook her head. "We know nothing about him. What we know it's that Temari and Kankuro appeared before the gates of the village shortly after sunrise. It's possible that he managed to run away and return to Suna?"

"No, that doesn't sound like Gaara. He would have never abandoned his siblings like that. I have a very bad feeling about this. I think I'm going to the hospital as well," Naruto said.

"Let's go all then," Kurenai suggested.

Yugao merely nodded, put her mask back on, and Body Flickered out of there.

"Gaara, Temari and Kankuro left yesterday afternoon, and today the latter two show up, badly wounded, without the former," Haku mentioned. "Do you think this is the work of Akatsuki?"

Naruto shot the Ice Ninja a grave look. "That's what I'm afraid of."

…

When Hinata arrived at the room where Kankuro and Temari were being treated, she was greeted by the sight of her master in the medical arts, as well as her fellow medic-nin Ino. Tsunade was studying something under a microscope, while Ino helped other medics to stabilize the wounded Sand Siblings.

"Tsunade-sama, Hinata is here!" a nurse announced.

"Good. Hinata go help Ino, now!" she barked at the Hyuga. "What about Shizune's Medical Squad?"

"It seems they left yesterday for a mission. Nobody knows when they will be back," the nurse replied.

"Drats. I could have really used their help here," Tsunade cursed, as she went back to the microscope.

"Any progress on the poison, Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked as she continuously healed Temari.

"I think I saw something similar in the past. It looks a lot like the poisons Chiyo of Suna used way back during the Second Ninja War," Tsunade told her. "Except this one seems far more advanced. Fortunately, nobody has ever created a poison I can't neutralize, and this won't be an exception."

Suddenly, Kankuro started to tremble violently as he screamed in pain.

"What's wrong with him?" a panicked Ino said as she moved to heal him.

"Byakugan!" Hinata's Bloodline Limit activated, and with it she was able to immediately see the problem. "His liver! The poison is damaging it!"

Ino nodded and focused the Mystical Palm Jutsu on that area. Soon, Kankuro relaxed and became more stable, even if he was till unconscious. Hinata then scanned what organs were the most damaged so she, Ino and the other medics could focus on healing those first.

"Good job you two. Work on keeping them stable while I finish the antidote," Tsunade told them.

"When Temari-san and Kankuro-san left, Gaara-san was with them. Do we know anything about him?" Hinata asked. Like Naruto and Haku, she was afraid Akatsuki would be behind this.

Ino shook her head. "No. We don't know about him. At least not unless these two wake up first."

"Could you probe their minds?" Hinata suggested.

"Guess I could. Though try to keep them stable. If another violent episode happens, the sympathetic damage could break my mind," Ino advised Hinata as she placed both her index fingers on Kankuro and Temari's forehead.

The Yamanaka heiress only needed to see their latest memories before she found the answer she was looking for.

"Got it!" Ino said. "It seems that two Akatsuki attacked them and took Gaara away. Their names are Sasori and Deidara."

Hinata let out a weary sigh. "I dreaded it. We need to inform both Hokage-sama and Sunagakure."

"Let somebody else do that. We have a work to finish here," Tsunade told her, before something Ino said registered in her brain. "Wait a minute, you said Sasori?"

"Yes, that's the name I heard in both their minds. It can't be a coincidence," Ino confirmed. "Why?"

"Sasori is Chiyo's grandson. He disappeared twenty years ago, and nobody has seen him since. Guess that solves both that mystery and why this poison felt so familiar," Tsunade said.

"When Naruto learns of this, there won't be anything to stop him from going to rescue Gaara himself," Hinata mentioned.

"I know," Tsunade sighed in defeat. "That's why I'm counting on you to make sure that boneheaded son of mine comes back alive."

Hinata nodded with determination. "You can trust him to me, Tsunade-sama."

…

An indeterminate amount of time later, Temari stirred as she slowly opened her eyes. She had to blink a couple times, in order for her eyes to get used to the initially bright light of the early morning. Standing up, she groaned as she looked around, finding the surroundings worryingly unfamiliar.

"Ugh..." she groaned.

"Huh?" a female voice said besides her. "You're awake?"

Temari looked at the blue haired, pale skinned girl sitting beside her. "H-Hinata?"

"Temari-san? You're awake!" Hinata said visibly happy. She then walked outside the hospital room, and said to somebody outside: "Naruto-kun, she's finally awake!"

Unsurprisingly, Naruto rushed into the room with an excited, but visibly not overjoyed expression.

"Finally! We were so worried!" Naruto loudly said.

"Shhhhh! We're in a hospital!" Hinata chided her boyfriend.

Naruto acknowledged Hinata with a sheepish nod. "Yeah, sorry..."

Naruto's loud outburst caused Kankuro to awake from his sleep as well. His reaction was the same as Temari's.

"Who the hell is yelling...?" Kankuro complained in a whisper, as confusion started to dawn once he realized where he was. "What...where am I?"

"It's safe to assume we made it to Konoha. But more importantly," Temari interrupted, now more awake. "How long have we been here?"

Temari could feel the tension in the atmosphere growing thicker, which made her dread the answer ever more.

"You've been here for almost a day," Hinata gravely said. "We know about Gaara. Ino-san scanned your minds while you were unconscious."

"What!?" Kankuro indignantly asked.

"Sorry for invading your privacy like that, but we needed to know what happened in order to prepare accordingly," Hinata explained. "Besides, Ino-san only probed the last few hours' worth of memories, so it's nothing you should worry about."

"Now I'm guessing you want to go and look for Gaara, right?" Naruto asked.

Both Temari and Kankuro scowled at such obvious question. "Do we really need to answer?" Temari asked.

"Thought so. If you feel better, get dressed and come with us to the Hokage's tower. We need to prepare for a few things before we leave," Naruto said.

Kankuro and Temari nodded.

…

 _Hokage's Tower, Half an Hour Later_

Inside the Council Room were gathered Jiraiya, all four members of Kurenai's Assault Squad, Temari and Kankuro.

"While I'm willing to lend you my best ninja to help with Gaara's rescue, we have a problem," Jiraiya stated. "We don't know where did they took Gaara, and even if we put our best trackers to work, we'd still need something with Gaara's or his captor's scent, which we don't have."

"Besides, we still don't know if Gaara is still alive," Kurenai intervened, before sending the Sand Siblings an apologetic look. "Sorry if I'm being pessimist, but it's a possibility we must take into account."

"Fortunately, we have the solution to both problems right here," Temari said as she pulled out a compass from the folders of her robe.

"A...compass?" Hinata asked, tilting her head in slight confusion.

"Not a normal compass. This compass was made with special fuinjutsu, and is attuned to Gaara's chakra signature. The needle marks the direction Gaara is, and the fact that it needle still moves means that he's still alive."

Jiraiya opened his eyes wide in shock. "But...that's extremely dangerous! If it fell in the wrong hands, such artifact would make hunting Gaara trivially easy!"

"We're aware of that. That's why only four of this compasses were made. Temari and I carry two of them, and the other two are under our father's watch," Kankuro explained. "We decided to make them in case something like this happened, which as you can see, it did. All what we need to do is follow the compass and rescue Gaara."

"Speaking of which, how much time do we have?" Haku asked. "Because no doubt the Akatsuki will try to extract Gaara's Beast as soon as possible."

"Not just that, but they also need to seal it in another container, either a human or something else," Jiraiya added. "According to my available knowledge, it's a long and exhausting process. Though between ten people, they can accelerate the process. My estimate is that we have three days until the Tailed Beast is removed and Gaara dies."

A deafening silence fell upon the room, as everybody weighed down the Hokage's words.

"Three days. That's a very narrow window," Hinata said, almost in a whimper.

"Less than three days," Temari corrected them. "We spent a whole day here, recovering. We only have two days at best to do it. Let's hope they didn't take him too far."

"If they want to start the extraction process as soon as possible, they'll have to be somewhere near the place you were attacked. My best bet would be the Land of the Rivers, since it's a small country with no ninja village. The best place to set a hideout," Jiraiya suggested.

Kankuro checked his compass. "The needle does point in the direction of the Land of the Rivers. I don't think they would go any further, or else they'd go into the Land of Wind. Akatsuki wouldn't dare to set a base there."

"Sadly, they would, so don't be so quick to discard that possibility," Naruto pointed out. "Anyway, I think we've talked long enough, can we go now?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Indeed. However, be careful, Naruto. Remember Akatsuki is also after you."

"Don't sweat it, dad. I'll give up ramen before letting such thing happen," Naruto said, with his trademark confident grin.

"Meanwhile, I'll send a toad messenger to Sunagakure in order to warn them about what happened. Hopefully, they will provide them with reinforcements," Jiraiya told them. "Good luck to all of you."

All of them nodded and left the Council Room, ready to leave the village and look for Gaara as soon as possible.

…

A few hours later, the group of six were traversing the forests of the Land of Fire as fast as they could, leaping from one tree branch into the next. From time to time, Temari or Kankuro would take a look at their compasses, not just to check they were in the right direction, but to see if Gaara was still alive. So far, the needle still moved. They might arrive in time yet.

"Kankuro, Temari," Kurenai broke the silence. "Tell us about the Akatsuki who attacked you. We'll have to face them more than likely."

Both Kankuro and Temari nodded, before the latter started to speak.

"The one Kankuro and I fought against is a master puppeteer, who claimed to be Sasori of the Red Sands, one of Suna's most skilled ninja," Temari said.

"That puppet he used to fight us...hell, I even feel unworthy of calling myself a puppeteer. And I'm sure he has others way more dangerous than that," Kankuro bitterly said, gritting his teeth.

"Is Sasori related to one of your village elders, the one named Chiyo?" Hinata asked.

Temari looked at the Hyuga, mildly confused. "Yeah, that's true. How is that relevant?"

"When Tsunade-sama analyzed the poison, she said it was similar to the ones Chiyo used to concoct back in the Second Ninja War. Though this one was far more advanced," Hinata pointed out.

"That's too much of a coincidence to discard. Though those are really bad news if that guy was really Sasori," Temari said, with a shiver.

"Why do you say that?" Haku asked.

"Sasori alone managed to stop Iwa's forces from entering the Land of the Wind. If it wasn't for him, Suna could have come out of the war in even worse shape than we did," Kankuro explained. "In fact, the 'red sands' part of his name is because whenever he was in the battlefield, the sand of the desert ended up dyed in red due the all blood spilled by his puppets."

The Konoha ninja grew uneasy at the fearsome reputation just one of their potential enemies had. Even if they already knew this, they only had very few information on its members and their past exploits.

"What about the other guy?" Haku asked.

"That was the one who fought and defeated Gaara," Kankuro continued. "It was a blonde...well, I dunno. I couldn't tell if it was a guy or a girl, honestly. I mean, it sounded like a man but looked like a girl. Kinda like you, Haku."

Haku raised an eyebrow in annoyance, while Temari snickered a little.

Something clicked within Naruto's minds, and the jinchuriki opened his mouth to speak. "Did that guy fight with explosives, while flying on top of a weird giant bird?"

"Yes, precisely!" Temari said. "Do you know this man?"

Naruto nodded, and his expression darkened. "I met him before. His name is Deidara. He appeared during the Kirigakure invasion to abduct Yagura. Unfortunately, both Mei and I were far too exhausted to stop him that moment. And now, that asshole returned to do the same thing to Gaara."

Hinata noticed Naruto's anger and jumped close to him.

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. We'll stop both him and the rest of Akatsuki, so they won't hunt any more jinchuriki," Hinata reassured him.

Naruto's frown vanished, and smiled a little at his girlfriend's support.

"Deidara nearly killed me as well during the battle of Kirigakure," Haku interjected. "Had I been a second slower, both me, Dagura-san, as well as many Kiri ninja would have perished, engulfed by the fire of his explosives."

"Kurenai-sensei, do you carry a bingo book?" Naruto asked. The raven haired woman nodded, before the blond continued. "I know Deidara has a profile there. We should take a look before we engage him."

"Indeed. Even if we know he uses some sort of explosive jutsu, getting more information won't hurt," Kurenai agreed.

The group of six continued their trek discussing among each other possible strategies and ways to take down the two Akatsuki. And unbeknownst to them, an inhuman being watched them as they moved.

…

Meanwhile, back at the Akatsuki hideout, the ten missing-nin continued the extraction process. That is, until Zetsu was startled by the new information that reached his brain. Something that didn't go unnoticed by the leader.

"Zetsu, don't falter. We still have a long way to go until the extraction process is complete," the leader said, as he fixed his rippled eyes on the plant man.

"It's not that, boss. One of my clones saw a force of Konoha ninja heading towards the hideout's direction," the white half of Zetsu informed. "I think they're coming to the jinchuriki's rescue."

"How do you know they're coming for us? The location of this hideout is a secret," the only female of the Akatsuki said.

"Yeah. They could be a squad of ninja going on an unrelated mission," Kakuzu suggested.

"For starters, the Nine Tails Jinchuriki is in the group, and looked agitated. And second, two Suna ninja were with them. The jinchuriki's siblings, to be precise," White Zetsu said.

Naturally, this drew Sasori's attention. "That's impossible. I poisoned them. No one has been able to make an antidote to my poisons, and even if by some chance somebody was able to, there's no way they could have done it in such little time!"

"It's obvious what happened, Sasori-san," Orochimaru intervened. "If they came from Konoha's direction, it means they were able to reach the village. Remember that Tsunade-hime is in Konoha, and to her, making an antidote for your poison would have been trivially easy."

Sasori frowned once again at Orochimaru's dig. For all his quarrels with Deidara, he preferred the psychotic blond over the smug Sannin as a partner. He didn't miss the days in which the two of them were part of the same two-man team.

"Even then, there's no way for them to know we're here, right?" Deidara asked.

"They can, if they do use the same compass we used to track the jinchuriki," Sasori replied. "As long as the jinchuriki is alive, they'll be able to track his position."

"How long until they reach this place, Zetsu?" the leader asked.

"I'd say less than a day. They're moving really fast. In a few hours, they'll reach the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers," the plant man informed.

"We can't afford taking such a big risk. Somebody needs to go there and delay them until the extraction is complete," the leader stated.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," Orochimaru offered. "I placed some of my minions close to the lair in case something like this happened. While I doubt they will be able to defeat Naruto-kun and his allies, they'll buy us enough time to complete the ritual. Not to mention, they'll be far more exhausted once they arrive to rescue their little friend."

"Good, and once they reach this lair, we'll kill two birds with one stone and capture the Nine Tails' jinchuriki," the female Akatsuki said.

Obito didn't say anything, as he carefully listened to the whole exchange.

 _"Orochimaru, every day you grow more dangerous, but you still prove to be too useful to eliminate yet,"_ Obito thought. One could say that the solution to his problem was to use Shisui's eye's mind controlling powers on the Sannin. Which he already did, but Orochimaru somehow managed to shrug the genjutsu off. He found later that Orochimaru's skull is carved with protective seals to stop enemies from probing or tampering with his mind, a measure he originally developed in case he was at the mercy of the Yamanaka working at Konoha's T &I department. _"But one day, your usefulness will come to an end. And without the Akatsuki to cover your back and provide you with resources, your other enemies won't take long to wipe you out..."_

…

Back to the forests of the Land of Fire, the group of six continued jumping from one branch to the other, mentally preparing themselves for the battle that no doubt would happen in a few hours. However, they weren't prepared for the battle that was about to happen in a few seconds.

Without any kind of warning, a giant snake emerged out of nowhere, its jaws wide open, ready to swallow Hinata in one go. Fortunately, while startled, the bluenette's sharp reflexes didn't fail to save her.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata turned into a spinning sphere of chakra the moment the snake's giant jaws closed upon her. The force of the spinning caused the snake to recoil, hissing in pain. With another thundering racket, another snake, just as big at the first one, burst through the trees, this time aiming for Haku. The Ice Ninja nimbly jumped aside, dodging the attack, as he made several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Breath of Winter!"

Haku breathed an extremely powerful gust of frozen wind that covered the giant snake in frost. The reptile hissed in pain as well, as it quickly slithered away.

"Where the hell these things came from?" Temari shouted as she prepared to attack in case more of them came.

"There are only two snake summoners we're aware of. One of them is Anko, a ninja loyal to Konoha. The other one is Orochimaru," Kurenai explained.

"Does that mean that Orochimaru is here!?" Naruto asked as worry began to creep through his back.

"Orochimaru-sama doesn't have the time to deal with insignificant vermin like you. That's why we're here," a new voice said. The group of six saw a man wearing an armored version Otogakure uniform landing on a tree branch in front of them. A large broadsword was hanging on his back. His hands quickly ran through hand seals. "Lightning Release: Snake Thunder!"

The man's arm started to crackle with yellow electricity, as the lightning gathered and formed into a snake, which lunged at the group. Hinata jumped forward.

"Byakugan!" after activating her Bloodline Limit, she also ran through hand seals. "Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

Hinata gave a swipe with one of her electricity imbued hands, deflecting the snake-shaped lightning bolt aside. At that moment, Temari step forward, war fan already unfolded.

"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

With a single blow of her fan, Temari produced a brutal gale-force wind, which tore nearby tree branches free of leaves, and hurled the Oto ninja backwards.

"Watch out, there's another one ready to attack!" Hinata warned, as she pointed to her left.

"Not bad, girl," a female voice said, and another Otogakure ninja showed up. She started to make hand seals. "But we don't need the element of surprise to deal with you! Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

"What!?" Naruto asked in shock.

From the ground, a serpentine dragon emerged, and let out a powerful roar before it lunged at the Konoha and Suna ninja.

"Just as we feared, Orochimaru managed to successfully grant somebody the First Hokage's abilities," Kurenai realized. "Hinata, can you take a good look at their appearance?"

The Hyuga nodded, and focused their Byakugan on their faces. She gasped upon seeing how they looked behind those balaclavas.

"Hinata?" Naruto worriedly asked, no affectionate honorific this time.

The first thing the Hyuga saw was that two Oto ninja were pretty much twins, given how much they resembled each other. They had pale skin and short white hair, the female being a little longer than the male's, and pretty faces with soft features. Both of them had bright yellow eyes.

"Their faces...they a look a lot like your little siblings, if they were adults!" Hinata said in shock.

"WHAT!?" Naruto loudly asked as he tried to make sense of what the Hyuga said. "How...?"

"Guess they're clones. It seems Orochimaru managed to get some DNA samples of them before we rescued them," Haku guessed.

"It doesn't matter who they are! They're enemies who are blocking us from reaching Gaara!" Temari shouted, putting an end to the discussion, and forcing everybody to focus on the battle at hand.

"Naruto, the man is a Lightning Release user, so you'll be the best suited to fight him. I'll go with you as well," Kurenai asked.

"In that case, I'll join you two, given that I'm a Wind Release user as well," Temari offered. However, Kankuro placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Huh?"

"Let me go instead. Your wind attacks can clear all the trees that girl can summon, while my puppet won't be that good against her," Kankuro told her.

"I thought Sasori had destroyed all your puppets," Temari said.

Kankuro shook his head. "Not all of them. I still have one with me. I didn't use it because it isn't properly tested yet, but guess I have no other option. This will have to be the test run."

Temari didn't find any holes in his brother's logic, and nodded. "Alright then. Be careful."

"You too," Kankuro replied, as he followed Naruto and Kurenai, while he pulled a scroll from underneath his robe.

Temari then turned at Hinata and Haku, ready to fight the mysterious woman who could wield the fabled Bloodline Limit of the first Hokage.

"Ready, Temari-san?" Hinata asked.

Temari nodded, before dangerously scowling at their enemy. "You guys are going to regret getting in our way."

…

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Two clones appeared besides Naruto. "You know what to do."

The clones merely nodded, and leaped away in different directions. Before Kurenai had the chance to ask what he was planning –and confirming her guesses– Kankuro joined them.

"Kankuro, you're going to fight with us?" Kurenai asked.

"Without puppets?" Naruto added.

"While I can fight without puppets, I still have one in reserve," Kankuro replied, as he unfurled the scroll he was carrying in front of him.

From a burst of smoke, a puppet appeared. It had the same dull brown and black color scheme of Kankuro's other puppets, albeit this one was different from the others. It was rather bulky, with a stout main body, thick arms, short legs, and a head that looked like an ancient helmet. On its right hand it was carrying a massive rectangular shield. Numerous seals were carved alongside its plating and shield.

"Does this look familiar, Naruto?" Kankuro asked with a smirk, as he attached the puppet with some chakra threads.

"It looks like...an Uzumaki War Golem!" Naruto said in realization.

"Indeed. After you guys gave us a couple golems, father allowed me to study one. And well, let's say I made a lot of breakthroughs in the art of puppet crafting," Kankuro proudly said. "So all of you, meet Tamotsu, my newest puppet!"

Naruto smirked in return. "Alright then, let's see how the union of Uzumaki fuinjutsu and Suna's puppets do against this enemy," the blond said as he eyed the man in front of him. In less than a second, Naruto's chakra sword appeared on his hand, projecting a blue colored blade of pure chakra. "Let's go!"

The blond jinchuriki dashed forward, ready to engage the new enemy. The Oto ninja unsheathed his broadsword and used it to parry Naruto's initial strike. The fact that his sword didn't break, and the almost unnoticeable faint blue glow made Naruto realize his enemy was also channeling chakra through his sword in order to make it stronger.

They did trade a few blows. Naruto managed to parry and dodge all the attacks from his opponent, but then again, he was also unable to land a strike on his opponent.

"Alright then," Naruto said as he disengaged. His sword's blade started to burn with a white light, showing that he was now channeling wind chakra through it. "Let's see what you do against this!"

Naruto slammed his Wind Blade into the ground, releasing a powerful gust of razor wind that cracked the ground as it flew towards the Oto ninja. Said man stabbed his sword into the ground, as he made several hand seals.

"Wind Release: Breath of God!"

The masked ninja blew a tornado to counter Naruto's attack. The tornado grew bigger as it advanced, cracking the ground as well, and sucking some dirt and grass leaves as it advanced. Finally, both attacks met each other, resulting in a blast of wind blowing in every direction.

"Earth Release: Mud Trap!"

Suddenly, the ground beneath the Oto ninja's feet turned into mud, quickly sinking him into the ground until the level of his knees.

"Shit!" the Oto ninja yelled.

"No, it's just mud. That would be disgusting," Kurenai's voice said behind him. A kunai appeared on her hand. "Now die."

The Oto ninja managed to quickly make a hand seal, and blew a gust of wind to the ground, propelling himself upwards while narrowly avoiding Kurenai's strike. He made several hand seals as he descended.

"Lightning Release: Golden Storm!"

Yellow lightning started to crackle around the Oto ninja's body, before he was enveloped into a bright coat of yellow electricity. Lightning bolts started to fly around, some of them aimless, most of them, towards the trio of ninjas in front of him.

"My turn!" Kankuro called, as he positioned Tamotsu between them and the enemy. "Mechanical Great Light Shield Block!"

Tamotsu raised its massive shield, and one of the seals carved on it started to glow. It then projected a blue cone of chakra that covered the Kankuro and his two Konoha allies. The lightning bolts harmlessly crashed against the chakra shield.

"Now, time to counterattack!" Kankuro said, as he made a finger motion.

Tamotsu lowered its shield, and aimed its other arm at the Oto ninja. Its hand split in two, revealing a small cannon inside. From the canon fired a stream of flames. The Oto ninja merely tossed a smoke grenade at his feet, and when the fire stream reached the ensued smokescreen, he was nowhere to be seen. They noticed a hole in the spot when he was a second ago, surrounded by small flames caused by the puppet's flamethrower.

"Watch out, he used a Headhunter Jutsu! He'll attack from below!" Kurenai warned the boys.

And true to her words, the earth started to shake shortly afterwards. However, the Oto ninja didn't attack. In his place, the same snake it attacked them before burst from underground, forcing the three ninja to jump in different directions.

"Ugh, I can't believe I forgot about the giant snake," Kurenai said, sounding more annoyed than worried.

"In that case, then maybe we should equate the balance," Naruto said, as he made several hand seals, before biting his thumb. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, a massive toad appeared. It was magenta colored, with black markings on his face, arms and legs. He wore a black kimono with a white sash and mesh armor underneath. On his hands there were a sakazuki-like shield a sasumata.

"Hello, Naruto-san," the toad politely greeted his summoner.

"Hi there, Gamaken. Think you can help us to deal with that guy and his pet snake?" Naruto asked.

Gamaken took a glance as said Oto ninja, and then at the giant snake, which dangerously slithered towards them. "I think I can be of assistance. Though I should warn you, I'm rather clumsy."

Naruto gently smiled at the humble toad. "I think you'll do fine."

Upon seeing its natural prey in front of it, the giant snake instantly lunged towards Gamaken. Gamaken raised his shield to protect himself from the attack, as it counterattacked with the sasumata.

At that point, the Oto ninja decided to go onto the offensive as well. As he rushed, he thrust an arm forward.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

As its name suggested, a multitude of snakes appeared from under the Oto ninja's sleeve, and all of them lunged at Naruto, letting out high pitched hisses. Naruto merely beheaded those snakes with a swipe of his Wind Blade, as he rushed to attack his now wide open enemy. Or that's what he thought, as the masked man quickly thrust his other arm, releasing more snakes at Naruto, forcing him to break his charge, and take a step back.

"Got you!" Kankuro said as he motioned his hands down.

A shadow loomed over the masked ninja, who looked up too late to see the large frame of Tamotsu descending upon him. The puppet's large shield slammed against him first, before the rest of the weight added to the impact power, causing the Oto ninja to burst through the sheer force of the hit. Though rather than blood and guts, the burst was of even more snakes.

"What?" Kankuro asked, confused.

"A snake clone. Anko uses them too. These guys are more than mere pawns of Orochimaru if he taught them how to use snake-related jutsu," Kurenai explained.

"Watch out!" Kankuro called as he quickly turned around, placing Tamotsu in front of him.

Naruto and Kurenai turned around as well, and saw Tamotsu barely intercepting a sword strike that was intended for Kankuro. Even if the puppet had activated its chakra shield, the arm holding it was torn apart from the main body by the sheer force of the impact, which also hurled the damaged puppet backwards.

"Dammit, not this one too!" the puppeteer complained, as he rushed to check his downed puppet.

"I can't believe I have to resort to this," the Oto ninja said. The Konoha ninja noticed that there was a faint white glow pulsing from his body, a glow Naruto was worriedly familiar with. "But then again, Orochimaru-sama already warned us that your power far exceeded that of the enemies we faced in the past."

"So it is true. He made you with my sibling's DNA," Naruto sadly concluded, as he recognized the power his enemy was now using. He slipped into a fighting stance, as his mouth curved into a confident grin. "Too bad your master sent you to fight against the one person who knows exactly how your power works!"

…

Meanwhile, on the branches above, Hinata, Haku and Temari were engaging the female Oto ninja that could use Wood Release.

"Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu!"

The masked kunoichi's arms turned into a mass of thick wooden vines ended in sharp edges, that spread in a wide area, and lunged at the three ninja, which promptly jumped back to avoid being skewered. Temari reared her battle fan back.

"Hinata, Haku, move aside!" the Suna kunoichi yelled, before swinging her weapon of choice forward. "Great Weasel Sickle Jutsu!"

Temari blew a powerful current of razor sharp wind that shredded the incoming wooden vines, as well as nearby tree branches, and still pack enough power to push the Oto kunoichi backwards. Hinata decided this was the best moment to attack, as she leaped forward while making several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Twin Thunder Lion Fists!"

Hinata's hands were covered in chakra blue flames, that quickly took the shape of lion heads. Said heads started to crackle with electricity. Upon landing on the thick branch her enemy was perched on, Hinata began a flurry of strikes at the Oto kunoichi, who did her best to dodge Hinata. However, the Hyuga's jutsu had a far greater range than one would judge at first sight, and even if dodged, the masked kunoichi ended up receiving a lot of electricity-imbued hits.

"SHIT!" the masked kunoichi yelled, as she barely avoided another hit by Hinata. She jumped back into the ground, as she made more hand seals. "If I let her hit me with that, I'm done. Wood Release: Ironwood Armor!"

A green aura flared around the Oto kunoichi, followed by a small burst of smoke. After that, she was completely covered in an armor that appeared to be made of wood, leaving only her yellow eyes exposed.

Hinata was undeterred, and pressed the attack. Her armored enemy seemed more confident, fighting in a more offensive manner. Sharp spikes grew all over the armor, the ones on her knees and forearms being the longest, and used them to attack the Hyuga. Hinata expertly parried her blows, while returning her own. One of them managed to land on the armored kunoichi's shoulder, shattering the wooden armor protecting that zone.

Hissing, she jumped onto a higher branch, as she held the damaged shoulder on her hand. In a few seconds, the wooden armor grew back, covering it once again.

"That armor won't protect you. Wood is a combination of water and earth, both of which are vulnerable towards lightning," Hinata explained.

"Enough!" she yelled, as she pulled out a flash grenade, and tossed it down to the branch she was perched onto, producing a sudden flash of bright light.

"MY EYES!" Hinata screamed as she dispelled her jutsu and instinctively brought her hands to her eyes.

"Alright then," the Oto kunoichi said as a sharp wooden spear appeared on her hand. She raised the spear above the blinded Hinata. "Say good-"

"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"

"Wind Release: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

The Wood Release user was assaulted by a storm of ice flechettes, followed by several crescent shaped blades of wind, forcing her to move in order to dodge those attacks.

"Don't forget about us!" Temari shouted at her.

Haku walked towards her teammate. "Hinata, are you okay?"

Hinata nodded, wordlessly. Haku then noticed that the Hyuga wasn't just covering her eyes, since her hands glowed with a faint green light. She then removed her hands from her eyes, and opened them, adjusting to the light with no problem.

"You're outnumbered, surrender already!" Temari shouted.

"I'm not as outnumbered as you think. Don't forget about my allies!" the Oto kunoichi said, as she stomped her foot.

The Konoha and Suna ninjas heard a loud rustle, followed by the sound of several branches breaking, and one of the giant snakes that ambushed them before appeared seemingly out of nowhere, lunging at Haku. The Ice Ninja, however, was hardly fazed, as he jumped backwards while making several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Breath of Winter!"

Haku blew a gust of frozen air at the incoming snake, which took the brunt of the attack. As a result, the snake's jaws were encased in a block of ice, preventing it to open its mouth.

"Sorry, but that's what you get for trying to eat us," Haku said with a smirk.

The snake didn't appreciate Haku's taunt, and even with its jaws sealed, the reptile lunged at the Ice Ninja with murderous intentions in its eyes.

"Guess I was being too optimistic when I thought that would be enough to get rid of you," Haku said, before jumping over the snake, as he prepared his next jutsu. "Alright then. You're not going to enjoy this."

Meanwhile, Hinata had already recovered from her temporary blindness, and she and Temari were about to engage the masked kunoichi once again.

"Even if my snake got rid of that annoying Ice Release user, I still have to contend with you two," the Oto kunoichi observed. "Alright then, let's invert the number advantage. Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu!"

Four vine sprouts grew around the Oto kunoichi, quickly taking her form and shape. All of them adopted fighting stances.

"Go!"

The Wood Release user and her clones leaped at the two kunoichi.

"I'll take care of the original. Can you get the clones out of my back?" Hinata asked Temari.

The Suna kunoichi smirked. "Consider it done."

As Temari blasted with gusts of wind the clones that tried to approach her or her Konoha ally, Hinata rushed towards the original, making the same hand seals as before.

"Lightning Release: Twin Thunder Lion Fists!"

As before, chakra lion heads covered in electricity appeared on Hinata's hands as she got ready to fight. The kunoichi groaned, as she prepared her counterattack.

"Not that jutsu again. Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

The Oto kunoichi projected a growing wood dragon from her interlocked hands, which flew at Hinata as it let out a loud roar. The Hyuga was undaunted, as she thrust an arm forward towards the incoming dragon head. The effect was instant, and its head was immediately shattered. A blow with the other hand ensured that the rest of its serpentine body met the same fate.

Hinata landed in front of her, her feared jutsu still active.

"Your Wood Release it's impressive, but it won't be enough to overcome us," Hinata told her, as she walked towards the armored Oto kunoichi.

"Wood Release is much more than a mere combination of two basic elements, Hyuga. It's the power of life itself!" the kunoichi replied as she slammed her hands into the ground.

The ground started to shake, and multiple wooden vines emerged around Hinata. Said vines tried to impale or wrap around her, but the Hyuga gracefully dodged them before destroying them with an accurate strike. More and more vines started to emerge, to the point that Hinata was starting to feel overwhelmed.

"You can't win against me, since you're fighting against nature itself!" the Oto kunoichi boasted.

Fortunately, Hinata had the perfect counter for an overwhelming attack from every side. The moment she had a window of a single second , she quickly started to spin.

"Lightning Release: Heavenly Thunderstorm!"

Hinata turned into a dome of spinning electricity, which blasted all the vines around her into tiny splinters. Lightning bolts and chakra blasts shot into every direction, cracking the ground, burning the grass, and sending dust, wind and pebbles in a wide area.

"Storms are also part of nature," Hinata firmly replied as her spinning ceased. She spread her arms, and the lightning chakra lion heads reappeared once again, before dashing towards her enemy.

Then, she stopped when they heard an explosion not far away from there. More specifically, where Naruto and the others were fighting. The armored kunoichi let out an audible gasp.

"Brother!"

…

With Kankuro's puppet damaged, Naruto and Kurenai were on their own against the Oto ninja. Thanks to the nature energy he was collecting, he moved much faster, displayed more resistance, and his blows were far more powerful. This time, Naruto and Kurenai decided to attack the two of them at the same time.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

"Earth Release: Crushing Avalanche!"

Naruto thrust his interlocked hands forward, projecting a powerful horizontal cyclone. Kurenai summoned several rocks above them, and tossed them into Naruto's attack, creating a tornado of flying rocks.

"You think you're so clever, combining both attacks," the Oto ninja sneered, as he made several hand seals. "But elemental weaknesses are meaningless in the face of the power I possess! Lightning Release: Golden Storm!"

Once again, a golden aura flared around the masked ninja, as yellow lightning bolts flew from his body towards the incoming elemental attack. The three jutsu clashed into an explosion, raising a cloud of dirt and dust. Then, a looming shadow was cast over him, and the Oto ninja barely avoided the incoming Gamaken falling on top of him. Gamaken tried to hit him with his sasumata, but the Oto ninja was too fast. He then launched himself at the giant toad, and delivered such a powerful flying kick to the amphibious' face, that it made him topple on his back.

"UGH!" the toad croaked as he hit the ground.

"Gamaken!" Naruto cried before turning his eyes at his opponent, Wind Sword in hand, and sped after him. The Oto ninja raised his broadsword to parry the incoming blow, and much to his surprise, he found himself being pushed back by the sheer force of the attack.

"Your strength has increased," the masked ninja noted. "Your sword strikes didn't pack such power before. What did you...?"

It was then when he noticed that Naruto's eyes were now yellow with horizontal pupils, and had orange markings around them. The blond grinned.

"Think you're the only one who can use nature energy?" Naruto asked, keeping his smirk.

"How...? Nature energy is impossible to gather unless you're still! Only my ability can overcome such obstacle!" the masked ninja asked, in shock.

"I'm tempted to tell you, but I think I prefer to see you try to guess it yourself," Naruto replied as he pulled out a second Wind Blade from his ninja tool pouch, and activated it. "Now get ready!"

Having two weapons now, Naruto's fighting style drastically changed. He now delivered a flurry of quick strikes from one arm each, forcing his opponent into the defensive. Seeing that sword fighting wasn't working, the Oto ninja tried a different approach. He tossed his broadsword at Naruto, before thrusting his arms forward.

"Multiple Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Right after swiping the broadsword away, Naruto saw a multitude of snakes emerging from under his enemy's sleeves. Their trajectory seemed a bit off, and too late the blonde realized that they weren't lunging at his body, but at his hands. The snakes sank their multiple fangs onto the blonde's forearms, forcing him to drop his trusty weapons.

"AAAARGGH!" Naruto screamed as he fell on his knees.

The Oto ninja smirked under his mask, as he directed some of his snakes to wrap around Naruto's neck. "Not so cocky now, huh?" he taunted. "Any last words before I end your miserable life?"

"Y-yes..." Naruto said weakly, before smirking at him. "Don't forget about...Kurenai-sensei..."

Then, "Naruto" burst into a flock of butterflies.

"What the-" the confused masked man stammered. "Wait a minute, this is a genjutsu! I have to-"

"RASENGAN!"

In a split second, the Oto ninja saw Naruto slamming a spiraling sphere of chakra into his gut. It had the side effect of dispelling the genjutsu, but it didn't matter since the illusion made its job. The sphere expanded, before it exploded, violently hurling the Oto ninja away.

"Good job with that genjutsu, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto praised his teacher.

"It was thanks to sparring you in Sage Mode that I managed to perfect them so much, Naruto, so don't give up your part of the credit," Kurenai smiled back.

The two of them walked towards the downed Oto ninja. He was still alive, since Naruto could sense his chakra. Crouching besides him, Naruto removed his balaclava in order to take a better look at him. Just like Hinata said, his face was what Hagane would like if he were a young adult. Naruto stayed silent for a few seconds, before he let out a weary sigh.

"Naruto...?" Kurenai asked.

"We should try to bring them to the village," Naruto suggested. "However, we still need to rescue Gaara, and there's no way we can do that while keeping these guys around."

"Maybe we could send a message to the village and ask to send somebody else to take care of them?" Kurenai suggested.

Before Naruto had any chance to reply, wooden roots emerged from the ground, and lunged at the two Konoha Jonin, who quickly jumped back.

"DON'T DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER!" a female voice said.

The other Oto ninja landed besides her fallen comrade, and helped him on his feet.

"Hebimaru, are you okay?" the woman asked.

"He...Hebiko...I..." the man, apparently named Hebimaru, weakly replied.

"Don't talk, I'll take care of you," Hebiko replied. She then threw a smoke bomb at her feet, creating a curtain of smoke.

When Naruto rushed forward, they weren't there anymore. Thanks to his temporary sensing abilities, Naruto knew she had Body Flickered into the forest, but decided not to chase them.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's voice said from behind.

Naruto and Kurenai turned around, and saw Hinata, Haku and Temari running towards them. Kankuro, who had picked up the pieces of his puppet, walked towards them as well.

"Where did the enemies go?" Temari asked.

"The woman picked the guy up and disappeared," Naruto told them.

Gamaken slowly walked towards his summoner.

"I'm sorry for not being enough of help. I'll try to work on my clumsiness for the next time you decide to summon me," Gamaken apologized with a polite bow.

Naruto earnestly smiled at the toad. "Hey, you did fine! Even if those guys got away, you got rid of that snake, and provided me for an opening to attack."

"I'm glad that I was of some assistance," Gamaken replied. "Since the battle is over, I shall now return to Myoboku. See you the next time you want my help, Naruto-san."

And with that, Gamaken disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"It doesn't matter, they weren't our target," Temari said, as she pulled out her special compass. "Come on, we need to continue. The more time we waste, the lower the chances of saving Gaara."

"Actually..." Hinata began, rubbing her arm a bit. "Can't we rest for a bit? I spent a better portion of my chakra fighting that woman."

"Same here," Haku said. "That snake was tough opponent, and I'm a bit exhausted."

"And I need to fix my puppet," Kankuro chimed in. "Thankfully, the damage done isn't beyond repair."

"What!? Gaara's life is in peril! There's no time to rest!" Temari insisted.

"Temari-san," Kurenai called her. "I understand your concerns. But keep in mind that once we arrive their hideout, we'll have to fight against those Akatsuki that captured Gaara. And I wouldn't discount more being there. We shouldn't try to confront them if we aren't in top condition to fight."

Temari tried to protest, but her brain was unable to come up with a good counter to Kurenai's arguments. She sighed in return.

"How long until the extraction is complete?" the blonde kunoichi asked.

"As far as we think, one day," Kurenai replied.

"Okay, we'll rest for a few hours, but not any longer! Understood?" she told them.

Everybody nodded. The first order of business was to set up a campsite that they could use to rest and recover from the fight they just had.

…

 _Akatsuki Hideout_

"Good news, everyone," Zetsu spoke, breaking the silence that had reigned for the past hours. "Orochimaru's minions did their job. My clones informed me that the rescue group has been forced to stop and rest."

"I knew those kids wouldn't disappoint me, kukuku..." Orochimaru chuckled.

"Good, that bought us some precious time," the leader said. "I presume there's still twenty hours until the extraction process is complete. We'll be finished before they arrive."

Everybody nodded, and kept focusing on the extraction process. The red stream of energy that flowed from Gaara's mouth into the statue's not only continued unimpeded, but it was starting to become thinner with each hour...

* * *

 **Author's Notes: So, the group consisting on Kurenai's Assault Squad plus Kankuro and Temari head to rescue Gaara. Though they won't be alone for long, since they will get some reinforcements from Suna shortly before facing the Akatsuki.  
**

 **Also, what do you think of Hebimaru and Hebiko? Yeah, they're clones of Hagane and Kaida artifically aged into adulthood, and brainwahsed to serve their "father" no matter what. While not terribly important in the plot overall, they will play a major role in future arcs revolving around Orochimaru. They also exist as a way to form a new incarnation of the Sound Five that will be featured in said future arcs, alongside the two surviving members of the previous incarnation, Tayuya and Kimimaro, the latter retaining his position as leader, with the fifth member being Juugo (man, i'm so glad that I found a way to bring him into the story. Most AU authors have no trobule including Karin and Suigetsu, but Juugo is much trickier since we know almost nothing of his past).**

 **Anyway, after two action heavy chapter, the next one is going to be more calm. But it will also allow me to felsh out Kankuro and Temari's personality and background a lot, so I'm sure you're going to enjoy it as well.**

 **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 **I'm hoping that you're liking so far my take on the Kazekage's Rescue Arc. I doing my best to make it better than the original. Tell me if I'm right or wrong via review! Reviews make me really, reazlly, really happy!**


	53. A Failed Rescue?

**Author's Note: I'd like to give a shout out to FoxBlueReaver for making the first fanart of this fanfic, a really cute picture of Shisui and Shizune. Thanks a lot, pal!**

 **With this chapter, we reach the middle point of the arc (most arcs of shippuden won't be as long as the Kiri Civil War, so don't worry about the story dragging on), which also introduces a few characters from Suna I do like a lot. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 53**

A Failed Rescue...?

 _or_

 _Delaying Tactics Are Nothing to Sneeze at_

…

 _Sunagakure, Kazekage's State_

As the sun started to set in the desert village, Rasa was about conclude a meeting he had with Suna's Council of Elders regarding both the village affairs, and the new treaty with Konoha and Kiri. Tensions were high, since a good deal of the councilors barely tolerated an alliance with their longtime allies of Konoha to begin with, they found the idea of an alliance with one of their worst enemies outrageous.

"I still can't see why you're against this alliance, Chiyo-baasama," the Kazekage told one of the female councilors. "So far, we've gained a lot from it, and it's not even settled."

Chiyo was an elderly woman with black eyes, wrinkled face, and dull lavender hair tied in a bun, with two bangs that framed her face. She has been the most prominent dissident to the idea of an alliance.

"Suna should be strong on its own, not depend on the charity of other villages. Next thing I know you'll replace our proud puppeteering corps with those mechanical abominations from Uzushio," Chiyo scoffed.

"Sister, please, don't insult Kazekage-sama in such a way," another councilor, an elderly man with shadowed eyes and thick grey eyebrows told her. "No Kazekage in his right mind would dismantle Sunagakure's pride and joy."

"No Kazekage in his right mind should make us depend so much on foreign powers, Ebizo," Chiyo told her brother.

Rasa groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Listen, either with or without your support, this alliance will have my approval and will continue until the very end. So just for once, try to make things easier for me and-"

Then, at that moment, a small, goggle-wearing toad carrying a scroll on his back appeared from a cloud of smoke in the middle of the table the Kazekage and the councilors were sitting around. The ninja guarding the room immediately drew out their kunai and other weapons, in any case it was an assassination attempt on the Kazekage or the councilors.

"What's the meaning of this!?" Rasa bellowed.

"Hello there. My name is Kosuke. Are you the Kazekage?" the small toad asked. "Jiraiya-san said that the Kazekage was a man that sucked the joy of living out of you by being in the same room as him, and out of all the people here, you fit the description the best."

"So Jiraiya told you that..." Rasa said, his eye twitching a bit. "Did that white haired idiot send you here? With what purpose?"

"Yes, he did! He said he had an urgent message for you," Kosuke replied before handing the scroll to the Kazekage.

"For your sake, someone better be dying," Rasa fumed as he unfurled the scroll. As he read it, color started to disappear from his face.

"Kazekage-sama?" a councilor asked.

Rasa didn't say anything. He then burst out of the council room, leaving the elders flabbergasted. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, the Kazekage slammed the door of his office open and entered the room. He started rummaging under his desk until he finally found what he was looking for, a hidden switch that revealed a secret compartment.

Opening the compartment, Rasa checked its contents, and his worst fears were confirmed. One of the special compasses designed to track Gaara down was missing.

…

 _Forests of the Land of Fire, close to the border with the Land of Rivers_

At the same time, the group of six decided to make camp and rest for a bit. It was decided that they would be on the move an hour before the sunrise, since they have no time to spare. After a light meal, all of them decided to go to sleep. Kankuro, who still had to repair his puppet, volunteered to make the first watch. Naruto left a clone for him as company, and to help him guard the camp.

For the best part of an hour, the Suna Jonin and the clone stayed silent, the latter watching the former diligently working on his puppet. Then, the Naruto clone decided to break the silence.

"So, how it's going?" the clone asked the hooded ninja.

"Almost done," Kankuro replied, not taking his eyes from the puppet. "Though once all this mess is over and we go back home, I'm going to make Tamotsu even stronger than it was. After that fight with the white haired guy, I have a good assessment of Tamotsu's capabilities and weaknesses."

"Boy, being a puppeteer sounds like it's even more work than I first imagined," the Naruto clone said, scratching the back of his head.

"Make no mistake, it is! But the payoff makes it worth it. Puppeteers are among Suna's most feared ninja for a reason," Kankuro proudly claimed.

"I know. That's why Uzushio tried to take advantage of that," the Naruto clone said.

This drew the hooded ninja's attention, which for the first time took his eyes from Tamotsu, and eyed the Naruto clone. "What? What do you mean?"

"The chakra golems," the clone replied. "Didn't you notice the similarities? Yeah, the Uzumaki Clan saw your puppeteers in action during the First War, and thought that maybe they could take the puppets and improve them."

"How? By making them move autonomous?" Kankuro asked.

The clone nodded. "Ever heard the saying 'the weakest part of a sword it's its wielder'? Well, Uzumaki seal masters worked on that principle. They tried to create a kind of puppet that could move and act on its own, removing the need of having a ninja controlling it all the time," the clone explained. "That way, they could be used to bolster an army's numbers, act as shock troops, defend human ninja, and more."

"Not a bad idea, I must admit," Kankuro said as he went back to work on his puppet.

"Not bad an idea? It was an awesome idea! Hell, I don't even know why you decided to convert those golems into a puppet in the first place," the clone groaned.

Kankuro looked at the clone again, and grinned. "It seems to me that both you and your deceased clansmen forgot another important saying: 'a sword is only as good as the one who wields it'. While it's true that the way your clan designed the golems would impress Monzaemon himself-"

"Who?" Naruto interrupted.

"The inventor of puppet ninjutsu. His puppets were rudimentary for today's standards, but truly works of art in their time," Kankuro explained, before retailing the conversation. "What I mean is, no matter how powerful you make those golems, they will never replace the need of the human element."

"You seem very sure of that," the clone said, crossing his arms.

"Because I am. Tell me, you fought against those golems in Kiri, right?" the blond nodded. "Then answer me this: what was their attack pattern?"

Placing a finger under his chin, the clone tried to remember Naruto's time in Kiri over a year ago. Soon, it came with an answer. "Well, they mostly relied on brute strength. They were big and packed a mean punch. They also had some weapons such as flamethrowers and hidden blades in their arms. Some also had kunai launchers."

"Doesn't sound very sophisticated, does it?" Kankuro asked. "In fact, that's why the golems are so big and bulky. They need to be, in order to compensate for their lack of intelligence and inability to come with complex plans and strategies. You already saw me in action, and saw what puppets are capable of. Do you think a golem could do the same things I can do with my puppets?"

"To be honest...no," the clone admitted in defeat.

Kankuro grinned. "Thought so. But then again, this doesn't mean that I think the golems are worthless. The way they're capable of moving on their own is fascinating, and the supplementary seals are sure something. That's why I'm planning to create a new generation of puppets that will encompass the best of both worlds. It's a work in progress, but I have faith in my abilities."

Naruto nodded. "Hey, Kankuro, might I ask you something?"

"Sure," the puppeteer replied.

"What moved you to become a puppeteer?" Naruto asked. "I mean, it sounds something quite daunting."

"Again, it is," Kankuro replied. "As for what moved to me to take that path...well, I guess the desire to stand out. I think you have siblings, right, Naruto?" Kankuro asked.

The clone nodded. "A brother and a sister. The two of them younger. They're twins, actually."

"So, you're the oldest then," Kankuro said. "Temari was the only girl, and the oldest of the three. Gaara was the youngest, and a Jinchuriki. And there was me, the middle child with nothing that made me stand out. And my father is the Kazekage, so of course everybody had a lot of high expectations placed on us, myself included. When I realized that Ninja Puppeteers are considered among the deadliest and most skilled in our village, I decided to become one.

"Though the more I trained and the better I got, the more I loved it. Eventually my initial motivation faded away, and simply decided to throw myself into what I knew was my calling. Not that I'm not going to enjoy being admired for what I love doing, hehe," the puppeteer admitted.

"Heh, I can relate to that too. At first, I wanted to be Hokage so people would admire me and wouldn't fear me to for being a jinchuriki, you know?" the clone began. "But as I grow up, I'm starting to find better reasons to become Hokage than my own ego. Such as ending all the misery of this world, and bring us closer to a peaceful future."

"Sounds quite nice, even if a bit utopic," Kankuro replied.

"Hey, if we all just do nothing under the excuse that 'it's just an utopia', of course things will never get better!" Naruto protested.

Kankuro chuckled. "Guess you got a point there. I wouldn't have become the ninja I am today if I let the difficulty of being a puppeteer discourage me from being one."

"See? All we need to do is keep trying until things get better," the clone stated.

…

Later, Kankuro finished his shift and went to bed, while Naruto's clone was dispelled. He was then followed by the blonde's real self, Haku, Kurenai, Temari, and lastly, Hinata. The Hyuga spent some time watching alone, until the blonde kunoichi left her sleeping bag, and went to make her company.

"Temari-san? Shouldn't you be sleeping? You already finished your shift," Hinata pointed out.

Temari sighed. "I don't think I'll be able to get anymore sleep. The sun will rise in a couple hours. Plus I'm quite worried for Gaara," Temari said as she checked the compass. The needle still fluttered a little, indicating that Gaara was still alive.

"I know how you feel," Hinata replied. "I have a little sister. If she was in Gaara-san's place...I don't know what I would do. But don't worry, we will save him. Don't doubt about that for a second."

Temari smiled at her weakly. "Thanks. I wish I could have your optimism right now. Though then again, dwelling in worst case scenarios isn't going to be of any help."

"I know. We were once in a similar situation with Naruto-kun. In the end, everything worked out in our favor, though we just barely rescued Naruto-kun from his kidnappers," Hinata recalled.

"Are you talking about that time Orochimaru invaded your village?" Temari asked.

Hinata nodded. "Turns out, it was just a smokescreen to kidnap Naruto-kun and the Hokage's children. Even if we rescued them, it's not that they came out of that unscathed."

Temari chuckled. "No matter how much hell Konoha takes, you guys always manage to endure. My father doesn't want anybody to know this, but he's kind of jealous of you guys, and wished Suna could be as strong as Konoha."

"I'm sure Suna is strong too, Temari-san," Hinata insisted.

Temari chuckled again, though this time it sounded more like a dismissive snort. "Oh please. Come on Hinata, I'm almost an adult, you don't have to lie to me like that. I'm more than aware that our village is the weakest of the Great Five. Hell, we resemble more a minor village than a great one. That's why our father has been determined to the point of obsession of making Suna as strong as possible. He's aware that we managed to survive so long thanks to Konoha's help, and while we appreciate our alliance, it's rather humiliating to think that we're so dependent on others."

"I remember Gaara-san winning the Chunin Exams Finals when they took place in Konoha. I'm sure that that helped to improve your village's reputation," Hinata pointed out.

"It did. For some time. But we can't just hold onto Gaara's victory forever. There are Chunin Exams every year, each with their respective victor," Temari said. "Hell, I'm sure that if we returned to Suna, our medics wouldn't have been able to find a cure for Sasori's poison. Yet you did it in less than a day."

"Well, you can thank Tsunade-sama for that. If she never returned to the village, our medical knowledge and skill wouldn't be nowhere near as advanced. As an apprentice of hers, I can tell you that," Hinata pointed out.

"That's the thing, we don't have a Tsunade of our own to speak of. Which is why our father did everything in his hand to strengthen the village, which culminated into Gaara," Temari replied.

"That's why he was made a jinchuriki?" Hinata asked.

"That's why Gaara exists to begin with," Temari replied, making Hinata look at her quizzically. "Ah, yes, I forgot you didn't even know the whole story. Do you know why Gaara was chosen to be a jinchuriki, despite being the youngest? Did you even wonder why Kankuro and I were passed over?"

"Now that you mention it...no, I never thought about that," Hinata admitted.

"When I was born, my father was already planning to make me the jinchuriki of the One Tail. But lucky me, I wasn't compatible due some chakra type bullshit I don't fully understand to this day," Temari began. "So my parents went for another baby, and turns out, Kankuro wasn't compatible either. Turns out, there were complications during Kankuro's birth. The medics told my father that he shouldn't try for more children, since the risk of our mother not being able to make it was too high. But my father didn't listen to them, Gaara was born, and to my father's joy, he turned out to be compatible. However, the medics turned out to be right, and our mother died shortly after giving birth to him."

"I'm...I'm sorry to hear that, Temari-san. I know how painful losing a parent so young can be," Hinata empathically said. She then adopted a pensive expression, as her gaze shifted from Temari.

"It's okay. It happened a long time ago, and I'm over that already," Temari replied.

"You know, that reminds a bit of how Naruto-kun became a jinchuriki," Hinata began. "You see, the Nine Tails can't be sealed into anyone. As far as we know, only those of the Uzumaki clan can hold it inside them, and Naruto-kun was the only Uzumaki back then."

"Guess that's why Naruto and Gaara clicked so easily. They have similarities not even they're aware of," Temari chuckled.

"However, there's something I don't understand," Hinata said. "Why did the jinchuriki had to be a child of the Kazekage? Did he feel it was morally wrong to pick somebody else?"

Temari let out a mirthless laugh. "My father thinking that something's 'morally wrong', now that's a good one. No, it's not because of that. He wanted the jinchuriki to be somebody close to him, somebody he could mold into a loyal asset to the village. In fact, it's a frequented practice in all Great Villages. I mean, take a look at Naruto," Temari said, as her and Hinata's eyes rested on the blonde's sleeping form. "The man who ended up adopting him became the Hokage. And even if he didn't, his wife could have been a good candidate. You can't chalk that to coincidences."

"I see," was Hinata's answer as she absorbed the information Temari had explained. Other than Naruto, Gaara, and that green haired girl from Taki, Hinata hadn't had much contact with jinchuriki, so she didn't know much about them. She also remembered Yagura, who pretty much removed the middleman and became Mizukage himself.

"But enough talking about them. I think I don't know that much about you. Do you have any goals you want to accomplish?" Temari asked.

Hinata didn't reply. She placed a finger under her chin and started to think. "Well...I want to be a strong ninja, to make my family proud, and one day being able to lead my clan and heal its rift. I like to think I'm getting a little closer to that goal with each day."

"Have you ever thought about having Genin?" Temari asked. "It's mostly Jonin who take them, but some Special Jonin are allowed to do it as well. At least in Suna."

"You'd think I'll make a good sensei?" Hinata asked, a little flushed.

"You look like a patient and kind person, not to mention quite strong. The ideal combination for a Jonin-sensei," Temari said. "At first I was rather reluctant when I was told about it, since I thought it would be like taking care of my little brothers all over again but...it's a rather rewarding experience. Plus the time I spend taking care of said brothers prepared me for the job."

"Where are they now?" Hinata asked.

"They should be in Suna. I left them a training routine for them to do while I was away doing this mission. Hopefully, I'll be able to whip them into shape for the next Chunin Exams in your village," Temari said.

Hinata smiled. "Hanabi-chan, my sister, also plans to enter alongside her team. Maybe her team and yours will clash in the exam?"

Temari grimaced a little, but chuckled. "If your sister is half as good as you are, I hope not for my Genin's sake. But then again, it might be good for them to face some strong opponents."

"Yes. The more prepared they are, the better. I'm sure you want them to get a promotion as soon as possible, but it's better to wait until they're ready," Hinata replied, then she looked downward. "You know, when I was promoted, I felt I wasn't ready for the new rank, since my fighting style still had some rather glaring flaws I was barely able to hide."

"So far, I never noticed any flaw in your fighting style when we fought against those Oto ninja," Temari complimented.

"Because I trained a lot after that. Guilt can be quite the motivator, hehe" Hinata chuckled awkwardly. "You were pretty nice too. You're possibly the strongest kunoichi of my age group I've ever met."

"Thanks. I did train a lot from a very early age in order to become the very best," Temari proudly replied, before she cast her sight down. "Though not as good, given how easily those Akatsuki kicked my butt."

Hinata placed a comforting hand on Temari's shoulder. "Don't beat yourself up for losing against Akatsuki. They're S-Rank criminals for a reason. But don't worry, with our help, you'll be able to pay them back in kind for what they did to both you and your siblings."

Temari smirked confidently, and nodded.

…

Just as they planned, the group of six got up an hour before dawn and continued their journey towards the Land of the Rivers. Much to their relief, the compass still worked, meaning that there was still hope to save Gaara. But given how much time they were forced to spend resting, they knew Gaara could die at any moment.

Hinata kept her Byakugan active at all times, just in case Akatsuki decided to throw more enemies to delay them: It was decided that if such thing happened, only two or three will stay behind to fight, while the rest could continue forward. They couldn't afford to waste anymore time. Fortunately for them, it wasn't the case, as no enemy came to fight them.

An hour after the sun rose, they reached the Land of the Rivers. It was then when Hinata saw something.

"There's a group of ninja ahead of us. They're in front of a cave blocked by a large boulder," Hinata informed her teammates. "I believe it's the Akatsuki hideout."

"Are those guys Akatsuki?" Haku asked.

Hinata shook her head. "All of them are wearing Suna's ninja uniforms and forehead protectors."

"They could be Akatsuki under a transformation, ready to ambush us," Kankuro conjectured.

Hinata shook her head once again. "The Byakugan can see through transformations. They're actual Suna ninja."

Temari let out a sigh. "Even if they're just four, we could use some reinforcements."

The four Konoha ninjas and two Sand Siblings landed in front of the group of four Suna ninja. They were led by an adult woman with purple facial markings and a turban covering her head, a woman Naruto had seen before. Her subordinates were a girl with shoulder length brown hair and black eyes, a boy with short spiky hair and glasses, and a smiling, friendly looking girl with long black hair. The three of them were wearing the standard Sunagakure uniform, with the two young girls also wearing metallic arm guards. The adult woman took a step forward.

"Temari-sama, Kankuro-sama, it's a pleasure to see you're alright," the woman said in a courteous tone.

"As are we, Maki-san. You can thank Konoha for our recovery," Temari told the Jonin.

Maki nodded and turned at the Konoha ninja. "On Suna's behalf, I thank you for your assistance," she then looked at Naruto, and smiled. "Hello again, Naruto-kun. You surely grew a lot since the last time I saw you."

"Hey, I remember you! You were there that time I visited Suna with dad so many years ago!" Naruto said, in realization. "Man, time sure flies..."

Maki nodded before her expression darkened. "It does. I just wish our meeting again was under better circumstances. By the way, these are my students, Matsuri, Mikoshi, and Yukata."

Matsuri and Mikoshi made a polite bow when they were introduced. Yukata happily smiled and waved at the Konoha ninja. Kurenai took a step forward to do the same.

"My name's Kurenai Yuhi. These two are Hinata Hyuga and Haku Yuki. You already know Naruto," Kurenai introduced both herself and her team. "Do not take this the wrong way, but are you the only reinforcements Suna has sent?"

Maki sighed and nodded at the Genjutsu Mistress. "Sadly, yes. Most of our ninja are away doing missions, plus the Council fear that with our jinchuriki abducted, other villages might get some ideas and try to attack us taking advantage of this, so most of the reserve ninja have been put on patrol border duty."

"Guess we'll have to do with what we have," a resigned Temari said. "I presume you found this place with one of the other two compasses?"

"Yes. However, Temari-san, I do bring grave news. One of the compasses was stolen. That's how Akatsuki managed to locate and ambush you," Maki explained.

"Dammit! Our father kept those compasses under his watch himself! Hell, their mere existence was a secret to pretty much everybody sans a few ninjas whose loyalty to Suna was pretty much unquestionable! To think that there was a traitor among them..." Kankuro angrily seethed.

"While the presence of spies in Suna is sure troubling, we have to rescue Gaara-sama as soon as possible," Matsuri spoke up for the first time. "Gaara-sama might not have much time left..."

"Damn right you are!" Naruto agreed, before he looked at the large boulder blocking the entrance. "So, Gaara is behind that rock, right?"

Maki nodded. "Yes. However, the boulder is just part of the problem. It has a seal on it that made it pretty much indestructible."

"And we did use quite a lot of explosives!" Yukata pointed out.

"Hey, I know a lot about seals! Let me take a look, I'm sure I can find a way to disable it," Naruto offered as he walked to the boulder and began to inspect the seal slapped into it.

"Hinata-san, use your Byakugan to scout the area. We need to know Gaara's state, as well as the number of enemies we're going to face. I wouldn't count past more Akatsuki being there besides Deidara and Sasori," Maki told the Hyuga.

Hinata nodded. In an instant, bulged veins appeared around her eyes as her Bloodline Limit came to life. However, when she directed her sight towards the cave, the result wasn't the one the Hyuga was expecting.

"I...I can't see," Hinata muttered. "The seal formed a chakra barrier that obscures my enhanced vision. Sorry."

Kankuro muttered a curse under his breath. "Which means we won't be able to do jack shit until we get rid of that seal first. Naruto, do you think-"

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" the blond angrily shouted, causing a few nearby birds to fly away scared.

"Naruto? Is there a problem with the seal?" Kurenai asked a bit concerned, as she and the rest of the group got closer to him.

"I know this seal! It's a Five-Seal Barrier!" Naruto explained, his anger coating each word.

"If you know the seal, where's the problem?" Mikoshi asked.

"This is an Uzumaki Seal!" Naruto exclaimed, outraged. "Not just Kiri, but it seems that Akatsuki as well profited from my clan's downfall!" the blond shouted as he punched the seal, to no effect.

Haku placed a comforting hand on the enraged blonde's shoulder. "That's...distressing to hear, Naruto-kun. But right now we have more pressing concerns. We need to know how to disable the seal."

Realizing his teammate was right. Naruto took a deep breath, as he forced himself to calm down. Gaara needed him now.

"Yes. The Five Seal Barrier, as the name implies, is a barrier formed by five seals. One seal is the core, and the others form the barrier around it. I presume this seal here is the core seal. The other four have to be scattered not too far away. Otherwise, the barrier wouldn't work."

"Leave that to me. Byakugan!" Hinata activated her doujutsu once again, and in a few seconds, she managed to find all four seals, since they had a strong chakra signature. "Found them!"

"To disable the barrier, the five seals must be removed at the same time. Otherwise, it won't work," Naruto finished his explanation.

"Well, sounds easy enough!" Yukata happily chirped.

"Too easy, if you ask me," a suspicious Temari said. "Naruto, is there a way for the seals to be booby trapped?"

"I wouldn't count that out. In fact, this seal is almost tailor made to force a group to split in order to disable it," Naruto guessed.

"But, what options do we have then? Is there another way to disable it that doesn't force half of us to split? Our time is running out!" Temari urged, as both her fists clenched.

"I think I can disable it," Naruto stated, as he kneeled down, and unsealed his sealing tools from a scroll.

"How long will you take, Naruto?" Kankuro asked.

"Five minutes, give or take," Naruto confidently stated as he started to work on the seal.

"I'm one of Suna's best seal-masters. I'll lend you a hand," Maki offered as she joined the blond.

"Okay, while Naruto and Maki-san work, the rest of us gather around here and listen to me as I told you about the enemies we're about to face. They're S-Class criminals, so stay sharp," Temari began. "One of them hails from our own village. Sasori of the Red Sands," when those words left her lips, Maki and Mikoshi instantly gasped, while Yukata looked a bit confused.

"Do you guys know him? Because that name doesn't ring any bell," Yukata asked.

Temari sighed. "Yukata, I like you, but you need to pay more attention about important stuff like this."

"Aw, I like you too, Temari-sama!" Yukata happily replied. "So, about this Sasori guy...?"

Temari held back another sigh. "Sasori is the greatest and most dangerous puppet master Suna has ever produced. So far, we don't know what kind of puppets he'll use against us, but expect all of them to be weapons of mass destruction of their own. Also, beware of the bladed weapons and projectiles of his puppets, since they're coated in a deadly poison. Hinata-san, fortunately, made an antidote."

"We weren't able to make much before we left. All I have are three capsules," Hinata said, as she showed the three vials to everybody. "This antidote will not only neutralize the effects of the poison once applied, but it will continue to do so for the next three minutes. However, like Temari-san said, try to be careful."

"The other one is a missing-nin from Iwa named Deidara. He can animate sculptures out of clay and turn said sculptures into deadly explosives. His main method of attack is to drop explosives from above as he flies on an artificial bird made of clay, so long range is our only option. Be careful when dealing with him as well, since this guy alone managed to defeat Gaara," Temari explained.

"Okay, done!" Naruto replied, satisfied with his quick work.

Everybody looked at the seal, and saw that Naruto and Maki had written other seals in a circular pattern around it. True to his word, the blond took less than five minutes.

"Let's hope it works," Maki said.

"We'll see right now," Naruto replied, as he placed a hand on the seal, and pumped chakra into it. "Sealing Art: Void Touch Seal!"

The Five Barrier Seal started to glow in retaliation, followed shortly after by the counter-seal written around it. Naruto removed his hands as both seals started to fight each other. Eventually, the Barrier Seal lost, and it burst into flames.

"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked, looking at his girlfriend.

Hinata nodded, and activated her Bloodline Limit for the third and last time that day. "Yes, the barrier is down! I can see them! Both Gaara and the Akatsuki! There are only two of them, I believe they're Deidara and Sasori," Hinata informed them. "Gaara's still alive, but just barely!"

"In that case, we need to get rid of this rock as soon as possible!" Matsuri urged.

"It's pretty big, and looks sturdy. How many explosives do you think we'll need?" Mikoshi asked, as he walked closer to inspect the boulder.

Naruto smirked. "We won't need explosives. My girlfriend will be more than enough. Right, hime?" Naruto asked, giving Hinata a knowing look.

Hinata smiled back, nodded, and clenched her fist. Blue chakra flames burst around it, as electricity started to crackle around it for additional power. She took a few step backwards, as she moved her fist back. "You might want to keep some distance."

…

Meanwhile, at the other side of the cave, the Akatsuki continued with the extraction ritual, which was on the home stretch already.

"Our enemies are at the gates of this lair," Zetsu's black half spoke up. "They disabled the barrier, and will break in any second."

"I know. I felt the barrier being dispelled," the low pitched voice of the leader said. "But they're too late, the ritual is almost finished."

"That's not all. The jinchuriki of the Nine Tails is among the rescue group as well," White Zetsu replied. "This could be a golden chance to capture the Nine Tails' other half."

"Indeed. Deidara, Sasori, get ready for the incoming fight. Your enemies outnumber you five to one, but I have faith that won't be a problem," the leader stated.

"You're right, it won't be one. Let them come, their confidence in their superior numbers will make their fall all the sweeter," Sasori replied.

"Aw yeah! With this one, it will be three out of three! Nobody in Akatsuki will beat my perfect record, hn!" Deidara loudly cheered.

"You shouldn't fall prey to overconfidence either, Deidara," Obito pointed out. "This jinchuriki is a prey tougher than most."

Deidara snickered. "Hey, just because you and that snake failed so many times to snatch a single brat, doesn't mean that I'm going to follow your path, haha!"

"I'll keep your words in mind once we see the result of this fight, Deidara," Obito dangerously said.

Suddenly, the boulder blocking the entrance was blown up in thousands of tiny shards.

…

After seeing Hinata's sheer destructive display, all Suna ninja were left with their eyes wide open and their mouths agape.

"Good work, Hinata-hime!" Naruto praised, giving his girlfriend a thumbs up. Hinata giggled in return.

"Everybody, follow me inside! We have to rescue Gaara!" Temari called as she prepared her war fan and rushed inside.

Temari's orders seem to snap the rest of the Suna ninja from their stupor, who nodded and alongside their Konoha allies, broke into the cave. None of them knew what to expect once they got inside, but the image before them wasn't definitely in their minds.

The group of ten saw a massive statue, formed by a head, and two arms with their hands pointing upwards. There were nine eyes on the statue's face, two of them opened. On each hand there was an Akatsuki, but eight of them appeared to be mirages or illusions, with only Deidara and Sasori appearing to be really there.

"Gaara-sama!" Matsuri cried.

It didn't take them long to see Gaara floating in mid air, being held by a mass of chakra coming from the statue's monstrous open mouth. There were wisps of red chakra coming from his mouth and flowing into the statue.

"Gaara-sama...is he...?" Mikoshi stammered.

"He's still alive, but just barely! We need to act now!" Hinata urged the others.

Seeing Gaara in such a state filled Naruto's heart with a rage unlike any other. So this is what the Akatsuki did to Yagura? Harvest his Tailed Beast, then toss him away as if he was an empty husk? He wasn't going to stand for it.

"Hey there, brat, good to see you again, hn!" Deidara said in a mocking tone to Naruto. "Though you came here in vain. You couldn't save Yagura back in Kiri, and you came too late to save this other brat, haha!"

Deidara's taunting didn't improve the blonde's mood. However, Naruto didn't just hate the Akatsuki, since there was something that pushed him to hate something else on top of them. He hated that statue as if it was his natural enemy. If his state of mind was clearer, he would realize that he was experiencing the Nine Tails' feelings. Either way, it was going to work in his favor.

"That statue!" Naruto yelled, his voice sounded a bit deeper. His eyes turned red, and the marks on his cheeks became bolder. "Everybody, focus your attacks on that statue!"

Everybody nodded and those with ranged jutsu started to make hand seals.

"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

"Wind Release: Wind Scythe!"

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

"Lightning Release: Thunder Fang!"

Temari's gust of wind, Matsuri's wind blade, Yukata's stream of fire and Hinata's lion-shaped lightning blast all flew towards the statue's face, exploding upon making contact. The statue let out an horrifying, bone chilling scream as the chakra field that held Gaara mid air vanished, dropping the jinchuriki down below. Fortunately, Naruto was there to catch his friend.

"The ritual has been interrupted!" the only female Akatsuki worriedly stated.

"It doesn't matter, we sealed most of the One Tail, look!" the leader pointed out. And at that moment, one of the statue's eyes slowly opened.

"Were we too late...?" a disheartened Temari asked.

"No, Gaara is still alive!" Hinata informed the others. "But he won't last much longer unless we get him some medical treatment!"

"In that case, let's take him out of here!" Kankuro stated.

Everybody nodded, and proceeded to rush outside the cave. The leader saw this, and wasn't going to let this happen.

"Sasori, Deidara, don't let them escape! Capture the jinchuriki, kill everybody else!" the Akatsuki leader commanded, as he un-summoned the statue, which disappeared in a poof of smoke.

"I'll cover your exit!" Kurenai said as she made several hand seals. "Earth Release: Multiple Earth Style Walls!"

The Genjutsu Mistress slammed her hands into the ground, and several layers of rock walls emerged from the ground, making the cavren tremble when they slammed against the ceiling, separating the Akatsuki from the retreating Konoha and Suna ninja.

"Well, guess this walls will be a pretty good warm-up for the fight to come," Deidara cheerily said as he prepared some of his bombs. "Which one is the jinchurki, by the way?"

"The angry brat you just taunted," Obito mentioned. "Which by the way, seems that you know each other. Care to explain that?"

"Wait, that brat was the jinchuriki!?" Deidara asked in shock. "He was there when I went to fetch the Mizukage!"

"You had another jinchuriki in your grasp, and you let him go?" Sasori asked, his tone between disappointed and taunting. "Hardly unbelievable."

"Shut it, hn! Should I remind you that I captured two of the three jinchuriki so far? I'm the only one here with a perfect record! Two out of two! And soon, it will be three out of three!"

"We hope you're speaking the truth, Deidara. I'll be waiting your report," the leader said, before his spectral avatar vanished, followed by the avatars of the other seven Akatsuki not being there.

With a well aimed set of explosions, the first wall was down. Deidara then prepared another set of explosive clay figurines, while Sasori started to think about something he didn't pay much attention before.

 _"So it was true. The jinchuriki's siblings were in that group. How? They should be dead by now. And far from that, they were in good enough condition to fight. How did they manage to create an antidote for my poison? No medic-nin on this world should be able to do that...was Orochimaru right?"_

…

Meanwhile, on the shallow river outside the cave, everybody else was gathered around Gaara, lying on the wet floor, with Hinata kneeled before him, healing him as best as he could, Byakugan active.

"How is he? Will you be able to save him?" Kankuro asked, biting his lip.

"I'll try! He's still alive, but his chakra network is quickly breaking down! Even if he still has some traces of Tailed Beast chakra inside his body, the damage caused by the extraction was too much!"

"What can we do, then?" a concerned Temari asked.

Hinata looked at her boyfriend. "Naruto-kun, he needs a chakra transfer!"

"Alright!" the blond nodded and kneeled besides Gaara as well before touching the redhead's midsection and started pouring his own chakra into him.

"Hey, you don't know if you-" Temari was about to ask before Hinata interrupted her.

"Naruto-kun is an universal chakra donor! Besides, with his massive chakra reserves, there won't be a problem for the donor to risk chakra exhaustion!" Hinata quickly replied.

The exchange was brought to a halt by a massive explosion coming from inside the sealed cave, that made the area around it tremble. A wave of dust and dirt was expelled from the cave's mouth, indicating that the Akatsuki had finally broken Kurenai's multiple layered barrier. From the cloud of dust emerged Deidara and Sasori, the former on top of a large clay bird, the latter on foot.

"I don't think we'll be able to run away with those two here," Maki grimly noted. "How much time do you need until Gaara is out of danger?"

"I don't know how long it will take us. As much time as you can!" Hinata pleaded.

Maki nodded, and alongside the rest of the group, prepared for the immediate clash with the Akatsuki.

"I don't know how you two are still alive," Sasori said, his eyes focused on Temari and Kankuro, while he pulled out a scroll from underneath his cloak. "But I'm going to correct that mistake right now."

"Yes! You're about to witness such an epic art display, it will blow you away!" Deidara added with a loud snicker.

And with that horrible, horrible pun, the second clash against Sasori and Deidara began.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This chapter, a bit shorter than usual, was moslty to flesh out Temari and Kankuro's character a bit, which I felt they were rather shortchanged not only in this arc, but in the series as a whole. Hope you enjoyed this little digging into their character and backstories. I really enjoyed the little bodning moment between Hinata and Temari.**

 **Some people guessed that Chiyo would be among the Suna reinforcements, but no, I already stated that she wasn't going to play a major role in this arc as in canon. No, the characters I was talking about were Matsuri and her anime-only teammates Yukata and Mikoshi. It was never shown who their sensei was, so I decided to make Maki, another Suna character I like a lot, to fill that spot, and thus I can kill two birds in one stone.**

 **Thanks a lot to gio08 for betareading this chapter.**

 ** **So, the climax of the arc begins! While Naruto and Hinata try to save Gaara, the rest have to face Deidara and Sasori. How will the fights be? They will be very different from canon, that's for sure, given that the only one from the original arc still there is Naruto. Tell me your thoughts on this chapter and expectations for the next one in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!  
****


	54. Battle of the Artists

**Author's Note: First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to** **tzionsinned, who took my Shattered Team Seven challenge. His fanfic is called "The Shattered Path". You can find it in my favorites. So go, read it and give the author your support!  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 54**

Battle of the Artists

 _or_

 _Artists that can't take criticism_

For a moment, time froze as both parties stared at each other. Naruto and Hinata kept focused on keeping Gaara alive, while the rest of his Konoha and Suna friends placed themselves around them in a protective formation. The Akatsuki's intentions were very easy to read. Not that it would help them anyway. Deidara grinned, and time continued flowing normally.

"I'll go for the jinchuriki! Sasori, take care of the trash!" Deidara said as his bird started to fly faster around the blond ninja.

"Why I'm always the one who has to deal with the others? I'd like to fight a jinchuriki myself just once," the rogue puppeteer sighed.

 _"Shit, Naruto and Hinata are like sitting ducks, I have to keep this Akatsuki away from them!"_ Kurenai thought as she frantically started to make hand seals.

"Oh come on, you're pretty good at keeping them at bay," Deidara replied as he formed several smaller clay birds from the mouths in his hands. "Let's start this!"

However, before he could drop his bombs on the targets below, several massive snakes burst from the ground around them and lunged at the flying Akatsuki with their jaws wide open, their large fangs dripping poison.

"SHIT!" Deidara loudly yelled as he maneuvered his bird to avoid the out of nowhere giant reptiles. "Where did these things came from!? I didn't see anybody summon...hey, wait a minute!"

The blond Akatsuki made a hand seal and with a burst of chakra, Kurenai's quick genjutsu was undone. Deidara looked rather pissed for falling for such a trick.

"Push the Akatsuki away from Naruto and Hinata!" Kurenai shouted.

"Ha! I'd like to see you try!" Deidara boasted. However, unbeknownst to him, the genjutsu, while short lived, had already made its job and created an opening. A cold wind started to blow from above. "What the-?"

Looking above, he saw Haku coming from what appeared to be a portal made of ice floating in mid air. His hands were grabbing a bunch of senbon each and tossed at the Akatsuki as he fell. From such short distance, all of them found their mark.

"AAAARRGH!" Deidara screamed in pain. "You son of a bitch!"

Haku gracefully landed on the clay bird, forcing Deidara to take a step back.

"You almost killed both me and lots of innocents in Kirigakure a year ago. I'm here to repay you in kind," Haku firmly stated, as an ice sword formed on his right hand.

"Well, thanks you for telling me that. I hate to leave a piece of art incomplete!" Deidara said, thrusting his arm forward.

A small insect made of clay flew from under his sleeve towards Haku. The Ice Ninja instinctively jumped backwards, just as the insect exploded, engulfing him in a small but nevertheless lethal explosion.

"Haku!" Kurenai cried.

But much to the Jonin's relief, a mirror made of ice formed besides her and Haku stepped out of it.

"That was close," Haku breathed in relief. "We must be careful, that guy is even more dangerous than I remember."

"Understood. Both you, Temari and Maki's students should try to bring him down with ranged jutsu. Maki, Kankuro and myself will face Sasori," Kurenai stated, as she looked at the rest of the group, looking for their approval. All of them nodded in agreement. "Alright then, in that case, let's go!"

…

As the group split, Kurenai, Maki and Kankuro prepared to fight Sasori, who looked rather nonchalant and even relaxed. He fixed his eyes on Kankuro, ignoring the two women.

"You should be dead," Sasori repeated. "Before I'll kill you, I'll make you say how did you manage to counter my poison."

"Guess now you regret not killing us when you had the chance, right?" Kankuro replied, as he reached for scroll underneath his clothes, and unsealed Tamotsu. "It's time for round two!"

Sasori cast a curious glance on Kankuro's shield-wielding puppet.

"Hmmm. I've never seen that puppet in my life. A creation of yours?" Sasori asked, but didn't give Kankuro the chance to answer. "You see, one does not reach true mastery of puppetry ninjutsu until you create your own puppet. When I was your age, I had already created dozens of them, and my collection just expanded ever since. But yes, now that you finally stopped used those outdated puppets I created so long ago, you might become a worthwhile challenge."

"Don't forget about us!" Kurenai called, upset at being ignored.

"I'd never think in doing that," Sasori said with a painfully fake smile, as he held up the scroll he had pulled out earlier. "Now, prepare to see one of my most cherished creations. I don't use it that much, so consider yourselves lucky to see it, before I use it to send you to hell."

Sasori unsealed the puppet, who appeared to be one with a vaguely human looking face, whose entire body was covered in a long, dull brown coat. Maki gasped upon seeing it, while Kankuro and Kurenai remained unfazed.

"I can't believe it..." Maki stammered.

"So, do you recognize him?" Sasori replied, as his grin grew wider. "Guess that the other two, one being so young, and the other not from Suna, it doesn't ring a bell. Why don't you enlighten them, kunoichi-san?"

"Yeah, what's with that puppet?" Kurenai asked, noticing her Suna counterpart growing pale.

"That's...the Third Kazekage..." Maki finally managed to say. Even if she didn't meet the man in person, she had seen numerous pictures of him in history books.

"Yes, he is. You could consider him the masterpiece of my art collection," Sasori replied, his voice consumed in delight. "He found about my defection, and personally came to confront me. He probably knew I was too powerful for anybody but him to fight. And he was right, to an extent, given the results, hehe. But enough talking, let's begin this already!"

Chakra threads shot from Sasori's fingers, attaching themselves to several points in the back of the Third Kazekage. With a hand motion, the puppet flew at an amazing speed towards Kurenai, who scrambled to adopt a defensive stance.

"You go first!" Sasori yelled, as he made a swift hand motion.

A cluster of blades appeared on the Kazekage's right arm, which were brought down onto the startled Genjutsu Mistress. However, they didn't sink into her flesh, but clashed against a hard, metallic surface of Tamotsu's large shield.

"Mechanical Light Shield Block!"

Tamotsu's chakra—enhanced shield struggled against the Kazekage's blades. Eventually, the former won, and with a burst of chakra, the latter puppet was pushed back.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," Sasori admitted, and with a flick of his pinky finger, a long, jagged katana appeared on the Kazekage's left hand. "Let's do it again!"

With a hand motion, the Kazekage skyrocketed forward, not choosing any target in particular. Sasori probably wanted to surprise his target at the last second and give them no chance to react. Kankuro, however, wasn't going to allow that.

"Like hell I'm gonna let you!" Kankuro replied, making a finger motion.

Tamotsu's shield horizontally split in two. The upper half split into two parts once again, and bended forward. From the resulting slot, a barrage of kunai with explosives attached to them fired forward. Sasori was forced to pull back his puppet in order to avoid the ensuing explosions.

"And that's not all!" Kankuro added, with another finger motion.

Tamotsu rose its other arm, and two small cannons appeared at its sides. The guns fired two kunai with ropes attached, that flew towards the retreating Kazekage in a wide arc. The kunai successfully tied themselves around the puppet's arms, immobilizing it.

"Come on, now!" Kankuro shouted. "Ignore the puppet! Attack Sasori!"

Kurenai and Maki nodded and rushed forward. Kurenai made hand seals, while Maki unfolded a large scroll made of cloth.

"Earth Release: Stone Dragon Jutsu!"

A giant serpentine dragon made of earth and stone burst from the ground, arching over the Third Kazkekage and lunged at Sasori, with its jaws wide open. Sasori did the most logical thing, dropped his puppet and jumped to avoid the earth jutsu. However, while he was mid air, Maki choose that moment to attack.

"Cloth Binding Jutsu!"

As if it was alive, the cloth scroll unfurled on its own and flew towards Sasori. However, a blade appeared from the Akatsuki's sleeve and used it to slash the incoming cloth before it could wrap around him.

Realizing he was wide open, Kurenai and Kankuro moved to attack once again. However, Sasori's reflexes were faster than the two of them anticipated, as he shot chakra threads towards Tamotsu.

"Oh shit, not again!" Kankuro cursed, remembering his disastrous fight against Fu in Konoha's Chunin Exams.

However, Sasori wasn't interested in stealing Kankuro's puppet. With a hand motion, he forced the puppet to slam against the unsuspecting Kurenai, The Genjutsu Mistress crashed against the ground, making a splash upon impacting against the shallow water. Wasting no time, Sasori regained control of the Third Kazekage, and with a flick of his finger, he made his puppet to open its mouth, releasing a purple gas that quickly covered him completely.

"Watch out! Sasori's poison is something you don't want inside your body!" Kankuro warned the two kunoichi.

"How can he survive inside the toxic cloud?" Kurenai asked.

"Maybe he has an antidote. Or purposefully build immunity towards his own poisons in case they were used against him," Maki guessed. It was a common tactic employed by ninja who used poisoned weapons.

"He's using that poison cloud as a way to build time. Should I blow that poison away with a Wind Jutsu?" Kurenai suggested.

Kankuro shook his head. "If you do that, you'll spread the poison around. Let him have this round. We can use the small reprieve to regain our breath. Don't worry, the poison mist should dissipate soon"

…

Meanwhile, not far from there, the rest of the Konoha and Suna ninja were trying, without much success, fighting against the flying Deidara on the ground.

"Wind Release: Wind Scythe!"

Matsuri crossed her arms, before spreading them in a wide arc, releasing a sharp wind blade at the aerial Akatsuki. This time, it graced one of the clay bird's wings.

"Not bad girlie! Keep trying, and maybe you'll hit me before I die of old age, hn!" Deidara mocked, as he prepared more of his clay figurines. "As a reward for your tenacity, you can enjoy my art!"

Deidara started to fly in a circle at a fast speed, dropping his clay figurines, which exploded upon hitting the ground.

"Let's wait until he flies close to the ground. That way, our chances to hit him will be greater," Mikoshi suggested.

"The problem is, he knows he has to keep some distance if he wants to retain his advantage," Haku replied. "He won't come down on his own."

"Then we will force to!" Temari energetically insisted. "Continue with the attack. Let's goad him into attacking us! I figured out a weakness to his jutsu."

"As you say, Temari-sama," Yukata obediently replied as she made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

The black haired kunoichi fired a wide volley of fireballs at the flying Akatsuki. Deidara was forced to actually maneuver to dodge them rather than casually fly aside. While he was busy doing that, Haku decided to attack.

"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Using the shallow water that covered the ground, Haku created a spear made of ice, and lunged it at the dodging Deidara. Though rather than dodge the ice projectile, he opted to destroy it by tossing it an exploding clay figurine at it.

"Oh, getting bolder, are you?" Deidara asked, less amused than before. "Okay then, let me show you how below my level you bunch of nobodies are!"

Once again, Deidara dropped several of his explosive clay figurines as he swooped above the group of Konoha and Suna ninja. Just like Temari was expecting. The blonde kunoichi prepared her war fan for a counterattack.

"Now, feel my ar-"

"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

Temari blew her fan, creating a powerful gust of wind that flew upwards, and while it did so, pushed Deidara's clay bombs back towards him, which were about to explode.

"Oh shi-" the Akatsuki cursed, before his voice was muffled by a chain of explosions.

Temari watched expectantly from above, but much to her disappointment, the Akatsuki and his artificial flying steed came out from one of the clouds of smoke with only a few minor burns. A snarl of fury appeared on his previously confident face,

"You dare use my art against me!? Oh, such insult won't be left unanswered, you Suna bitch!" Deidara hollered from above, as he prepared his next move.

…

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata continued working on keeping Gaara alive, the former pumping his own chakra into Gaara's system, while the latter keeping his body from shutting down with the Mystical Palm Jutsu. Hinata was starting to grow desperate, something that didn't go unnoticed by her boyfriend.

"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked. "Something wrong?"

"No matter how much I try, his body doesn't heal! While I can keep him alive, the moment we leave his side, he will die!" Hinata cried, much to Naruto's shock.

"But...but there has to be something we can do!" Naruto shouted back. "We managed to catch Gaara in time! Please don't tell me it was all for nothing!"

"I'm trying but...I don't know what to do! If Tsunade-sama was here..." Hinata moaned.

Naruto cursed under his breath. He was almost going to let go of the chakra flow, but managed to keep it steady. "We did interrupt the extraction...this shouldn't be happening..."

"Gaara still has some traces of Tailed Beast Chakra inside his system," Hinata pointed out. "But they're fading as we speak. If we could reinvigorate that chakra..."

"Do you think that if I use the Nine Tails' chakra, it would boost the One Tail's chakra and save Gaara?" Naruto asked, sounding now more hopeful.

Hinata took a few seconds to ponder the answer, before he finally nodded. "I don't know much about Tailed Beast's chakra, but if it's similar to our own, I think it could work."

"Alright then!" Naruto cheered, before closing his eyes. "This shouldn't take too long!"

After a second, Naruto opened his eyes, and he was no longer in the shallow river in front of the Akatsuki hideout, even if there was water at his feet. In front of him was the massive jail gate that kept the strongest of the Tailed Beasts trapped within his being.

"Hey, Kyubi!" Naruto shouted, but got no answer. "I know you're not asleep, so stop pretending you are!"

A loud grumble echoed through the chamber, as the sound of a massive body shifting and steps getting closer filled the area. Soon, Naruto saw the head of the fox behind the bars.

 **"What do you want, brat?"** the Nine Tails asked.

"I need you to loan me some of your chakra, like, really quick!" Naruto demanded.

 **"Let me think about it..."** The Kyubi pretended to consider his request. **"I thought about it. The answer is no. Now scram."**

"Come on!" Naruto insisted. "It's very important! A matter of life or death! If you don't give me some of your chakra, Gaara will die!"

The Nine Tails grumbled, as he rested his head over his crossed paws. **"The life of Shukaku's jinchuriki is of no concern to me."**

"Please!" Naruto begged, but the Nine Tails didn't reply. An idea then formed inside Naruto's head. It was a big gamble, but it was worth trying. "You know, I admit that I'm not the brightest person around..."

 **"Your honesty is touching, brat,"** the Kyubi snarked.

"But I'm not as dense to not realize what's going on with somebody who literally lives inside me," Naruto continued. "Just like I noticed your reaction to the Valley of the End...I also noticed the way you reacted when I saw the statue they were using to store captured Tailed Beasts."

The Kyubi's eyes were wide open for a split second, but Naruto noticed his guest's reaction, and grinned. It may work yet.

"You know what that statue is, do you?" Naruto asked the Kyubi, sounding bolder.

 **"That's none of your business!"** the fox roared back.

"I also have the impression that, as much as you hate being inside me, you'd hate a million more times being sealed there, am I right?" Naruto asked.

 **"What is your point, brat!?"** the Kyubi impatiently shouted.

"If you don't help me save Gaara, I'll hand myself to the Akatsuki," Naruto replied, and his grin grew wider upon seeing fear in the Kyubi's eyes. "And you'll be sealed there. How does that sound?"

 **"You...you wouldn't dare to do that!"** the Kyubi shouted, sounding both angry and genuinely scared. **"If you do that, you'll die!"**

Naruto shrugged. "We all have to die someday. Well, at least, we humans do."

 **"It's a bluff! Nobody would be stupid enough to do something like that!"** The Kyubi roared.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge?"

The Kyubi grit his sharp teeth, as it growled menacingly at Naruto, before deciding that it was better not to test the blond's idiocy.

 **"Alright...you win,"** the Nine Tails conceded. **"What do you need of me?"**

"Gaara still has some of his beast's chakra inside his body, but it's too weak. I need your chakra to reinvigorate it," Naruto explained.

A wave of red colored chakra came from within the cage, and washed over Naruto, who immediately felt the power of the fox coursing through his chakra system.

 **"That should be enough,"** the Kyubi snarled as he walked to the back of his cage. **"Now leave me alone!"**

However, Naruto didn't leave. Not just yet.

"Hey, Kyubi?" he called.

 **"WHAT!?"** the Tailed Beast hollered back.

An earnest smile formed in the blonde's mouth. He gave the Kyubi a thumbs up. "Thanks a lot. I will never forget this."

The Kyubi remained silent for a few seconds, looking almost surprised by the blond's reaction. He quickly gave up trying to understand the human's reasoning, and returned to the darkness of his prison.

 **"Bah, whatever. Now disappear if you know what's good for you..."**

…

A veil of fiery red chakra formed around Naruto, and that same chakra started to flow into Gaara as well. Rather than mold his own chakra to fit Gaara's, he molded the Kyubi's chakra to fit the One Tail's. In a few seconds, Gaara was covered in the same red cloak of pure energy as well.

"It's working!" an elated Hinata cried. "The Kyubi's chakra is boosting the One Tail's chakra as you guessed!"

As the process continued for a couple minutes, Hinata saw how Gaara's chakra network finally stabilized thanks to the few remaining bits of the One Tail's chakra, and his health returned back to normal. Confident with her work, Hinata stopped applying the Mystical Palm Jutsu. Taking that as a hint, Naruto also stopped the chakra transfer.

"Did we...?" Naruto tentatively asked.

Hinata smiled brightly, and nodded. "Yes. Gaara-san, while still weak, is out of danger now," she said, before a explosion rocked the entire place. "Or all the out of danger he can be with those two around."

"Even if I doubt Akatsuki still has any interest in Gaara, I'll take him somewhere safe. I'll return as soon as I can," Naruto stated as he tossed Gaara's unconscious form over his shoulder.

Hinata nodded. "I'll go help Kurenai-sensei with the puppet master. I doubt I'd be of much help against the flying one," she said as she watched her boyfriend leave with the unconscious Gaara.

Through her Byakugan, Hinata could see that in the fight against Sasori, the rogue puppeteer was dominating the battle, with the two Suna and one Konoha ninja mostly defending themselves from his attacks rather than trying to attack. So far the Akatsuki was pretty focused on the combat, Hinata was sure he could deal a blow without him noticing. And sometimes, one blow it's all what it's needed to finish a battle.

Hinata looked down at the shallow water, and frowned. 'With all this water, I can't use Lightning Jutsu without a huge risking of harming the others. This is like fighting on those rice fields all over again. Gentle Fist only, I guess.'

Two blue flaming lions made of chakra appeared on Hinata's hands as she rushed towards the cloaked puppeteer. The splashes her steps were making when touching the water would make an stealthy attack impossible, but if she attacked from behind, it would force Sasori to address her and turn his back to her teammates, and use that window of opportunity to attack.

"Twin Lion Fists!"

As expected, Sasori already moved to dodge Hinata's attacks a couple seconds before the Hyuga was even close to hand to hand range.

However, Sasori didn't use his puppet to defend himself against Hinata, but merely sidestepped, and jumped back and to the side, so he could have all four ninja within his range of vision and attack. The redhead smiled at Hinata.

"Oh, a Hyuga," Sasori softly said, as his smile grew wider. "What a lucky find."

"Let me guess, you want my eyes, right?" Hinata asked as she adopted a fighting stance. "That's not going to happen."

Sasori just shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no. You misunderstood me. While your eyes are indeed very valuable, that's not the only thing that interests me. No, I want your whole body. That way, I can make a puppet out of you. I always love to make a puppet of my victims that have a powerful Bloodline Limit, just like the Kazekage here. You'll make a fine addition to my collection."

"As...interesting as such offer sounds, I have to turn it down. I'm not planning on becoming one of your toys," Hinata replied. Though, as she focused on the Akatsuki in front of her, she noticed something she had overlooked at first. "Wait a minute, you...you aren't even human! You're a puppet too!"

Kurenai, Kankuro and Maki were a bit confused by such revelation. Sasori, meanwhile, chuckled lightly.

"The Byakugan is sure useful to spoil surprises," Sasori replied, shaking his head in mock disappointment. "But yes, I am a puppet. I have transcended my humanity, and become a form of art myself! A body that doesn't age, doesn't rot, is easy to repair..."

"Not all your body is a puppet. I do see living tissue," Hinata pointed out.

"Yes. Sadly, I can't become a full puppet without losing my ability to use chakra. That's why I had to keep a little piece of my former self untouched," the puppeteer mentioned.

"You're sick," Hinata replied in disgust. "Though whatever you wanted to accomplish by mutilating your body, it won't help you against us."

"We'll see then," Sasori said, making a finger motion. "Thousand Hands Manipulation Force!"

Several compartments opened on the Kazekage's left arm, revealing several storage seals. From said seals, a large number of long puppet arms emerged, all of them ready to smash Hinata. The Hyuga, however, had a fitting counter in her arsenal.

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

Hinata started to move her palms forward in a pushing manner, so fast they became blurry, releasing thin streams of chakra from the palm of her hands, effectively countering the incoming mechanical arms coming at her.

"Interesting ability..." Sasori praised, not realizing Maki rushing forward, scroll of cloth in her hands.

"Cloth Binding Jutsu!"

Once again, the cloth Maki was holding flew as if it had life on its own, and tightly wrapped itself against the mass of arms.

"Quickly, now!" the Suna kunoichi called.

Hinata and Kurenai nodded, and both rushed towards Sasori. Each one of them pulled several kunai with explosive notes attached to them, and ignoring the puppet, they tossed them at the redheaded Akatsuki.

With a flick of his finger, the mass of arms detached from the Kazekage, and both it and Sasori jumped backwards.

"Mechanical Light Shield Block!"

A shield of chakra formed around the Kazekage, protecting both the puppet and Sasori from the chain of explosions. Following that, several pipes emerged from the puppet's chest, tearing holes in the dull brown cloak it was wearing. The pipes fired multiple kunai, prompting all the women to jump aside.

"No! Deflect them, don't dodge!" Kankuro called out, using his puppet to protect himself from the projectiles.

"Too late," Sasori stated, with a confident smirk.

Like before, the kunai had ninja wire attached to them, and Sasori used it to maneuver around the three kunoichi. While Hinata and Kurenai were able to avoid or downright cut the wire before it trapped them, Maki wasn't so lucky, and the wire wrapped itself around her legs.

"No...!" Maki cried, as she fell to the ground, while being pulled towards the puppet.

"Got you!" Sasori cheered, and his grin grew more sadistic as he made a couple of finger motions. "And the real fun beings now!"

Kurenai and Hinata were quick to help Maki, but were forced to stop and take a step back when they saw what Sasori did next. Another pipe burst from the puppet's chest, and expelled a stream of purple gas. Maki was soon engulfed by a purple poisonous cloud.

"Don't breathe that gas! It's a deadly poison!" Kankuro warned the Konoha kunoichi.

Hinata then pulled out something from her ninja tool box. Kankuro could see it was some sort of capsule with a yellow liquid on it. Hinata tossed it inside the cloud. Thanks to her Byakugan, he could see that Maki caught it.

"Maki-san, that's an antidote for Sasori's poison! Inject it into your bloodstream, and you'll be immune to the poison for the next three minutes!" Hinata told the Suna kunoichi.

"What!?" Sasori asked in shock. "You...you made an antidote for my poison? How? It couldn't be possible! No one can...it's impossible!"

Hinata couldn't help but smile a little at Sasori's shock. "Like Naruto-kun used to say, impossible only means it hasn't been done yet!"

A couple of soft snapping sounds signaled that Maki had finally cut the wires that were immobilizing her.

"Sealing Art: Cloth Binding Armor!"

"Huh?" Sasori dumbly asked.

Maki then jumped out of the cloud of poisonous gas. She was now covered in one long piece of cloth which wrapped around her body and limbs, leaving only her eyes exposed, which gave her the appearance of a mummy. While she was mid air, she made a single hand seal.

"Multiple Cloth Razor Whips!"

Like the name of the jutsu implied, many whips made of cloth emerged from under Maki's bandage, and lashed at both the Kazkeage puppet and Sasori. The redhead jumped aside, as he maneuvered his puppet into dodging or cutting the incoming cloth with the multiple blades on its right arm. However, Maki managed to wrap one of her cloth whips around the base of the arm, and pulled, leaving the puppet unable to move.

"How did you...?" a dumbstruck Sasori asked.

A buzz saw appeared on the puppet's left arm where its forearm used to be, and moved it to cut the binding cloth.

"Quickly, now!" Maki called.

Kankuro maneuvered Tamotsu forward, ready to smash Sasori's puppet with a brutal shield bash. However, the Kazekage's right arm detached from its body, allowing Sasori to move the puppet once again. Kankuro shot a thread of chakra at the discarded arm full of blades, and tossed it backwards as far as he could so the Akatsuki couldn't reattach it later.

The Kazekage fired several smoke bombs, covering the zone in one big, mist like grey cloud, while it moved towards Hinata, whom for some reason gave Sasori the feeling that she was the most dangerous of his four opponents. The arm with the buzz saw came down.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata turned into a spinning blue dome of chakra, which incidentally raised gusts of wind that blew the smoke away, and splashing water around. When the buzz saw struck her, the force the Hyuga's jutsu blew the weapon away from the puppet's arm. Foiled, Sasori put some distance between him and his attackers. Having lost both its arms, it seemed that the Kazekage wouldn't be a threat anymore.

"Seemed" being the key word here.

Despite appearing to be on the losing side, Sasori's face sported a confident smirk. This didn't sit well with the Konoha and Suna ninjas, who were smart enough to realize that the Akatsuki wasn't simply overconfident.

"Well," Sasori began, sounding a bit tired. "I have to admit that the quality of my current opponents is, at the very least, worth of some respect. Guess I have no choice to use this, but once I do, your chances of winning will be close to zero."

Sasori made a hand seal, and the Kazekage opened its mouth with a mechanical click. Black sand started to pour out of it. Maki and Kankuro gasped, immediately recognizing what the puppet was doing, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Akatsuki.

"Being from Suna, it seems that you're familiar with this ability in particular, am I right?" Sasori said with a teasing grin. "Why don't you educate your Konoha collaborators, and let them know what they're against?"

"The Third Kazekage had a very rare Bloodline Limit called Magnet Release," Maki explained, growing more uneasy by the second. "Such Bloodline can be used to manipulate metals, but it's incredibly hard to master. The Kazekage, trying to imitate the One Tail's sand powers, used it to manipulate iron grinded into fine powder that was called Iron Sand. Such ability...made the Third Kazekage the strongest ninja Suna has ever seen."

"Yet Sasori was able to best him..." Hinata squeaked, with a gulp.

"Wait a minute, if the Kazekage is a puppet, how can he use a Bloodline Limit? It shouldn't be possible!" Kurenai pointed out.

"That's a good question. A short answer would be that I developed a special process in which the people I turn into puppets retain their special abilities. Otherwise, doing so would be pretty much useless. The process requires the person to be alive while the transformation takes place, which makes it...more difficult than it should be. But the results are definitely worth it.

"You three are worthless, so you won't have the honor to be included in my art collection," Sasori's eyes rested on Hinata, and glinted with a predatory glee. "But you, a Main House Hyuga...you'll make a lovely puppet. Oh, I can't wait until I can turn you into a work of art!"

"And I can't wait until I can turn you into...uh..." Hinata started to trail off. "Naruto-kun is much better at this than I am. Anyway, your art career will end today!"

"What's an artist who doesn't welcome some challenge?" Sasori asked no one in particular, as he made a hand seal. "Let's begin this. Magnet Release: Iron Sand Drizzle!"

The Third Kazekage tore part of his already ruined cloak, exposing its chest. A compartment on its left chest opened, revealing some sort of chakra-emitting apparatus. The iron sand floating around him started to gather and compress into hundreds of projectiles.

"I don't like where this is going," Kurenai said as she started to make hand seals. "Earth Release: Multiple Earth Style Walls!"

Three walls emerged from the ground between the four Konoha and Suna ninja, and the Akatsuki and its puppet.

"I don't think that's going to be enough," Maki stated as she generated two long cloth whips from her hands. Hinata also took a step forward, ready to take the attack head on.

With a shout of "DIE!", Sasori launched a barrage of iron sand bullets forward. In no time, they shattered the first wall Kurenai had erected. Other two barrages, and the walls came down. The next barrage of bullets came soon.

"Double Cloth Helix!"

"Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

Maki's cloth whips started to spin at high speed, forming two cones in front of her that successfully deflected most of the bullets, while Hinata used her custom made technique to do the same.

"An impressive defense," Sasori praised, his confidence unwavering. "But how long can you keep it up?"

Kurenai and Kankuro noticed that while he fired the bullets, Sasori was also retrieving the iron sand from the ones he already fired, and compressed them into more bullets that he could fire. He was right, Sasori could go on forever, while Hinata and Maki couldn't. In fact, they were starting to show signs of exhaustion.

"Shit, I need to do something!" Kankuro seethed as he made a hand seal. "Shadow Clone Puppet Jutsu!"

Two clones of Tamotsu appeared, and the hooded puppeteer took no time to attach chakra strings to them. With a swift motion of both hands, he positioned them in front of Hinata and Maki.

"Triple Mechanical Light Shield!"

Tamotsu and its two clones used the defensive jutsu in tandem, creating three chakra shields that quickly merged into a really big one, successfully blocking the barrage of attacks.

"This is your chance! Go while I'll cover you!" Kankuro stated, as he tried to keep the shield active as long as possible.

Maki nodded, and rushed forward, but she was met with an admittedly small barrage of bullets that forced her to step back behind the safety of Kankuro's puppets.

"Even with this cover, his puppet can attack in multiple directions," Maki said, panting a little.

"Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked, looking at the raven haired woman.

Kurenai nodded as she started to make hand seals. "I'll provide you a distraction."

Sasori saw Maki jumping from her hiding spot behind Kankuro's puppets, and rushed towards the Akatsuki once again. The redhead grinned as he made a hand seal.

"Quite the bold move," Sasori praised, as he formed iron sand into a spear, which dived at the mummy-looking woman, impaling her in the chest. "But foolish."

Then much to her shock, Maki burst into smoke, and two Makis took her place, which continued her dash towards the now startled Akatsuki. He repeated the process, nailing the two Makis, but it only caused them to split again, having four enemies to deal with.

"What kind of jutsu is this...?" the stupefied redhead wondered, until he realized what was going on. "Oh, a genjutsu. Turns out I'm still vulnerable to those."

Sasori brought his hands together to form a seal, and a with a discharge of chakra, the illusion was broken. That didn't mean that all Makis disappeared, they were simply reduced to one, who was still charging at him, accompanied by Hinata. With a hand motion, he brought the Third Kazekage closer, and issued his next command.

"Magnet Release: Iron Sand Gathering Assault!"

The Iron Sand formed into multiple, long and thick nails, which rained upon the two Kunoichi, forcing them backwards. The attack didn't cease, since the Akatsuki wasn't going to let his enemies go on the offensive.

A few meters back, the Tamotsu clones disappeared, and Kankuro stopped channeling the protective jutsu through them and started panting heavily.

"I don't think I'll be able to do that anytime soon," Kankuro said between pants.

"Can you still fight?" Kurenai asked.

Kankuro smiled, and nodded. "Of course. I still have a few surprises that-" Kankuro, however, was taken aback when he found himself unable to move his puppet. "The hell? Tamotsu doesn't move! It's like...there's something jamming all its joints!"

"It has to be the Iron Sand," Kurenai deduced. "Guess that Sasori doesn't want you to interfere again."

"Goddamit..." the hooded man cursed, stomping his foot on the wet ground.

"Since the Iron Sand is connected to that puppet, if we destroy it, yours might be able to move again," the Genjutsu Mistress deduced.

"Let's hope we can do that. I'll try to help you as much as I can," Kankuro said, sadly discarding his now useless puppet.

Meanwhile, Sasori continued to bombard Hinata and Maki by dropping large and/or sharp Iron Sand constructs on them, forcing them to stay in the offensive. The two of them were forced to fall back where Kurenai and Kankuro were.

"This isn't working," Maki realized. "His Magnet Release is way too powerful. There's no way of getting close to Sasori as long as he has the Kazekage!"

"Maybe we've approached this from the wrong perspective," Hinata thoughtfully said.

"What do you mean?" Kankuro asked.

"We focused on Sasori, because a puppet's weakest part if the ninja controlling it...but what if we focus on destroying the Kazekage first?"

"While it's a good idea, the result would be the same. Even if we focus our efforts on destroying that puppet, we have no ways to surpass the power of the Magnet Release," Maki explained.

Kurenai smiled confidently, realizing what Hinata was suggesting to do. "We can, if Sasori thinks we're going to target him, just like we did so far until now."

Hinata smiled back, and nodded.

"Whatever you're planning, it won't work," Sasori said as he and his puppet came closer. "I'm already growing bored of this fight. Now, die."

The Iron Sand above him took the shape of several cubes and pyramids. With a hand motion, Sasori started to directed them at the four Konoha and Suna ninja.

"Come on, go!" Kurenai urged, as she started to make hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

In front of Kurenai, a serpentine dragon made of earth and stone emerged, and lunged at the incoming Iron Sand block. Both constructs were shattered to pieces when they crashed. Undeterred, Sasori send more constructs towards the incoming trio, but Kurenai kept repelling them with her Earth Release jutsu.

When she felt she was close enough, Maki made a couple hand seals and slammed her fists into the water-covered ground.

Feeling a tremor under his feet, Sasori jumped backwards just in time to avoid several sharp cloth whips emerging from underground. The Akatsuki smirked once again.

"Close, but you'll need to do better than-uh?" Sasori then realized that he was struggling to pull the Kazekage back. Much to his shock, he saw that Kankuro had attached his own chakra threads to him, and was pulling back.

"Nothing stops a puppeteer from trying to snatch somebody else's puppet. I learned this during my first Chunin Exams," Kankuro boasted, with a grin of satisfaction. "This is your chance, Hinata!"

The Hyuga dashed forward, as chakra lions covered her fists. A scowl formed on the Akatsuki's face as she passed the Kazekage.

"I'll admit that it was a good plan, but you won't catch me off guard," Sasori replied, making a hand seal, commanding the Kazekage to create a shield of Iron Sand around him, and waited for Hinata to get closer to skewer her alive.

However, Hinata didn't do that. Instead, she suddenly spun over her heels, and with a quick double palm strike, she shattered the Kazekage to pieces. It took a few seconds for Sasori to process what had happened, as the Iron Sand around him became inert, and fell to the ground.

"Yes! We did it! We destroyed the Kazekage!" Maki loudly cheered. It was something rare for the otherwise soft spoken woman.

"You were right, Kurenai-san! Tamotsu works once again!" Kankuro cheered as well, happy to recover his puppet.

While happy on the inside, Kurenai didn't share the Suna ninja's optimism. Sasori was angry, but he didn't look like somebody who was just defeated.

"Hinata, fall back," the raven haired woman commanded. Hinata nodded, and did as she was told.

The group of four waited intently to see what Sasori would do next, now that his allegedly strongest puppet was nothing put pieces of scrap.

"I admit that it was quite the impressive tactic. Such teamwork in the heat of the battle is mostly unseen, especially from people belonging to different villages," Sasori genuinely praised, as he started to unbutton his cloak. "To think that you even destroyed the Third Kazekage...however, diverting my attention by making me think you're going after me and then destroy my puppet won't work with the next one..."

"Don't tell me he is going to..." Hinata began, becoming mildly distressed.

Sasori then discarded the cloak, confirming his initial suspicions. Everybody gasped. Even if the Hyuga had told them beforehand, seeing it with their own eyes was something else. Underneath the cloak, there was another puppet. Two poles emerged from the back of his hips, deploying five poison-dripped blades. His gut was open, revealing a thick steel cable coiled around a pole instead of intestines. He had four scrolls attached to a compartment in his back. On his chest was his core, the only living part of his body left, marked with several red kanji.

"...myself!" the Akatsuki proudly announced.

…

Meanwhile, not far from there, Deidara continued his fight against the Suna ninja and Haku. After realizing Temari's tactic of blowing his explosives back at him shortly before he detonated them, he had changed tactics, and opted to attack closer to the ground.

 _"I might be more vulnerable to their attacks, but this way, my attacks will have more chances to hit,"_ Deidara thought as he commanded his bird to do a low swoop and prepared more explosive clay figurines. " _And they won't see THIS coming!"_

As Deidara approached the Suna ninja (and Haku), Yukata stepped forward and made several hand seals.

"I'll stop him before he has any chance to attack!" Yukata proudly stated as she prepared her jutsu. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

Yukata breathed a stream of fire at the incoming Akatsuki. Deidara quickly tossed a clay figurine at the incoming inferno, which instantly exploded. From the ensuing cloud of smoke and dirt, multiple clay birds flew out in arches, most of them headed towards Yukata. The black haired girl yelped, as she jumped backwards multiple times, trying to avoid the incoming explosions.

Mikoshi grabbed a handful of kunai and shuriken tossed them forward, and made a hand seal.

"Manipulating Attack Blades!"

As if they had life of their own, the kunai and shuriken flew towards the clay birds, impaling most of them to the ground. Yukata was able to avoid the few that exploded, before she fell on her butt.

"Ow..." Yukata whimpered, panting heavily. Matsuri walked towards her friend and helped her back on her feet. "That was close. Thank you, Matsuri-chan, Mikoshi-kun."

Temari blew a small gust of wind with her fan to dispel the smoke of the explosions, and much to her annoyance, Deidara was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did he go?" Matsuri asked, gritting her teeth a little.

"He's possibly underground! Watch out from attacks from below!" Mikoshi warned.

"That can't be true! If he was underground, there would be a hole!" Matsuri protested.

True to the bespectacled boy's words, clay creatures started to pop from the ground, and launching themselves at the Suna and Konoha ninja.

"Watch out!" Haku shouted, tossing three senbon at a clay creature that was about to latch onto Matsuri, breaking its momentum, and exploding prematurely.

At first, they were able to fend off the creatures reasonably well, but the more they fought, the more they appeared. Haku and Temari realized that some of them didn't explode, got back on their feet, and tried to attack again.

 _"If Hinata was here, she could locate Deidara underground and see the creatures before they emerged,"_ Haku thought, as he impaled a small clay creature to the ground with an ice spear. _"And if Kurenai-sensei was here, she could bring Deidara out with an earth jutsu. But they aren't here. Come on Haku, think! What can you do that can be of help!"_

"Everybody, to me!" Temari called as she reared her fan backward.

The trio of Suna Chunin and Haku all leaped towards her, with the explosive creatures waddling towards them, forming a large group. Just like Temari wanted.

"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

With all enemies in one spot, Temari was able to blow them away with a powerful gale. However, that proved to be a temporary solution at best, since the creatures got back on their feet, and charged once again. Worse, more creatures continued to pop from the ground. It was then when Haku noticed something.

"That's it! All the creatures appear around the same spot!" the Ice Ninja deduced. "That has to be where Deidara hides!"

"They keep coming! Matsuri-chan, what are we going to do?" Yukata cried.

Matsuri herself didn't look that confident about their chances either. "I...I don't know! Just keep fighting! He's bound to run out of these things sooner or later!"

"Temari-san, I think I have an idea!" Haku called, while casting a freezing blast at a group of small clay creatures, slowing them down. "They all come from the same spot! Push them against that spot!"

Temari gasped in realization, before she smirked, realizing what Haku was suggesting. "Alright then! Matsuri, I need your help! Use wind attacks to push the clay dolls from where they come from!"

"Understood, Temari-sama!" Matsuri obediently replied.

Both kunoichi jumped at opposite sides of the spawning spot so they could surround their enemies before pushing them back.

"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

"Wind Release: Wind Raging Wall!"

As they pushed the clay creatures backwards, the clash of wind jutsu had the unintended effect of creating a tornado that kept them inside, pushing them backwards whenever they tried to walk towards Deidara's enemies.

"What do we do now?" Matsuri asked.

"Nothing! Keep blowing! Wait until more clay creatures emerge!" Temari ordered.

Haku smiled to himself. Temari had quickly realized what was his plan. As more clay creatures emerged, the tornado was having trouble keeping them trapped. The accumulated mass was starting to become too heavy for the current winds. That means it was the time.

"Matsuri, get away! Yukata, set those bastards on fire!" Temari hollered as she jumped backwards. "Haku, protect her from the explosion!"

Yukata nodded and made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

Once again, Yukata breathed a stream of fire at the gathered clay creatures, causing all of them to detonate, producing a massive explosion that would have made Deidara proud. Haku managed to build around Yukata and himself a sturdy ice barrier that absorbed the shockwave of the explosion.

Just like Haku had predicted, Deidara was hidden underground under the spot where the clay monsters where emerging, and that explosion had forced him out, hurling him into the air before he fell with a thud a few meters away from them.

"This..." Deidara grumbled, as he got back on his feet as badly as he could. "This is...the second time...you use my art against me...how dare you...HOW DARE YOU!?"

The Suna ninja and Haku slipped into fighting stances as they watched the Akatsuki shambling towards him. Despite being badly bruised and having numerous burns across his body, none of them were foolish enough to think that he may have one last nasty ace in the hole.

"That's it, no more playing around! You're about to feel the full power of my art!" Deidara shouted as he tossed a clay figurine at his feet.

A cloud of smoke enveloped Deidara, and when it disappeared, the Akatsuki was riding another giant clay bird. However, this one was much bigger than the ones he had used before, especially its wingspan, which gave it a majestic appearance.

"Behold the C3 Clay Phoenix!" Deidara hollered as the clay bird flapped its wings, taking flight, gaining attitude in no time.

After quickly flying around in circles a couple times, the phoenix opened its long beak, releasing two balls of clay. In a poof of smoke, the balls of clay turned into smaller replicas of its progenitor, but still noticeably bigger than the ones used before.

"Oh, you still back to that?" Temari asked, as she readied her fan. "Yeah, I don't like your 'art', you can have it back!"

Temari blew a powerful gust of wind once again. However, unlike the other time, the clay creatures weren't pushed back. The artificial birds flapping their wings faster, pushing against the wind current blowing against them. The wind eventually ceased, and clay birds continued their descend. Temari grimaced. Deidara grinned.

"TAKE COVER!"

"Boom!" Deidara shouted, as he made a hand seal.

The clay birds exploded, producing a blast much more powerful than his other figurines. While narrowly avoiding the explosion, the Suna ninja and Haku were tossed into the ground by the ensuing shockwave.

"No time to sleep!" Deidara hollered, sending another duo of clay birds from his phoenix's beak.

"I'll stop them this time!" Yukata said, making hand seals. "Fire Release; Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

The black haired kunoichi breathed a volley of small fireballs from her mouth, that spread in a rather wide arc. The clay birds, however, expertly maneuvered through the fireballs as if there was an intelligence controlling them. However, while they did so, Mikoshi prepared his next move.

"Manipulating Attack Blades!"

A foursome of kunai with explosive tags attached to them flew towards the clay creatures. The clay birds managed to dodge them as well, but Mikoshi directed them back, and they found their mark. With a hand seal, the bespectacled Suna ninja detonated them, destroying their targets.

"Heh, not bad," Deidara said, as he prepared his next attack. "But the next one is going to be-"

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

A loud whirring screech interrupted Deidara's ramblings, and much to his surprise, he saw what appeared to be a shuriken made of pure chakra flying at him. His battle instincts screamed to get out of its way. Not having time to maneuver his clay phoenix into dodging it, Deidara opted to jump away. As he fell, he saw the shuriken crash against his clay phoenix, resulting in a massive explosion of wind and chakra.

"Wow...that was sure something..." as he fell, Deidara couldn't suppress a tinge of admiration for the ensuing blast the shuriken produced. Despite the height he fell from, he managed to land on his feet and eyed his opponents. He noticed that there was somebody there who wasn't before.

"You!" Deidara said, outraged. "The jinchuriki!"

"Yeah, that would be me," Naruto said with a smirk, flanked by a single clone. He then pointed upwards. "And that was my most powerful jutsu so far. I still have enough nature energy for a second one. Except this time around, you won't be able to dodge it."

Naruto formed a rasengan, and his clone started to infuse it with wind chakra, taking the form of a shuriken as he did.

"Wait a minute, did he said nature energy? Is this fucker a sage?" Deidara asked, before noticing the coloration around Naruto's eyes, confirming his doubts. "Then there's no way I can defeat him like this, especially with all these people around!"

"Make sure he doesn't escape!" Naruto told the others as the jutsu slowly reached completion.

"It will be you who won't be able to escape!" Deidara fired back as he grabbed some of his explosive clay, and ate it with the mouth on his face, instead of the ones in his palms.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Matsuri began.

Deidara then started to bloat as if he was balloon, while laughing maniacally.

"HAHAHAHA! Let's see how you stop this! There's no way to avoid this explosion!" Deidara boasted as he swelled up more and more. "Even if you avoid the initial blast, the shockwave will tear apart the land and cause a massive torrent!"

"Is that madman going to blow himself up?" Mikoshi asked in shock.

"I'll stop him before he explodes!" Naruto said as he prepared to toss his Rasenshuriken, which had reached completion.

"No! If you do that, you might trigger the explosion!" Haku stated.

"Then what do we do?" It was Matsuri who asked this time around.

Another idea dawned upon the Ice Ninja. "Send him high into the air with a wind jutsu! It might be the best way to avoid the aftereffects of the explosion!"

"Good idea! Come on Naruto, Matsuri, let's do it!" Temari said.

The blond jinchuriki and brown haired girl nodded. Naruto undid the Rasenshuriken, and the three of them placed themselves around Deidara, surrounding him. Three wind jutsu came from three different directions, clashing against the bloating Akatsuki, producing a powerful tornado that hurled Deidara into the air.

"Keep going! He's still too close to the ground!" Haku urged.

The three wind ninja poured as much power into their jutsu as possible. However, thanks to Naruto's nature energy, he was able to give his the necessary boost to push Deidara much higher. And a couple second later, the Akatsuki exploded in a massive fireball, which started to quickly expand outwards.

"Everybody, get close to me!" Haku yelled as his hands flew through hand seals.

Thankfully, the Ice Ninja created a multi-layered ice barrier around the group in time, which thankfully protected them from the massive blast that Deidara's bloated body produced when it detonated.

"So, this may sound dumb, but...is he dead?" Mikoshi asked.

Naruto shook his head. "No. I'm afraid that was a decoy. I still sense the real Deidara, a kilometer or so to the north. He probably used Body Replacement with a clone without us noticing."

"As much as I'd wish to, there's no time to chase him," Haku stated, earning a nod of approval from Naruto. "We need to help the others against the other Akatsuki."

"Alright. This one won't escape," Temari said in determination as she and the rest of the group rushed towards the other battleground. "By the way, where is Gaara? Is he okay?"

"Gaara is fine. I left him in a safe place near here, with two clones watching over him. We'll get him back once we're done with the Akatsuki," Naruto stated.

"Whoa..." Yukata said in awe, stopping dead in his tracks. "What...what is that?"

The others stopped as well, catching what the black haired Suna girl had seen first: a mass of puppets, almost one hundred, floating above Hinata, Kurenai, Kankuro and Maki.

"I'll tell you what that is. Trouble. A big one," Temari deadpanned.

* * *

 **Author's Note: You know, I was hoping that I could do the fight against the Akatsuki in a single chapter, but damn, even after previously getting rid of Hiruko, Sasori has more phases than a World of Warcraft boss, and I was feeling that the chapter would drag on way too much. So the fight will end the next chapter. Now, a couple clarifications:  
**

 **No, Sasori didn't go directly with the hundred puppets after the Kazekage was destroyed. Hinata and the others still fought his puppet form before that, it just happened at the same time Naruto and the others finished Deidara off. But don't worry, you'll get to see that side of the fight the next chapter.**

 **Before you point out that Hinata's lightning jutsu could nullify Deidara's explosives and thus she should have fought against him and not Sasori, remember that Hinata didn't know this. Go and reread/rewatch the Sasuke vs Deidara fight, and you'll see that Sasuke didn't know this either. He came to the conclusion mid-fight, when he realized that the clay figurines he hit with his chidori didn't blow up, and even then, he still has to do more tests just to be sure. So, Hinata's train of thought is this: she's a melee specialist with a couple ranged jutsu, she clearly would be much more useful against groundbound opponent than an airborne one.**

 **You know, rewatching the Suna Chunin Exams arc for Team Matsuri, I realized that none of them actually show any kind of jutsu, much to my huge disappointment, so I had to make their fighting styles up from scratch. Though it's confirmed that Matsuri has wind affinity.**

 **Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter, even injured. Hope that by the time of this writing, you got better.**

 **So the next chapter will be the conclusion of the fight against Sasori, and thus the end of the Suna arc! In the meantime, tell me your thoughts and impressions on this chapter via review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	55. The Wind Blows Again

**Author's Note: Unfortunately, my betareader is unavailable for the time being, so I had to proofread the chapter myself. So sorry if the reader experience feels a bit worse. Still, hope you enjoy the chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 55**

The Wind Blows Again

 _or_

 _The Akatsuki Mean Business_

…

The group of four watched in horror the creature in front of them, half a puppet, half human, while at the same time being neither, blurring the line between human and machine. Sasori, however, continued to smirk.

"You have no words for my greatest piece of art?" Sasori asked, his voice showing some conceit. "I guess it's natural. Not every day one gets to see something like this."

"Greatest piece of art!? You perverted the noble art of puppetry, Sasori," Kankuro seethed, as he moved Tamotsu into an attacking position. "You've been Suna's greatest shame for too long. Today, we will get rid Suna of that shame!"

Sasori chuckled condescendingly. "Of course, those who want to break the mold and take art to new limits are branded as criminals. Good thing I stopped caring about that village you like so much long ago."

With a clicking noise, Sasori brought his arms forward, pointing their palms towards the Konoha and Suna ninjas. A pipe emerged from each palm. The uppermost scroll on his back briefly glowed with a blue light. Everybody adopted a defensive stance, ready to react to whetever Sasori was about to throw at them.

"Now...BECOME ASHES!"

Two streams of red hot fire shot from Sasori's palm cannons. Kankuro and Hinata moved to block the attacks.

"Mechanical Light Shield Block!"

"Vacuum Palm!"

Tamotsu raised its shield, creating a barrier of blue chakra that intercepted one of the fire streams. Hinata's vacuum shell also clashed against the second, but it managed to overpower it, and continue unimpeded. The Hyuga yelped as she jumped sideways in an attempt to avoid the red streams of fiery death.

Maki motioned her hands forward, shooting multiple cloth whips from her hands at Sasori. But predictably, they were burned to ashes.

"Hinata, let's surround him! He won't be able to attack all of us that way!" Kurenai suggested.

The Hyuga nodded, and the two women started to run towards Sasori, avoiding his streams of fire as good as possible. Once they were close enough they leaped above him, landing at opposite sides. Now the four of them were around him.

"Now you can only attack one of us at a time!" Maki taunted.

Sasori let out abone-chilling cackle in return.

"And what makes you think that!?" Sasori replied.

The human puppet stopped his fire assault, and spread his arms to the side. Then, his whole upper body minus the head started to spin at a fast pace. It was truly a disturbing image to watch. However, it wasn't as disturbing as the implication of what this new ability entailed.

"BURN ALREADY!"

"Fall back!" a panicked Kurenai ordered.

Sasori ignited his palm flamethrowers again, releasing waves of flames in every direction. As he increased the spinning speed, the flames started to take the shape of a giant fiery tornado that slowly expanded outwards. The heat produced was so intense, the shallow water started to boil and evaporate, covering the area in steam.

The tornado of fire ceased. However, the steam covering the area made it impossible to anybody but Hinata to see what was going on. Hinata then started to notice a faint pulse of chakra coming from Sasori. She didn't have time to ponder what was it when she saw him raise his hand at Maki's position.

"Maki-san, watch out!" Hinata cried.

Maki jumped backwards, leaping into the air as she narrowly avoided a stream of fire. Another chakra pulse, and this time, the stream of fire was aimed at Hinata, who managed to dodge it.

" _Wait a second...that chakra pulse...that's how he's locating us in the steam!"_ Hinata thought in realization. _"I'm the only one who can see him, so it falls on me to end this!"_

Another realization dawned upon the Hyuga. She saw that the ground was now completely dry. The heat produced by Sasori's attack had evaporated all the water in the zone. That means that there was no danger of harming her allies if she used a lightning jutsu. Something she was planning to do, since this situation called for a powerful ranged attack. Her hands flew through hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Fang!"

Thursting both palms forward, Hinata released a mass of electricity that took the shape of a lion head. It let out a roar as it flew towards Sasori.

"Huh?"

Being so focused on offense, that attack caught Sasori completely off guard. On top of that, since nobody had used lightning jutsu so far, and the attack blasted him full.

"AAARRGH!" Sasori yelled, clutching the only organic side of his body. "Oh...it's been so long since the last time I felt pain...I don't like it."

"Well, prepare for more then, since there's more from where that came from!" Hinata defiantly stated, as she got ready for a second attack.

The steam started to dispel, allowing everybody without a Byakugan to clearly see Sasori. They noticed the uppermost scroll on his back was no longer there. The four Konoha and Suna ninjas allowed themselves a brief sigh of relief upon realizing that this means no more flamethrowers. Said relief, however, was short lived as the second scroll briefly glowed blue.

"I'm no stranger to lightning release either," Sasori said, as he pointed one hand at Hinata, and the other at Kurenai. "Now DIE!"

Two lightning bolts fired from each palm of his hands. Kurenai dodged the one aimred at her, while Hinata channeled lightning chakra into her hands, and swiped the blast away.

Kankuro decided he had been on the defensive for enough time, and moved Tamotsu to attack. Sasori noticed this, and fired an electric blast at the puppet. With a click, the puppet moved its shield forward, dispersing the electrcic blast. With another click, several slots opened from the shield, and fired a volley of shuriken at the Akatsuki.

"Useless!" Sasori yelled, as he fired two lightning bolts to the ground, and used the resulting blast to launch himself into the air, above the puppet. He then fired his ventral cable at Kankuro. The puppeteer managed to dodge it, but still made a scratch on his torso, before it stabbed into the ground.

Kankuro fell on one knee, already feeling the weakening effects of the poison.

"This time I won't make the same mistake I did before!" Sasori hollered, as he retracted his cable, propelling himself towards Kankuro. His side blades started to spin like a buzzsaw, as the deranged rogue puppeteer dived at the loyal poisoned one. "DIE!"

However, when Sasori was about to tear Kankuro to shreds, something violently stopped him. Turning his head 180º, he could see that Maki had attached several cloth wips around the poles that held the spinning blades. Maki then, helped by Kurenai, pulled Sasori backwards, and the two women tossed the human puppet in the opposite direction, sending him flying.

With Sasori momentarily out of commission, Hinata rushed towards Kankuro, as she fished another antidote capsule from her ninja tool pouch. Wasting no time, she rolled Kankuro's right sleeve, and nailed the capsule into it.

"There. Now the poison shouldn't be any concern for the next three minutes," Hinata explained, before taking a better look at the puppeteer's wounds. "Let me heal that as well."

"Heh, thanks. This is the second time you save my life," Kankuro chuckled, as he watched Hinata healing him.

"Think nothing of it," Hinata said, smiling a little. "It's what we medics do."

"How many of those antidotes you have?" the puppeteer asked, midly concerned.

"Just one. If more than one of us is poisoned...well, unless we can find the neccesary ingredients to make more..."

Suddenly, there was a massive explosion in the sky, producing such intense light, it almost blinded everybody there for a split second.

"What...what was that?" Hinata asked in shock.

"Dammit, that other Akatsuki and his explosions!" Kankuro snarled. "If something happened to Temari...!"

"It seems that my idiot partner just blew himself up," Sasori replied, as he returned to the fight. "I knew this would happen sooner or later. Deidara never reacts well to being cornered. That means that now I'm all alone against both you and however survived the explosion from the other group."

"But something tells me you're not going to surrender, aren't you?" Maki asked.

Sasori's smirk was all the answer she needed.

"Haha, no. I killed a Kazekage, I know very well what will happen to me if I surrender," Sasori then used a chakra thread to get one of the two remaining scrolls on his back. "That means I'll have to end this fight right now. You should feel proud of yourselves, very few people have actually saw me using this. You can say it's my ultimate jutsu."

Sasori unfurled the scroll, and dozens upon dozens of puppets poured from it. Their number was so big, they almost blocked the sun. Lastly Sasori opened a compartment on the left side of his chest, and one hundred chakra threads shot from it, attaching to one puppet each. Needless to say, the four Konoha and Suna ninjas were taken aback by the magnitude of such display.

The puppets were more or less the same size, all of them human-like in shape and form, with a surprising amount of detail to their faces, sporting multiple facial feautres, hairstyles and even accessories, like nose rings. All of them were wearing long plain maroon cloaks, and were carrying at least some sort of long bladed weapon. Poisoned, no doubt about it.

"These puppets are my strongest weapon, which I used once to conquer a whole country," Sasori said, with that ever present smirk. "You ragtag foursome don't stand a chance against me now."

"This...this is unreal..." Kankuro stammered. "Monzaemon Chikamatsu was considered the best puppeteer who ever lived, and his limit was still ten puppets..."

"Don't falter. There's no way he can micromanage so many puppets at once. He'll send them in small numbers," Kurenai guessed.

"I'd like to know what you do define as 'small'," Sasori replied, his grin widening even further, looking even more psychotic. "Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets!"

Everybody braced as the puppets descended upon them. And while Kurenai was right in that Sasori was unable to command all one hundred puppets at once, Sasori was still able to control quite a lot of them at once, between ten and sixteen.

"Scatter! He won't be able to focus on all four at once if we're not together!" Kurenai suggested. Her suggestion wasn't contested by Sasori this time around.

Contrary to the skill and minute precision Sasori had displayed when using the Third Kazekage, here it seemed that he wanted to use overwhelming force and numbers to crush the Konoha and Suna ninjas. The puppets attacked in an unrefined manner, blindly charging towards them while trying to skewer their enemies with their bladed weapons. A far cry from Sasori's previous puppets. But for those massive numbers, he had to sacrifice complexity, or else they'd be too hard to manage.

Kurenai mostly relied on Earth and some Wind Release based jutsu to deal with any puppet that got close to her. Maki wrapped her cloth whips around them, and slamming them against each other. Kankuro fought defensively, cornering himself agianst a wall of stone so the puppets couldn't surround him, while letting his own puppet take the brunt of their attack.

Hinata, meanwhile, fought her way towards the redhedaded Akatsuki,.

" _There's no way we can win against so many enemies,"_ Hinata reasoned. _"This seems to be Sasori's last resort. If I can get close to him, the fight will be over."_

Hinata pushed every thought out of her head other than fighting the puppets and pushing forward. While the puppets lacked organs or chakra network, the Byakugan allowed her to easily spot their weak spots, such as their joints or fragile internal machanisms. She also saw several puppets dashing at her from different sides. Her whole body started to crackle with electricity.

"Lightning Release: Heavenly Thunderstorm!"

Hinata started to spin, becoming a tornado of lightning bolts that blasted the incoming puppets away, shattering most of them to pieces.

Sasori watched that display in awe.

" _So, the Byakugan allows her to see any attack regardless of where it comes from. So ambushes will be useless,"_ Sasori reasoned. _"Still, one has to wonder how long can she last until her human body gives up."_

Hinata continued to fight the incoming puppets as if there was no tomorrow. She was careful spending what chakra she still had, meaning that no more powerful attacks like the one she had used just a moment ago. Of course, such line of thought went down the drain the moment she saw a rain of swords falling upon her.

"Heavenly Spin!"

Hinata succesfully deflected the incoming blades, scattering them around the area, with the added benefit of destroying a bunch of puppets near her. But the moment her spinning slowed down, more puppets swarmed her. The Hyuga heiress was pushed back as she deflected the incoming blows, careful they wouldn't cut her skin.

Hinata allowed herself a second to see how the others were doing. Kurenai and Maki were keeping their ground reasonably well. And Kankuro even managed to commandeer a couple of Sasori's puppets to form a better defense. In fact, it seemed that Sasori was only doing the bare minimum to keep them at bay, while focusing all his efforts in bringing her down.

"Listen everyone! I'm Sasori's main target! Try to push forward and end him already!" Hinata called.

"I don't think so!" Sasori replied.

As if on cue, more puppets joined the fight, attacking Kankuro, Kurenai and Maki with even more intensity than before, as if Sasori was trying to prove her wrong out of spite.

" _Sasori has lost a lot of puppets already. But the less he has, the more he can sharpen his focus and control all of them in a more efficient manner,"_ Hinata reasoned, while dealing with a trio of puppets. _"If this continues, we won't be able to-"_

"Great Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"

A gust of wind blew away a group of puppets that were coming towards Hinata from above, which she had seen but wasn't focused on. She also noticed the group of six people that had joined the fray, among them her two remaining teammates.

"Naruto-kun! Haku-kun!" Hinata called them in joy.

"Hi there. It seems that we came here just in time!" Naruto said.

"That other Akatsuki exhausted us a little, but I believe there's still enough fight in us to at least assist you," Haku added.

Hinata nodded. "We can't just waste more time an energy on these puppets. We need to get to Sasori and end this already!"

Naruto and Haku nodded, before the former said: "Leave that to us! We'll keep those puppets at bay, and open a way to him. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto created a multitude of clones, which charged forward upon coming into existence, drawing Sasori's attention. A mass of puppets went to greet them. While the puppets were far more durable than the clones, the latter ones did their job at keeping them busy.

"Ice Release: Multiple Piercing Icicle Shot!"

Haku created several ice spears that floated above him, and launched them whenever a puppet came close to either him or Hinata, impaling them to the ground or a wall of stone. The trio of Konoha ninjas were succesfully getting closer to the Akatsuki, which was starting to grow desperate.

"Inconceivable. Me, Suna's greatest ninja, who managed to kill the Third Kazekage...cornered by these children? No, I won't allow it! This is not my end! My art is eternal, and so I am!"

Sasori extended both hands. His left hand fell off, and a long, sharp blade appeared in its place. He also shot a chakra thread from his right hand to pull an axe from one of his already destroyed puppets. He then fired his ventral cable forward, prompting Hinata and Haku to jump sideways, while killing some Naruto clones, before stabbing itself into the ground. Retracting the cable, he launched himself forward towards Hinata.

"DIE!"

Hinata didn't to dodge this time. Displaying her agility and elasticity, the Hyuga Heiress nimbly avoided Sasori's poisoned blows, before taking a step forward, and softly poking Sasori's heart with her index finger.

That's all what she needed. The burst of chakra she sent through her fingertip made Sasori's last remnant of his human body to burst into chunky salsa, bringing his sordid life to an end. The chakra threads he was using to keep the puppet army disappeared, and the remaining puppets fell to the ground, motionless.

Nobody said anything. Everybody took a moment to to regain their breath, and make sure nobody was seriously hurt.

"Whoa! You guys did it! You killed Sasori!" Kankuro cheered, happy to see that the man who kidnapped his brother and brought both him and his sister to near death had finally ceased to be.

Hinata fell on her butt, and started panting heavily, as she felt all the accumulated stress and exhaustion washing over her body. Naruto wordlessly sat besies her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. The Hyuga also saw Kurenai walking towards her.

"Congratulations, Hinata," despite her naturally happy attitude, the fight had also pushed the Genjutsu Mistress to her very limit. "You have the honor of being the first person to ever kill an Akatsuki."

"Yes! One down, nine more to go!" Naruto cheered, shaking Hinata a little.

"This will send a powerful message out there. Akatsuki isn't invincible," Haku agreed.

"Even then, underestimating them would be foolish. Just look how much damage just one of them can do," Temari said, looking around the battlefield. She then looked at her younger brother. "So, you are planning to scavenge these puppets, right?" Temari asked.

"You can bet on it," Kankuro replied, as he walked towards the deceased Sasori, and liften his body. "Starting with this guy!"

"Are you planning to use Sasori's corpse as a puppet? That's morbid," Maki added, a bit disgusted, no longer wearing the Cloth Armor.

"It's not really his corpse. Plus it would be a waste," Kankuro replied, as he sealed Sasori's body inside an storage scroll.

"By the way, Naruto," Temari said, as she walked towards the blond. "Now that we took care about the Akatsuki...what about Gaara?"

"Oh right! I left him hidden between a bunch of trees and bushes not far away from here. I left a couple clones watching over him," Naruto made a hand seal. The others couldn't see it, but he was dispelling one of those clones in order to gain his memories. "Yup! Gaara's still there!"

"Go fetch him then. I want to take him home," Temari asked. Naruto nodded.

…

Gaara slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times when the sunlight proved to be too intense for his weary eyes. He found himself staring at several blurry figures that towered over him. As his eyes got used to the light, said figures became clearer, and the former jinchuriki could now see they were his siblings, Naruto and his teammates, and Maki and her students.

"Huh...?" Gaara mubled, still sleepy. "What-?"

Gaara was interrupted when both Temari and Kankuro pretty much latched at him in a tight embrace. He could hear the two of them crying.

"Gaara..." Temari sobbed, almost in a whisper. "You have no idea how happy I am to see that you're okay!"

"Yeah man, you gave us quite the scare!" Kankuro said, as his tears ruined his face paint.

"What...what happened?" Gaara weakly asked. "I don't remember anything...after we fought those Akatsuki..."

"It doesn't matter, little bro. All that matter is that you're alive," Kankuro replied.

Gaara gently pushed his siblings back, and with their help, he stood back on his feet.

"Even then, I wish to know," Gaara's eyes then rested on Naruto. "Given all the people gathered here."

Maki took a step forward, and cleared her throat. "Long story short, the Akatsuki got you, and extracted the Tailed Beast from you. These Konoha ninja helped us rescue you and drive the Akatsuki away. We even managed to kill one of them, the infamous Sasori of the Red Sands."

Gaara processed the Jonin's words with a thoughtful expression. However, there was something that didn't make any sense.

"Wait," Gaara replied. "If that was true, I should be dead."

"You almost were," Kankuro added. "We managed to stop the extraction ritual when it was about to end. Naruto and Hinata managed to heal you and stabilize what little Tailed Beast chakra remained inside you so you wouldn't die."

"You weren't the only ones they did save," Temari added. "If it wasn't for Konoha, Kankuro and I would have suffered a long and painful death due Sasori's poison."

Once again, Gaara paused to absorb this new information. So, the One Tail was no longer within his body. That would explain why he felt so...different. On one side, he didn't miss having a murderous beast sealed inside, but on the other hand, he felt an unexplainable sensation of emptiness, as if a part of him had been destroyed.

"I see," Gaara replied, as he walked closer to the Konoha ninja. "Thanks to all of you for your help. Suna will never forget what you did here."

"Hey, we did help too, you know!" Yukata protested.

"Yukata!" Maki chided her.

Gaara's lips formed a small smile, something rare to see in the stoic redhead. "No. It would be unfair to deny them their contribution in this endeavor. You also have my thanks, and I'll make sure that you're properly rewarded."

"Yay!" Yukata cheered.

Matsuri then walked closer to Gaara, a smile on her face as she tried to hold back her tears.

"It's okay, Gaara-sama. Seeing you alive and well is all the reward I need," Matsuri earnestly said.

"Now, if all it's said and done, and if it's not much to ask...I'd like to return home," Gaara weakly said.

Everybody nodded, and headed towards Sunagakure at a pace slow enough for Gaara to be comfortable.

…

A few hours later, long after the Konoha and Suna ninjas left the Land of the Rivers, two Akatsuki appeared in the site of the battle, easily identifiable since most of the puppets Sasori had used were still there.

"I'm sorry, boss," the black half of Zetsu said, as he and his other half checked the puppets. "But it seems that they took the body away. We won't be able to get the replacement."

Obito, however, smirked as he noticed something. He walked towards something that caught his attention: a single, disembodied hand. Picking the puppet hand up, he noticed it had a ring on its thumb.

"Not all the body, it would seem," Obito said, taking the ring, and tossing the hand away. "Sasori was gracious enough to make sure we'd be able to replace him once he saw his end was close."

"Those are good news, indeed," the white half of Zetsu replied. "So, shall we proceed to induct the new member?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Obito asked, as he placed the ring inside a pocket under his cloak.

"Of course. I'll make sure the Moon Portal is ready as soon as possible," Black Zetsu said, as both he and Obito vanished.

…

 _Sunagakure, Next Morning_

To say that the previous day had been one of the Hidden Sand Village's most distressful days would have been an understatement. The news of the Akatsuki attacking the Kazekage's children and Gaara's abduction had been like a hammerblow to the collective spirit of the villagers. Fear and worry spread among the population as wildfire, as they wondered if this was nothing but the first part of an attack on the village as a whole.

The general panic made the Kazekage and his councilors to send most of his available ninjas to secure and watch over all the strategic zones, just in case a larger attack would fall upon the village, leaving only a small team to assist Temari, Kankuro and the Konoha ninja with Gaara's rescue. And, indeed, one of those fears appeared to be true when one of the village watchers spotted somebody in the horizon.

"Somebody is coming!" the Suna ninja said, seeing shadowy figures coming from the East.

"Are they enemies? How many of them?" his partner asked.

"I'll tell you right now," the first ninja said, as he pulled out a spyglass, taking a better look of the newcomers. "It's a small group. Ten, I think. They don't appear to be enemies. In fact they're from our own...no way!"

"What? What did you see?" the second ninja impatiently asked.

"It's Gaara-sama! They brought him back!"

The second watcher immediately understood his partner's reaction and sudden excitement.

"I'll spread the good news! Gaara-sama is alive and back with us!"

…

As the group of seven Suna and four Konoha ninjas slowly approached the village, Kurenai started to notice something odd.

"Look like a large gathering of Suna ninjas is forming at the entrance of the village," Kurenai pointed out.

Hinata activated her Byakugan, confirming her sensei's words.

"Indeed. Are they here to greet us?" Hinata wondered.

And yes, Hinata's guess proved to be true. Once they were close enough, the Suna ninjas started to loudly cheer, both for Gaara, seeing him return, and for all the ten ninjas that had made his return possible. Gaara reacted to this by showing as little emotion as he usually does, but on the inside, his heart was flooded by a warm feeling.

"Look at that, brother," Temari pointed out. "The very same people who used to fear and hate you are cheering for your return and safety."

Gaara smiled. He was about to say something, when the cheering abruptly ceased, much to the group's confusion. The mass of Suna ninjas then moved aside, forming a passageway, revealing the reason the mood had been killed so fast.

Sporting an unreadable expression stood Rasa, the Fourth Kazekage, and Gaara, Kankuro and Temari's father.

Wordlessly the Kazekage walked forward, his eyes fixed on Gaara, as the rest of the Suna ninja silently watched their supreme commander, his stone cold face unchanged. The seconds he took to bridge the gap and met Gaara's group felt like an eternity.

"Father," Gaara simply said.

Then, the unthinkable happened. To everybody's utter shock and surprise, Rasa suddenly wrapped his arms around his youngest son, and started sobbing loudly, in an undignified manner befitting a Kage, which indeed caught off guard everybody who already knew the stern and unpleasant man.

"I'm sorry, Gaara," Rasa cried. "I'm sorry for all of this...it was me who made you this, who made you carry this burden..."

"Father," Gaara replied, seemingly not acknowledging his father's state. "I no longer possess the One Tail within me. The Akatsuki took it away."

Regaining some of his composure, Rasa wiped the tears from his eyes as he broke them embrace and stood up.

"It's okay, Gaara," Rasa replied, his lip quivering a little. "When I heard the news about your abduction, I didn't think about Shukaku until much later. It was your life that worried me the most. And seeing you here, alive and well, fills my heart with a joy unlike no other.

"Gaara...I've realized far too late what an awful father I've been to you," his eyes darted to Kankuro and Temari. "To all of you. I won't ask for your forgiveness, I'll earn it by becoming both a better father and better Kazekage altogether."

While they still harbored some resentment towards their father, Kankuro and Temari smiled a little at their father's change of heart.

"By the way," Temari replied, taking a step forward, and handing her a scroll. "The new alliance treaty with Konoha."

"Good job, Temari, Kankuro," Rasa said, taking the scroll. He then looked at the foursome of Konoha ninjas. "But I think that a mere paper is now irrelevant in the light of what has transpired these days. Ninjas of Konoha, in my and Suna's name, thank you for saving my children. Suna will always be a friend of Konoha as long as I'm the Kazekage."

"Good to hear that," Kurenai said, smiling a little.

"Also, you're invited to spend the day in the village. Tonight, we will have a feast to celebrate Gaara's return," the Kazekage said.

Everybody cheered, and they headed back to the village. Temari and Kankuro then noticed somebody, an old woman, walking towards them, sporting a dejected expression. They recognized her as Chiyo, one of Sunagakure's elders.

"Kankuro, Temari. I'm glad to see that both you and your brother are alright," Chiyo said. After a heavy sigh, she added. "Was my grandson...responsible for this?"

Temari and Kankuro nodded. "I'm afraid yes, Chiyo-baasama," Temari replied.

"It was as I feared. What has been of him?" Chiyo asked. The two Suna Jonin took too long to answer, but their silence was all she needed to hear to know. "I see. Deep down, I believe it was my fault my grandson took such a path."

"Don't blame yourself. We're all responsible for our own actions, and Sasori chose his path on his own free will," Kankuro firmly replied. "I know it must hurt to learn the fate of a family member, but don't think for a second what he did was your fault."

"I know. I wish it was as easy," Chiyo lamented. "Oh well, I'll try to see the positives. How we got both you and your brother back...and that my grandson won't be able to hurt anybody else anymore..."

…

 _Several Hours Later, Kazekage's State_

As expected, the party in Gaara's honor ended up being entertaining, memorable, and above all things, really fun. There was lots of food, drink, music and dancing. After finding out that Hinata was dating the son of a Kage, Matsuri asked the Hyuga to share advice on how she could approach Gaara, whom he had a crush on but saw him out of her league. The Hyuga Heiress was way too happy to oblige.

Despite having a good time in the celebration –and having more than enough reasons to celebrate–, there was a couple things lingering on Naruto's mind that stopped from fully enjoying the festive mood. And he was going to deal with one of those issues right now.

Exiting the party lobby, Naruto found a terrace where the sound of said party was barely audible. A deceptively cold night breeze brushed against his face as he entered the terrace, and the blond saw a spectacular view of all of Sunagakure. Yes, this place would be a perfect spot for what he wanted to do. He closed his eyes.

The faint noises of the party in the other room, as well as the city above vanished, a deafening silence taking their place. Naruto opened his eyes, and he was no longer in the Kazekage's state, but in a place where nobody but him could reach.

"Hey, Kyubi!" Naruto called.

Naruto heard a loud rumble, followed by an annoyed groan, as the mighty beast lazily stretched, and looked at him with unfriendly eyes.

" **Ugh, again so soon? What do you want now?"** the Kyubi asked in a massively annoyed tone.

"I wanted to thank you again for helping me save Gaara's life. What you did means a lot to me," Naruto earnestly said, giving the best the best of his smiles.

The Nine Tails, however, was far from amused. **"I DIDN'T DO IT TO EARN YOUR GRATITUDE!"** the Nine Tails angrily roared. **"It was the only way to stop you from handing me to the Akatsuki!"**

Far from being intimidated, Naruto chuckled, his smile becoming wider, as he rubbed the back of his head. "Haha, yeah, I can't believe you fell for my bluff," Naruto laughed.

The Nine Tails was taken aback. **"...what did you say?"**

"I was really desperate to save Gaara, and I had nothing to bargain with you, and threatening you with that was the only thing I could come up with," Naruto happily confessed. "I mean, I know I'm not the brightest mind around, but even I know that letting Akatsuki getting their hands on you would lead to nothing but trouble. Heh, now that I think about it, I shouldn't have said that. Next time you know I'll be bluffing."

" **What would have you done had not I bought your bluff?"** the Kyubi asked, sounding sincerely curious, rather than anger for being duped.

"Truth be told, I have no idea," Naruto admitted again. "Though I don't like to think about that. I managed to save Gaara after all."

" **Is there anything else you want? Or you came to disturb my rest just to show me your pointless gratitude?"** the Fox asked.

"Actually, yeah, there's something I want to talk about," Naruto replied. A loud groan came from the Fox, which Naruto promptly ignored. "That creepy statue used to extract and seal Tailed Beasts...I remember the way you reacted when I saw it for the first time. You know what is it, right?"

The Nine Tails remained oddly silent.

"I'll take your silence as a yes," Naruto continued. "Why don't you tell me what is that thing?"

" **Such knowledge won't do you any good,"** the Nine Tails replied.

"It will, at least if you want me to prevent you being sealed there. Why do you fear so much being sealed inside that statue? Is any worse then being sealed inside me?" Naruto asked.

The Fox grumbled. **"To put it into terms your feeble human mind can understand, imagine if somebody tried to shove you back into your mother's womb."**

"EWWWWW, GROSS!" Naruto whined, as his face formed a grimace. "No wonder you don't want to be sealed there! Hey, wait a second...is that statue your mother or something like that?"

" **In a way, yes. But it's much more complicated than that,"** was the Fox's answer.

"Then tell me," Naruto said, earning a cold stare from his tenant. He crossed his arms, and stared back at him as he put the best serious face he could. "I'm not going to leave until you do. You should already know how stubborn I can be."

Naruto earned another annoyed groan from the Fox.

" **I'd take ages to explain you all the details, so I'll give you an abridged version,"** The Nine Tails conceded. **"Long time ago, before my kind existed, there was a being called the Ten Tails. It was a beast of infinite power that ravaged the land, causing mysery and destruction. Until one day, a very powerful man managed to defeat that beast by draining it of its chakra. He then split the chakra into nine entities and gave them form and a mind of their own. That's how my siblings and I were born.**

" **He then proceeded to seal away the body of the beast, now a lifeless husk, since if the chakra of the Ten Tails was returned to its body, that monster would be reborn again, and would cause the end of the world."**

The Fox's tale finished, Naruto took a moment to think about what he just learned. If what he said was true, then it was a discovery of epic proportions, since nobody really knew where Tailed Beasts came from. It also painted the Akatsuki under an even darker shade, since at first, Naruto thought that they merely wanted the Tailed Beasts to use their power for their own means. But if they were trying to revive such an apocalyptic beast...

"Whoa, that was...amazing," Naruto admitted. "So in that way that statue IS your mother. But I also have several questions! If that powerful man managed to seal the statue, how the Akatsuki obtained it then? And who was that man to begin with?"

" **To answer your first question, in order to unseal the statue, one must possess the same Bloodline Limit as the man who sealed it: the Rinnegan, the most powerful of all Bloodlines,"** the Kyubi explained. **"As for the man himself, you humans know him as the Sage of the Six Paths."**

Naruto's amazement vanished, being replaced by sour skepticism. He raised an eyebrow, as he crossed his arms again. "Yeah. The Sage of the Six Paths. Really?"

Unsurprisingly, the Fox took offense to Naruto's reaction. **"You don't believe me? Hmph, fine then! But don't go asking me questions if you don't like the answers!"**

"It's not that I don't want to believe you but...the Sage of the Six Paths? Everybody knows thats just a myth of ancient times," Naruto replied, trying not to sound disrespectful.

" **And what do YOU know about ancient times, human child?"** The Fox snapped back. **"Now, if I sated your inane curiosity, go bother somebody else."**

Deciding that it was better not to press the Kyubi any further and take what this conversation had revealed, Naruto exited the mindscape where the Tailed Beast was sealed. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in Suna. Albeit truth be told, he never left that place to begin with. At least, his body didn't.

"Naruto-kun? What are you doing here by yourself?" Hinata's voice asked from behind. "Didn't you enjoy the party?"

Naruto turned around, and smiled at his girlfriend. "Oh, no, none of that. The party was fine."

"But there's something that bothers you, right?" Hinata guessed, holding her hands above her chest.

Naruto chuckled. "You know me so well."

The Hyuga heiress took a step forward, and put on her most sincere smile. "If there's something that bothers you, you can always talk with me, you know that?"

"I know," Naruto nodded. "Remember the barrier seal Akatsuki used to protect their hideout?"

"It was Uzumaki fuinjutsu, right?" Hinata asked, recalling the events from the previous day. "Are you worried about how much Uzumaki knowledge Akatsuki has in their power?"

"At first yes, but then I realized of something. Something far worse," Naruto replied, sounding omnious. "Keeping that barrier seal active consumes immense amounts of chakra. Even a Kage would have a hard time keeping it active for more than an hour or so. Only a member of my clan would have enough chakra capacity to keep it active for so long."

"Naruto-kun, are you implying...?"

"Yes. I believe one of the Akatsuki is an Uzumaki."

…

 _Amegakure_

From the top of a tall skyscrapper, two figures contemplated the city below them, as rain constantly poured. A tall man with spiky orange hair, rippled purple eyes, and face covered in facial piercings, and a woman with blue hair styled in a bun, with two bangs framing her face, and light brown eyes. The two of them were wearing Akatsuki cloaks.

"Three of the Tailed Beasts have been succesfully captured. One third of our job is now complete," the man said in a deep voice. "The path to true peace lies even closer."

"Yes, but things will get more difficult from now onwards, Pain," the woman told her partner. "Konoha and Suna will do their best to hinder our mission. They wouldn't be above warning other villages against us."

"You worry too much, Konan," Pain replied. "The power the Great Villages currently have pales in comparison to Akatsuki."

"While true, it would be wise not to grow confident. Remember that Konoha and Suna did manage to interrupt the sealing ritual. It was luck that we were almost finished," Konan reminded him. "Not to mention Sasori's loss. Pain, no Akatsuki member ever fell in battle before."

"Do not worry. I'll take mesures such thing won't happen again," Pain assured her. "As for Sasori, Obito and Zetsu are in the way of recruiting an even more powerful replacement."

"More powerful than Sasori? I'm already curious to meet this person," Konan admitted.

"While they do that, we need to continue with our plan, and decide which jinchuriki should we target next," Pain said.

"Kakuzu requested he and Hidan to go and capture the jinchuriki of the Seven Tails, currently resiiding in Taki," Konan informed him. "He has a plan that will take time, but it will not only ensure the jinchuriki, but will also notably increase Akatsuki's resources."

"And unsurprising claim, coming from kakuzu. Wanting to go after his old village, while at the same time finding a way to make profit. Tell him he has my permission to proceed as he sees fit. But also tell him not to take much time with preparations," Pain decided.

"It will be done," Konan replied, before she crumbled into a mass of papers, which bend themselves into origami butterflies, and flew away.

…

 _Somewhere in the Moon_

When Obito and Zetsu emerged from the former's spiraling portal, they found themselves and a large, spacious room, tastefully decorated with all manner of expensive looking ornaments and pieces of art. It looked like the place of residence of a particularly wealthy or powerful Feudal Lord.

Suddenly, the two Akatsuki were surrounded by masked guards wearing dark robes. Spheres of golden chakra appeared in the hands of those guards, no doubt ninjutsu attacks ready to be fired.

"I don't know who you are, nor how you managed to get here," a soft, but firm, young sounding voice said, as a white haired man wearing a long, white robe walked towards them. "Choose your words carefully, for they may be your last."

Obito smirked, his confidence not wavering one bit. "Hello. My name is Obito Uchiha. This is my associate, Zetsu. And you're Toneri Otsutsuki, am I right?"

"You seem to know an awful lot about me. Tell me a reason as for why I shouldn't kill you two right here, and right now," Toneri replied.

"Let's say I made here to make a deal," Obito said, with a wide smirk. "One you won't be able to say 'no' to." His left Sharingan, the one it used to belong to Shisui, changed its shape into a four bladed shuriken. "Literally."

...

 _Undisclosed Location_

A woman with long black hair and green eyes, who was wearing a long white robe, alongside other religious-looking apparels, contemplated the night sky. More specifically, the full moon.

"You sensed it, right, Nori?" a voice said behind her back.

The woman named Mori turned around, and saw a broad-shouldered man in his late fifties, with short brown hair and a thick beard of the same color. He was also wearing a smiliar religious garment as her.

"Yes, father. The moment we've been preparing for all our lives is about to come," Nori replied.

"You know what you have to do, then," the man said, his tone denoting urgency.

"Yes. I need to go to Konoha...and bring the Byakugan Princess here."

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus, one of my least liked sagas from Shippuden comes to an end. I did try my best to make it better, and I like to think that I managed to dtheo it to some extent. I mean, a lot of reviews told me how they liked that I had Kankuro and Temari more involved in the arc, so there's that at the very least. And even if the ending is the same (Gaara surivives, the Akatsuki gets Shukaku) I like to think the different execution mattered.**

 **And here we had another talk with the Kyubi, which I love to write. On this ocassion, Naruto learns quite a few things, such as one of the Akatsuki being an Uzumaki, the origins of the Kyubi, the Demonic Statue, the Rinnegan and the Sage of the Six Paths. Such information will surely come in handy in the future.**

 **I'm pretty sure that the last few scenes, which set up the next two arcs, left you yearning for more. And since Sasuke didn't defect to Orochimaru this time aroind, the Sasuke and Sai arc won't happen (and good riddance, since in my opinion, it's easily the worst arc of not just Shippuden, but I'd say the entire series. Albeit the Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 game made an admirable effort trying to fix it), so I had to come up with something to fill that void. And while my original arcs tend to have worse reception than straight adaptations, I'm very confident all of you will enjoy the Byakugan Princess Arc ;)**

 **In the meantime, tell me what you think about this chapter, the arc that it capped off, and your expectations for the next one in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	56. The Byakugan Princess, Part I

**Author's Note: And with this chapter, this story breaks the 500K words mark! Whohoo!  
**

 **Something I want to point out: many reviewers asked how Obito put Toneri under a genjutsu if he had no eyes. The answer is simple: he used Kotoamatsukami, which doesn't need to make eye contact in order to work (remember that Danzo used it with his eye bandaged). With that said, I'm not going to address this point again.**

 **So, here we being an arc that I've been wanting to write since pretty much the beginning of this story. Man, time sure flies, doesn't it? Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it:**

* * *

 **Chapter 56**

The Byakugan Princess, Part I

 _or_

 _When you find yourself part of an ancient conspiracy_

Naruto was in the Hokage's office. The only other people in the room besides him and his adoptive father were Tsunade and Shizune. After giving him the report on the Suna mission, Naruto requested to talk with him, Tsunade and Shizune about certain developments that happened during the mission. Most importantly, the fact that Orochimaru had somehow cloned Hagane and Kaida.

"I can't believe that monster would go such lengths for mere Bloodline Limits," Shizune commented in disgust.

"Sadly, I can. Orochimaru always wanted our children the moment knowledge of their abilities reached his ears, and if he couldn't have the originals, he'll get replacements," Jiraiya said in subdued anger.

"Mom?" Naruto asked Tsunade, who had been silent the whole conversation.

Tsunade didn't say anything, and merely looked at the village outside the window. Her breathing was rather heavy. Naruto felt compelled to crack a quip on how he was expecting her to trash the whole office in a fit of righteous anger upon hearing her former teammate's actions, but she remained surprisingly calm.

"If Orochimaru send our kids' clones against you is because he doesn't care if we know about them. And in my experience, that's never a good sign," Jiraiya stated, crossing his fingers under his chin. "Did they have cursed seals?"

"No. Well, they may have, but if they did, they didn't use them. And given that we ended up winning, the fact that they choose retreat over using them points towards not having it," Naruto reasoned.

"Of course. According to Anko, there's only a ten percent chance of surviving the sealing process. He probably doesn't want to risk them," Shizune said.

"That doesn't remove the possibility of branding them in the future," Jiraiya added.

"Indeed. But what we should ask ourselves is what are we going to do with them," Shizune pointed out. An air of uneasiness set upon the office. "I know they're clones of your children, but they're also Orochimaru's minions. How should we...deal with them?"

"Save them," Tsunade said, turning around, a determined fire burining in her eyes. "Those kids shouldn't be judged by the crimes of their creator. In fact, I'm sure they aren't even aware of their origins. Maybe we can use that to convince them to come to our side."

"Easier said than done," Shizune said with a sigh. "Orochimaru conditions his servants into being devoted to him with an inhuman zeal."

"Yes, but Orochimaru shows little to no care about his minions either. Plus we do have a history of turning our enemies to our side, if Zabuza and the Sound Genin are any indication. And once they're safe..." Tsunade pointed out. Her eyes then narrowed. "...I'll beat the life out of that pale skinned bastard with my own bare hands."

"That's if I don't beat you to it first," Jiraiya interceded, before forcing himself to calm down. "Well, now that we know this, we can plan for the next time Orochimaru sends those clones against us," Jiraiya said, closing the discussion. "Is there anything else you'd want to tell us, Naruto?"

"Actually, yes. During the mission, I talked with the Kyubi," Naruto stated.

Tsunade and Shizune's eyes snapped open, but they didn't say anything. He then explained what the Kyubi told him, about the statue, the Sage of the Six Paths, the Rinnegan and one of the Akatsuki possessing it, as well as the possibility about an Uzumaki among them.

"Those are indeed troubling news," Jiraiya said. "But the more information we know about the enemy, the better."

"Do you know about the Rinnegan, Jiraiya-sama?" Shizune asked.

"Not much. Rumors, legends, but nothing concrete. I'll put a few agents to investigate this issue. If there's nothing left to discuss, then you can go, Naruto," Jiraiya told him.

Naruto nodded, and walked out of the office, followed by Shizune, who said something about meeting her team for training. That only left Tsunade in the office.

"Jiraiya, you know about the Rinnegan," Tsunade pointed out.

"I do," he admitted.

"Then why you didn't say anything?" Tsunade asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I...okay, I admit that I don't want to think that one of those kids ended up in Akatsuki," Jiraiya confessed. "Even if I'd be happy to know that they survived their clash with Hanzo..."

"I understand. You spent two years with those brats, it's normal that you feel a strong bond with them," Tsunade said, placing a comforting hand in his shoulder.

"While I'll try to remain unbiased, I don't want to do anything rash. I'll put somebody to do some research and see if Nagato is truly an Akatsuki," Jiraiya told her.

"Okay but...if the worst come to pass, try not to do anything foolish, okay?" Tsunade sofly pleaded. "A lot of time has passed, and you don't know how much those kids have changed ever since."

Tsunade bent down, and gave Jiraiya a chaste kiss in the lips. And with that, the Slug Princess finally left the office, leaving Jiraiya alone.

…

 _A Month Later_

Kurenai's Assault Squad were having dinner at Shushuya, the team's Jonin-sensei's favorite restaurant, to celebrate the succesful completion of an A-Rank mission. The mood was cheerful so far.

A month has passed since Gaara's kidnapping, and during that time, Konoha didn't hear any news about Akatsuki. Even if they knew better than lowering their guard due their apparent lack of activity, they were indeed going to enjoy the reprieve as long as it lasted. Especially now that once again, Konoha hosted the Chunin Exams, and such topic was on everybody's mouths.

"I heard your little siblings managed to make it to the final round, right?" Kurenai asked Naruto and Hinata.

The couple nodded happily. "Yeah, did you really doubt it? Those kids are just as awesome as we are. I bet they will earn a promotion on their first try just like Hinata-hime and me."

"I heard that this time around, the finals will consist on team matches reather than individual ones," Haku pointed out.

"That's even better! The three of them form a really solid team. Just as good as us," Naruto continued his unabashed praising.

"It would have been interesting if we were able to fight in the finals as a team unit, instead of on our own," Hinata commented.

"Yeah. I'm sure you would have been of a lot of help in my fight against Sasuke Uchiha," Haku pointed out, remembering his fight against the black haired teen.

"Sasuke would had had his teammates to help him as well," Kurenai pointed out.

"Yes, but Naruto-kun and Hinata-san are much better fighters than Sakura-san and Karin-san. We could take the latter two easily, then triple team him," Haku explained.

"Any other teams of interest that made it to the finals?" Kurenai inquired.

"As far as I heard, the team with Old Man Hokage's grandson made it to the final as well. And so did Temari's Genin," Naruto recalled.

"Shikamaru-kun is really happy that he gets to see Temari-san every day. Of course, he will never admit it out loud," Hinata said with a giggle.

"Haha, yeah, sometimes wonder what can make him drop that 'everything is troublesome' attitude he has," Naruto added, laughing as well.

"Ah, thank goodness that we already passed the Chunin Exams ourselves, and even moved in rank past Chunin as well," Hinata mentioned. "I'm positive Haku-kun and myself will soon be promoted to Jonin as well."

"And we will be an all-Jonin squad!" Naruto cheered.

Kurenai nodded, and smiled. "Yes, you three certainly grew a lot since you left the Academy and were assigned under my watch. While I knew you three had a lot of potential, I never expected it to be so great. I can safely say that you no longer need me as your sensei anymore."

"Don't say that, Kurenai-sensei. You will always be an integral part of this team," Hinata softly protested.

"Yes. Besides, I still have much to learn regarding genjutsu if I ever want to get close to your level," Haku added.

Kurenai smiled sadly at them. "Unfortunately, you'll have to do without me for some time in the near future," the Genjutsu Mistress said, much to her students' shock, before her smile grew warmed. "Because I've been removed from active duty due maternity leave."

The reaction was instant, and the faces of Kurenai's students morphed into expressions of pure joy, and quickly proceeded to congratulate her.

"Thank you, guys. I'm really happy for this, even if it means not being part of this team anymore," the raven haired woman replied. She then turned at Naruto. "Naruto, since you're the one with the highest rank, you will be the new leader of the Assault Squad."

"Understood, Kurenai-sensei! I'll do my best to fill your spot as the team leader," Naruto enthusiastically replied.

"And I'll do my best as well to fill your spot as the genjutsu specialist," Haku added.

"Let's say we'll do our best to make up for the fact that we'll be one member short for some time," Hinata finished.

"I'm sure all of you will do an splendid job," Kurenai replied.

…

Meanwhile, as this conversation happened, a black haired girl with green eyes wearing what appeared to be religious robes crossed Konoha's gates. As with most newcomers, she was interrogated by the Chunin guarding the gate, namely Izumo and Kotetsu.

"Name?" Kotetsu asked.

"My name is Nori. I'm a priestess from the Land of Tea," the girl told the pair of Chunin, showing a rather pleasant disposition.

"What business brings you to Konoha, miss Nori?" Izumo asked.

"I wish to hire the services of one of your ninjas. Isn't that the reason most people come to a ninja village?" Nori asked, tilting her head a little.

"I guess...you have a point," Izumo awkwardly admitted. "In that case, you should head to the Hokage's Tower to conduct your business. Is a large, red building with the kanji of fire on the front. It can be seen from here."

Nori smiled at the duo. "Yes, I see it. Thank you very much," she said, before she walked into the village, and headed towards the Hokage's Tower.

…

 _Hokage's Office, Next Day_

The Assault's Squad daily training was interrupted by an ANBU appearing there and telling them that the Hokage had an urgent mission for them. Not wasting any time, the now three ninja squad headed to the Hokage's Tower and see what it was.

Turns out, Naruto's team wasn't the only one Jiraiya had summoned for a mission, since Gai's Close Combat Squad was present as well. Haku and Tenten were obviously happy with the fact that they'd get to be on a mission together.

In front of both teams was the Hokage. His face reflected a serious and even tense expression, unlike his usual cheerful and laid back disposition. Whatever this mission was, it seemed it was important.

"Yesterday, we had a visit from a priestess from the Land of the Tea. She requested a team of ninjas to escort her back to her home," Jiraiya asked.

"Wait. You assembled two of the strongest teams Konoha has for a mere escort mission?" Neji asked, skeptical. "Who is this priestess?"

"Come on Neji, is very unyouthful to deny a request from help like that, especially from a holy woman!" Lee loudly protested.

"I'll get to that shortly. Said woman belongs to a group called Order of the Moon Acolytes," Jiraiya's eyes rested on Hinata. "Hinata, does that name sound familiar to you?"

The Hyuga heiress titled her head in confusion. "No, it doesn't. Should it be familiar?"

"I was asking mostly because the priestess requested especifically you to be among the escort group. She even knew your name," Jiraiya casually said. Naturaly, the effect of his words were instant.

"Wait, what?" a shocked Hinata asked.

"Now I _demand_ to know who is this woman!" an angry Neji hollered.

"This situation seems rather suspicious to me. Taking this mission might mean putting Hinata-san in danger," Haku sagely noted.

"And I agree," Jiraiya said, taking a look at Gai's team.

"Wait, that's why you called us, right?" Neji said in realization. "We're Hinata-sama's escorts, just in case something happened to her."

"Exactly. It took me very little to realize that said woman is not interested in any kind of escort. She just wants to take Hinata somewhere else," Jiraiya explained.

"And you're going to let Hinata-hime walk into a potential trap?" Naruto asked, growing outraged. "What the hell, dad? Did you forget that somebody tried to kidnap Hinata when she was little?"

"I'm aware of the implications, Naruto," Jiraiya said, hoping to soothe his son. "That's why I assembled the best ninjas I have currently available to diminish the risk to a minimum."

"You haven't told us why you agreed to do this mission to begin with, Hokage-sama," Neji asked, crossing his arms while fixing a hard stare on the white haired man.

"Said woman claims to have important information regarding the Hyuga Clan, and Konoha as a whole. She shared some of that information with me as well, which is more than enough incentive to continue with the mission," Jiraiya replied. "She said she can't share the rest until Hinata sees what she has to show her."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," Hinata softly replied. "We'll do our best to complete this mission."

"In that case," Jiraiya snapped his fingers, and the door opened. "You should meet out client."

All seven ninjas turned around, and saw the girl in question, escorted by an ANBU. She let out a little gasp when her eyes rested on Hinata.

"Nori, these are the ninjas that will escort you to your home. Guys, this is Nori," Jiraiya introduced both parties.

"It's an honor to meet you," Nori softly said, making a bow. She then walked closer towards Hinata. "By any chance, are you Hinata Hyuga?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes, I am."

Nori's smile grew, and even let out a swoon. "Oh, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to meet you, Hinata-sama. The whole purpose of my Order leads up to this day."

Hinata laughed awkwardly, and took a step backwards. "Uh...nice to meet you too...I guess..." Hinata unsurely said.

"Now that everything's settled, when can we leave? Time is of essence," Nori insisted.

"Don't worry, it won't take long. Give them an hour so they can get prepared for the journey ahead," Jiraiya told her. "Gai, given that of all the Jonin you're the most veteran, you'll be the leader of this mission."

"Yosh! Thank you, Hokage-sama! You won't regret this decision! And if you do, I'll run five hundred laps aroudn Konoha on my hands, with boulders tied to my ankles!" Gai enthusiastically shouted, as he give Jiraiya a thumbs up.

"I'm starting to regret it," Jiraiya grumbled under his breath. "Anyway, you're dismissed. I'll be eagerly waiting your report once you get back."

…

A couple hours later, the seven ninjas and the priestess were already heading south, to the Land of the Tea, leaping from one tree branch to another as fast as they could. In order to be there as fast as possible, Gai offered to carry Nori on her back, while Lee carried her bag with the few supplies she had brought with her. They estimated that, at the current pace, they'd reach Nori's home in a little less than two days.

The end of the first day arrived before evereybody realized it.

"Alright, the sun will set soon, so let us set as well!" Gai cheerfully ordered. "This seems to be a good place to set up a camp. Let's distribute the chores, shall we?"

Haku offered to look for firewood, while Tenten rather unsubtly volunteered to go with him. Fortunately for them, nobody disagreed. Gai, Lee and Naruto went to find some food in the forest, either berries, fruit, or by hunting. That left Neji, Hinata, and Nori to set up tents and the rest of the camp.

Neji had been waiting for an opportunity to approach Nori and talk with her. The Hyuga was a reserved clan to the point of paranoia, if the cursed seal on his forehead was any indication. Yet this Nori treated Hinata as if she was some sort of celebrity, known by all. As far as his experience went, whenever somebody showed disproportionate interest in a clan, it was never because of good intentions.

After he finished setting up the tents, his keen eyesight spotted Nori checking her sleeping bag. She walked towards her.

"Excuse me," Neji said, in his usual stoic tone. "May I have a word with you?"

Nori turned around, and smiled at the Hyuga. "Of course! Your name was Neji, right?" the Branch House member nodded. "What can I do for you, Neji-sama?"

Neji was taken a bit aback. After a lifetime of using that honorific to refer to other family members, it felt incredibly weird, almost to the point of sounding wrong, that somebody else used it with him, to the point that it took him a couple seconds to regain his bearings.

"Uh...listen, I'm going to be blunt. I noticed that, for somebody who isn't from the Land of Fire, much less Konoha, you seem to know quite a lot about Hinata-sama and the Hyuga clan," Neji pointed out. "I'm sure you'll understand my suspicion."

"Of course I do, Neji-sama. But I'm confident that such suspicion will turn into trust once the truth about the Hyuga Clan is revealed," Nori engimatically said.

"Truth of the Hyuga Clan? What truth?" Neji asked, half annoyed, but half curious.

"Everything will be revealed at the appropriate time. More specifically, when we reach my home. It is not safe to speak of such things here. Who knows who may be listetning," Nori replied.

"Your evasiveness isn't helping," Neji bluntly stated. "How do I know you're not taking us to a trap? It wouldn't be the first time somebody pretended to be a friend of us to kidnap Hinata-sama," Neji accused.

"You talk about that incident with Kumo, right?" Nori asked. Neji was a bit taken aback by her knowledge of that event, given that Konoha did their best to make sure it never reached the public ears. But given how much this girl knew, it wasn't that surprising. "Yes, that was the work of our enemies."

"So you made enemies with Kumo then?" Neji asked.

Nori shook her head. "No. I'm talking about somebody far worse than a single ninja village. Kumo were nothing but puppets of this enemy."

"And who is this enemy you speak about? Akatsuki?" Neji guessed, though he immediately tossed the idea aside. The Akatsuki were jinchuriki hunters, and were not interested in collecting Bloodline Limits. Well, one of the Akatsuki was, but as far as he knew, that wasn't the goal of the organizaton as a whole.

"Again, I'm sorry, but I can't tell you right now. It's too dangerous to talk about that here," Nori insisted. "But try to quell your frustration. Once we're in a safe place tomorrow, you'll learn everything."

Neji didn't look frustrated, but he didn't look relieved or satisfied either. "I see. In that case, I hope you don't mind if I don't take my eyes from you as long as this mission lasts."

"A sensible, and very understandable course of action, Neji-sama," Nori replied with a nod, before she smiled at him. "I'm going to prepare some tea. Do you mind helping me?"

"Not in the slightest," Neji agreed.

A little later, the two Hyugas and the priestess heard two set of steps coming close to the campsite.

"We're back!" Tenten's happily announced as she and Haku returned from the forest. Both of them looked a bit red and sweaty, had messy hair and slightly disheveled clothes. It didn't take a genius to guess what the two of them have been doing.

Neji walked towards them, looking even more serious than usual.

"Where is the firewood?" Neji asked.

Haku titled his head. "Firewood?"

"The firewood you were supposed to gather in order to start a fire," Neji clarified. "You know, in order to stay warm once night arrives and we can cook the food Gai-sensei, Lee and Naruto will bring back. That's it, unless the three of them decide to also have an impromptu three way makeout session and forget about their duties."

Tenten's face became even redder. "OH SHIT! I knew we were forgetting about something!"

She took Haku's hand and hurriedly dragged him back to the forest.

Neji then shuddered. "Gai-sensei, Lee and Naruto in a three way makeout...why I even came up with that? Now that image will never leave my brain..."

…

An hour later, everybody had returned to the campsite, and were enjoying the meal Gai, Lee and Naruto had brought. Haku and Tenten also brought some firewood as well. The group of seven ninjas and the one priestess sat around the campfire, and enjoyed their meals. The dinner then made way for some conversation.

"Hey guys, check it out this little thing I've been working on for the past months," Tenten excitedly said as she rummaged through her backpack, until she finally produced some small tool. "Here it is!"

"What is that?" Naruto asked.

Tenten answered by pressing a button, which made the tool to expand and develop into a finely crafted bow with no string. A set of seals inscribed across it started to glow with a blueish white light, and it produced a string made of chakra of the same color.

"Ta-daaaa! This is the chakra bow! A ranged weapon that needs no ammo, only your chakra to attack!" Tenten proudly explained. She stood up, tensed the string, and an arrow also made of pure chakra was automatically created. Releasing the string, the arrow softly flew until it crashed against a tree branch, producing a small chakra blast that cut that branch from the tree, falling to the ground below.

"Wow! That was such an amazing weapon, Tenten!" Lee praised.

"Indeed! As long as you have chakra, this weapon will always work! And you can put more or less chakra into the arrows to regulate their power," the odango haired girl explained.

"It's kinda the same idea behind my chakra sword, right?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, I took your chakra sword as the base idea, though my intention was to make a ranged weapon," Tenten replied.

"Can I try it?" Haku asked his girlfriend.

Wordlessly, Tenten collapsed the bow and tossed it to her boyfriend. Haku unfolded and activated the bow, pulled the string, and generated an arrow made of chakra. The arrow then generated a frosty aura, and quickly turned into ice.

"It also works with elemental chakra," Haku pointed out, before returning the bow to Tenten.

"Of course it does! I thought of everything!" Tenten boasted. "So, if you guys want one, you only have to tell me!"

"I think that with my Byakugan, I can make a good use of such weapon," Hinata pointed out.

"It's a very useful tool. I'm interested in having one as well," Haku said.

Tenten then looked at Naruto and grinned. "What about you, Naruto? Do you want one so you don't feel left out? You guys can be the Archer Squad!" she asked, and everybody else laughed.

"I'd like to think that I stand out, thank you very much," Naruto replied, in a half joking self important tone, making everybody else to laugh harder. "But since we're talking about fitting with the rest of the team, maybe Neji and you could get a pair of nice green jumpsuits."

Evererybody laughed, except Neji and Tenten this time around, who instead suddered, as their faces made a grimace.

"OH! That's a great suggestion, Naruto-kun!" Lee excitedly agreed, as he turned towards his sensei. "Gai-sensei, do you think that when we go back to Konoha we can get Neji and Tenten some green jumpsuits?"

"That won't be neccesary, Lee..." Gai replied, prompting Neji and Tenten to sigh in relief. "...because I always carry several spares with me! Now we only need to find the right size!"

Naruto felt a massive killing intent focused on him coming from Neji and Tenten, though that didn't stop him from sharing a laugh with his friends.

…

While the group of eight chatted and laughed, they were unaware that there was a certain somebody spying on them. And since neither of them were sensors, they couldn't detect this presence. And said spy was feeding all this information to Akatsuki's newest member, who wasn't that far away from there.

"So, those Moon Acolytes are finally making their move," Toneri said to no one in particular. His lips curved into a small smirk. "Then it should be time to make my move as well. Byakugan Princess...you shall be mine."

…

 _The Next Day, Land of Tea_

Once sunrise arrived, the group of eight continued with their journey towards Nori's home, which was completed without incidents. Or at least, that's what it appeared when they arrived to what appeared to be a large wall of rock, and the priestess started that they had arrived, much to their confusion.

"Are you sure it's here?" an skeptical Naruto asked.

"Let's ask somebody with a better eyesight," Nori cryptically replied, giggling a little. "Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, can you use your Byakugan and tell me what you see?"

The two Hyuga obliged, and activated their Bloodline Limits. Both of them let out a soft gasp in unison.

"What did you see?" Haku asked.

"There's a door in there!" Hinata pointed out. "It's both made and protected by innumerable chakra seals invisible to the eye."

"Exactly. We might not be ninja, but we still know how to use chakra," Nori added, as she placed a hand on the wall, and send a pulse of chakra into it.

The effect was instant. The earth started to shake, as a large rectangular section of the stone wall sunk down, leaving a large entrance hole of the same shape. Everybody could see a path that led inside, illuminated by torches on both siders.

"Hurry, let's get there. Once we get inside, we'll be safe, and all your questions will be answered," Nori urged as she quickly entered in, followed by the eight ninjas.

Once all of them were inside, the section of the stone wall rose again, sealing the entrance with a loud slam, inevitably making some of the Konoha ninja felt that they've walked into a trap, though that may have been their instincts. Nori walked forward, with the rest of the group following her. She cretainly looked far more relaxed, as if she took a weight off of her shoulders.

"What is this place, Nori-san?" Gai asked the priestess.

"Our home," Nori replied. "Our shrine. Our refuge. At least, until now."

They eventually left the tunnel, which ended in a massive underground chamber, which looked like nothing the Konoha ninjas had seen. It had the appearance of a massive temple, complete with pillars, statues, smaller temples and shrines, and other religious ornaments. There were a few waterfalls that fed a river that crossed the chamber. It was illuminated by beams of light that came from holes in the chamber ceiling. There were multiple people dressed in the same white robes at Nori, who took no time to notice the newcomers.

"Hey, look, Nori is back!" a man said.

"Yes, it's Nori!" a woman replied.

"Did you find her, Nori?" a second man asked.

"Yes, my brethen, I have returned. But that's not important," Nori then grabbed Hinata by the wrist and pulled her forward. "Because I found her! The Byakugan Princess is finally with us!"

The chamber was filled by cheers and shouts of joy and jubilation, many repeating "Byakugan Princess" over and over. Hinata really didn't know what to make out of that. Nori seemed to catch the Hyuga's confusion.

"Don't worry, everything will become clearer once you meet my father. He's the leader of our order, and the one with all the answers," Nori assured. "He'll explain everything. Now follow me."

Nori took the group of Konoha ninjas to the temple in the opposite extreme of the underground cavern, which was also the biggest. On their way there, they noticed something odd about the statues scattered around the area, which depicted a man and a woman. The man had horns, an the woman had four arms. They wondered what kind of deities these religious people worshipped.

When they entered the temple, a strong smell of incense invaded their noses. The temple, just as finely decorated as the rest of the place, was empty, save for a single burly man with a beard and a moustache that was sitting on a table-like altar, reading from a large tome, under the light of several candles. He took no time to notice the newcomers, and recognize Nori.

"Ah, Nori, welcome back. It pleases me to see you so soon, and completely unharmed," the man got up, and walked to hug his daughter. After that, he turned towards the Konoha ninja, and made a head bow. "Welcome to our humble home, Konoha ninjas. My name is Takuya, High Priest of the Order of the Moon Acolytes."

Everybody else introduced themselves in return as well. Unfortunately, the atmosphere wasn't as cordial as Takuya would have hoped.

"I never heard of such group," Neji suspiciously said.

"That's because we didn't want to be heard of," Takuya sagely replied. "We were created with a a single purpose, which is to complete a sacred mission. Unfortunately, we do have powerful enemies that don't wish us to succeed in our endeavor."

"But they're about to fail. Now that the Byakugan Princess is here, our mission shall be completed," Nori added, her voice overflowed with hope.

"Okay, I think it's time for some answers," Naruto impatiently demanded, as he took a step forward. "You keep calling Hinata-hime 'Byakugan Princess' and refer to her as if she's some sort of world savior. What's with that?"

"Fear not, your worries and doubts shall be elucidated," Takuya assured. "However, our history is a really long one. You might want to take a seat," Takuya said with a hand motion. All the Konoha ninja and Nori sat on the floor around him. "But first of all, answer me this questions: what do you know about the Sage of the Six Paths?"

"They said he was the very first man who ever used chakra, and that taught humankind how to do it as well," Tenten replied.

"But that's just an old myth. There are no historical records that such figure ever existed," Neji pointed out.

In the past, Naruto would have been quick to agree with Neji. But now, he wasn't so sure. It would be better to remain silent and listen before opening his mouth, or even forming an opinion.

" _Wow, that's SO unlike me,"_ Naruto thought, repressing a chuckle.

"Part of the reason of the very existence of this order has been to preserve the knowledge of ancient times. Work we wouldn't be able to do if we didn't keep such secrecy," Nori interceded. "Now father, if you may tell our guests what they need to know..."

"I was about to do that," Takuya replied, before clearing his throat. "The story of ninjutsu begins with a woman. A woman that came from a faraway land. Some even said that her home was in the sky beyond the stars. Though that's irrelevant for this tale. Her name was Kaguya Otsutsuki, and she was the first Byakugan user."

Naturally, Neji and Hinata were taken aback, but decided to remain silent for the time being.

"Nobody knows why she came to this planet or what she wanted, though she claimed that she came to bring peace to the world. To do so, she sought to consume the fruit of a powerful tree called the Shinju, or Divine Tree. That fruit only appeared once every thousand years, and whoever ate from it, it would gain the power of a god. Something she managed to achieve, and using her newfound divine powers, she put an end to all wars, and instated world peace. Due this, Kaguya ended up being worshipped as a goddess.

"It was known that Kaguya was pregnant when she ate the Divine Fruit –the name of her lover and father of her children was sadly lost to history, but beyond that he isn't relevant to this story either–, and she gave birth to two twin chidren, both boys, which she named Hagoromo and Hamura. The older, Hagoromo, would become the Sage of the Six Paths.

"At first glance, Kaguya's peaceful world looked like the kind of future we strive for. But the peace she created was aritificial. Conflicts still existed, she simply shut them down by force rather than trying to properly solve them. People grew more and more unhappy, and they started to see Kagura as what she really was: a tyrant with far too much power. People went from worshipping her as if she was a goddess, to fearing her like a demon.

"Hagoromo and Hamura inherited their mother's vast power. Hamura had a Byakugan, just like her, while Hagoromo developed a doujutsu known as the Rinnegan. Despite their power, the brothers tried to solve conflicts in a peaceful way, and they did try to convince their mother to drop her oppresive ways, but Kaguya refused to do so. Having no other options, the brothers engaged Kaguya in combat. Kaguya found her sons way stronger than she thought, and in order to have a chance at beating them, she merged with the still existing Divine Tree, and became an abomination as horrifying as powerful: a beast named the Ten Tails."

"Ten Tails?" a startled Naruto asked. Takuya and Nori realized it wasn't the first time he heard that.

"Is it related to the other Tailed Beasts? I thought then one with the most tails was the Fox," Tenten pointed out.

"Yes, it is. I'll explain in a second, but first you need to let me finish," Takuya replied.

"Sorry, Takuya-san. Please, continue," Lee politely asked.

Takuya nodded as well. "Anyway, the battle that ensued was of such scale, is pretty much impossible to imagine, to the point that it pretty much changed the face of the planet forever. Think of the Valley of the End, only applied to the whole world.

"After literal months of battle, the brothers reached a grim conclusion: the Ten Tails was functionally immortal, and no matter how much damage they did, it would never die. The only way to end the battle was to incapacitate it. To do so, they drained the Ten Tails of its chakra, and sealed it inside Hagoromo. Then, using a powerful jutsu, they sealed the Ten Tails' empty husk inside the Moon.

"The battle over, the brothers planned how to rebuild the world and heal it from the damage their mother had caused. Hagoromo stayed on Earth, while Hamura and his followers traveled to the Moon, in order to watch over what it used to be their mother, as well as other possible threats from beyond the stars.

"Despite their power, Hagoromo and Hamura considered themselves human, and despite having the means to prolong their lives indefinitely to live forever, they choose instead to age and die like humans. That means that something had to be done with the Ten Tail's Chakra Hagoromo sealed inside him. So, when Hagoromo's life was about to reach its natural end, he released the Ten Tails' chakra, split it in nine parts, gave them shape and a mind of their own, and became the Tailed Beasts you know today."

"That's exactly what the Nine Tails told me!" Naruto excietedly interrupted.

Naturally, all eyes were drawn to him.

"Naruto, you shouldn't reveal so casually your status as a jinchuriki," Gai said in a jarringly serious and chiding tone.

"S-Sorry," Naruto stammered.

"Naruto-san's status as a jinchuriki does not matter to us. But it seems that it matters for this situation in particular," Nori calmly reassured, before her eyes rested on the blond. "You said the Nine Tails told you this story before?"

"Yeah...well, a very summarized version. He didn't told me the name of the Sage of the Six Paths or that Kaguya lady. But he did told me about the Ten Tails," Naruto explained. "Also, I think the Ten Tails' lifeless husk might not be sealed inside the Moon anymore."

Takuya and Nori paled. "What do you mean by that? Elaborate, boy." the latter requested.

"The Akatsuki can summon it. It's called the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. They use it to seal the Tailed Beasts they capture there," Naruto told them.

"What? Naruto-kun, if you knew that, why didn't you tell us about it?" Hinata asked, sounding almost hurt.

"Yes. Any information regarding Akatsuki should always be shared," Neji insisted.

"Sorry again! The source wasn't exactly the most believable!" Naruto defensively replied. "But it's not that I kept it a secret from everybody! Mom and Dad know too!"

The two priests paled even further. "But if they're doing that...no! They can't be trying to revive the Ten Tails! Nobody would be stupid enough to do that!"

"Father, we're obviate something. Only a bearer of the Rinnegan can unseal the Demonic Statue, and there hasn't been one since the Sage himself. Clearly, somebody in this Akatsuki group has one."

"Nonsense! If a second Rinnegan bearer existed, we would know it!" Takuya protested.

"While I don't want to suggest anything about your ability to gather information, evidence suggest otherwise," Lee argued, trying to sound as polite as possible.

"In that case, it's a good thing the Byakugan Princess is here. We're going to need her power in order to counter this threat," Takuya replied, sweating a little.

"My power? I help as much as I can, but what can I do on my own against Akatsuki? Especially against somebody with a Rinnegan?" Hinata asked.

"You'll know soon enough. Father, resume the tale, please," Nori requested.

Takuya nodded, and cleared his throat again. "Before we continue, I think it's important to establish the source of Kaguya, Hagoromo and Hamura's power. By eating the fruit of the Shinju, Kaguya's chakra turned into we call Divine Chakra, or Six Paths Chakra. A kind of Chakra way more powerful than normal human chakra. Naturally, her sons inherited said kind of chakra as well."

"So that's why the Sage is of the 'Six Paths', right?" Haku ventured to guess.

Takuya nodded. "Exactly. Said chakra is what allowed Hagoromo to develop his Rinnegan, as well as plenty of other powers we normal humans can only dream of. Now, our tale here diverges into two branches. Hagoromo's life on Earth, and Hamura's life on the Moon. I'll begin with the former.

"Hagoromo tasked himself with the quest of bringing peace to the world. To do so, he created the Ninshu, a set of religious and philosophical beliefs whose goal was to use chakra to bring humanity together and give them a better understanding of each other, which would lead to eventual peace. However, he knew that it would take generations for such thing to happen, and since he chose to live and die like a human, he would never live to see this.

"Hagoromo, however, had two sons, and he had to chose one of them to carry on his legacy once his life came to an end. His older son, Indra, inherited the Sage's Yin Half of the Six Paths Chakra. Said half allowed him to develop the Sharingan, and he's indeed, the very first Sharingan user, and the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan," Takuya explained.

"Whoa! Do the current Uchihas know this?" Naruto asked in shock. "I mean, they're pretty much direct descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths!"

Tayuya just shrugged. "I don't know, more than likely not. Now, pay attention young Uzumaki, since this part will be of interest to you. The younger son, Asura, inherited the Sage's Yang Half of the Six Paths Chakra. Said half allowed him to develop Wood Release, and he's the progenitor of the Senju and Uzumaki clans."

"WHOA!" Naruto echoed, this time even louder. He sounded really giddy. "So does this mean that I'M a descendant of the Sage too! And mom, and Kaida and Hagane!"

"Yes you are. Though I doubt very few people will take those claims seriously, as valid as they are," Takuya replied, rolling his eyes a little. "May I continue?"

"Yeah, sorry," Naruto sheepishly replied.

"The older son, Indra, believed that the key to peace was power. Somebody, or a group of people, that should wield power in order to stop conflicts and punish those who start them. The younger son, Asura, believed that the key to peace was through love and mutual understanding. As you can see, Indra's beliefs were a parallel of Kaguya's failed system, while Asura's embodied the cores of Ninshu. Naturally, Hagoromo chose Asura as his succesor.

"However, such choice didn't come without repercussions. Hagoromo thought that Indra would accept his decision, and didn't foresee how displeased he was. Feeling he was claiming his birthright, Indra attacked Asura with the intent to kill him. That would be the beginning of a blood feud that would last generations, since, as Indra failed to kill Asura and Hagoromo, he promised that his descendants would carry his hatred, and would never stop until Hagoromo and Asura's legacy was a thing of the past.

"That's what we called the Uchiha's Curse of Hatred, which had and will lead them to a quest for power, and the extermination of those who are descended from the younger brother, Asura."

The mind of the Konoha ninjas collectivelly traveled back to the night the Uchihas pulled their coup d'etat on the village. Was this the result of Indra's curse, or it was a mere coincidence? So far, these revelations lend some credence to the former.

Hinata raised her hand. "Uh, excuse me...you said it was the Ying Half of the Six Paths Chakra what causes the Sharingan to awaken?"

"Yes. The Yin half of the chakra is the one tied to the emotions and thoughts. So, when an Uchiha feels intense emotions, it causes the Yin Chakra to strongly react, and it manifests in the Sharingan. When an Uchiha experiences an even more intense emotion, it causes it to evolve even further into the Mangekyo Sharingan. Are you aware of its existence?" Takuya asked. All of them nodded. "With the Senju, it's a similar process. Yang Chakra is the one tied to the body, but unlike the Uchihas, a Senju or an Uzumaki won't be able to use Wood Release unless they're born with an exceptionally powerful chakra, such as the case of Hashirama Senju."

"Wait, what's so special about Wood Release? I thought it was just an elemental combination just my own Ice Release," Haku asked.

"It might be at first glance," it was Nori who replied. "But becomes clearer when you think about it. Tell me, Haku-san, what's the origin of the Six Paths Chakra?"

"The Divine Tree," Haku automatically replied, before the realization dawned upon him. "Wait, don't tell me..."

"Yes. Wood Relese isn't just summoning a bunch of trees. You're channeling the raw power of the Shinju itself. That's why it has the ability to bind and control the Tailed Beasts," Nori explained.

"I have a question," Tenten asked. "So...what would happen if an Uchiha and a Senju or Uzumaki had a child together? That child would have both the Yin and Yang halves of the Six Paths Chakra, right?"

Takuya nodded. "Exactly. Albeit the virulent hatred both clans had for each other prevented from such thing to while the kid would be powerful, the parents should also be strong in their respecrtive halves of the Six Paths Chakra for the resulting child to reach its full potential. And in that case, the kid should be able to awaken the ultimate from the Sharingan: the Rinnegan itself."

The revelation led to another silence, as the Konoha ninjas pondered those words. Naruto's thoughts, however, were leading him to a grim conclusion: he suspected that one of the Akatsuki might be an Uzumaki, and now had the confirmation that one of the Akatsuki also possesses the Rinnegan. Now, he was told that a powerful Uzumaki has the potential to develop the Rinnegan if they also have strong Uchiha ascendency. How did this happen?

Nori's eyes rested on Hinata. "Now that you have understanding of the working of Six Paths Chakra, you'll understand better your role as the Byakugan Princess. Father, tell them about Hamura-sama."

Takuya nodded. "Hamura and his many followers traveled to the Moon. There, they built a small civilization, whose purpose was to watch over the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, preserve the historic knowledge of Kaguya and the Otsutsuki Clan, and watch for more threats from beyond the stars, like Kaguya herself.

"Like his brother, Hamura had Six Paths Chakra, and this allowed him to manifest a higher form of the Byakugan: the Tenseigan."

"Wait, what? The Byakugan also has an evolution?" Neji asked, sounding visibly agitated, a far cry from his usual stoicism. "How is that our clan isn't aware of such a thing!?"

"Such knowledge had to be kept a secret for the safety of your clan, until the time was right. If you let me finish my story, I'm sure you'll understand," Takuya replied, a little annoyed at the constant interruptions. "Like his brother, Hamura also had two children, though they were girls: his eldest was named Kalika, and the youngest was named Shiva. Like Indra an Asura, Kalika and Shiva inherited the Yin and Yang halves of Hamura's Six Paths Chakra respectively. "

"That means that only Kalika developed a Byakugan, right?" Hinata guessed.

Nori shook her head. "No. The Sharingan was a byproduct of the Six Paths Chakra. The Byakugan, however, is something Kaguya already possessed before eating the Divine Fruit, and both of Hamura's daughters inherited it. The Ying half enhanced Kailika's Byakugan, while the Yang half boosted the power of Shiva's chakra as a whole. Their descendants inherited these powers as well,. Why Hagoromo developed a Rinnegan instead of a Byakugan, is something we have no answer for."

"Exactly," Takuya agreed. "Like Hagoromo, when Hamura's life came to an end, he had to choose an heir to lead the Otsutsuki Clan. His choice was Kalika, and before dying, he transferred his chakra into her, allowing her to develop the Tenseigan, something Kalika herself also did with her own heir once her life came to an end. And thus, the Tenseigan became the symbol of the leader of the Otsutsuki Clan.

"Eventually, the Otsutsuki Clan was reorganized into two groups: the Main Family, composed by the leader and their close family members, which ruled over the clan, and the Branch Family, composed by pretty much everybody else, including Shiva's descendants. However, tensions began to rise, as every gerenation passed. As they kept watch over the Earth, they saw how Hagoromo's gift of Ninshu was perverted into Ninjutsu, and used as a weapon to wage countless wars. Branch Family members believed that they should do something about it, but the Main Family refused to interfere. But depsite their superior numbers, they couldn't change anything since they couldn't match the power of the Tenseigan.

"And thus, the Branch Family started to work on a weapon that would equate the Tenseigan in power. Once said weapon was finished, they declared war on the Main Family, which were then crushed. The then current Otsutsuki Clan head was killed before he could pass on his Six Paths Chakra. The Branch House members, which possessed the Yang Half of the Six Paths Chakra, seeked to obtain the Yin-enhanced Byakugan from the Main House, however, they found an obstacle they were unable to overcome: the Caged Bird Seal."

Once again, Neji was taken aback. "Wait a minute. The _Main Family_ wore that seal?" he incredulously asked.

"Yes. Its original purpose was to make sure no Main House Byakugan ever fell into the Branch House, so they wouldn't be able to obtain the Tenseigan. That way, when a Main Family Member died, their Byakugan would be destroyed with them. And they made sure they weren't captured alive," Takuya explained. "Now, the ensuing war decimated both families, and the few Main House members managed to escape the Moon and reach Earth, with several Branch House members they took prisoner.

"Their original plan was to force said Branch House members to transfer their chakra into the current heir, so a new Tenseigan could be created, but in the end, they decided against it, since there was the problem of the Branch House family's superweapon, and thus, decided that a new beginning was in order.

"The Otsutsuki survivors realized that they had to cut all ties to their past if they hoped to escape the Branch House's purge, and have a chance to regroup. The first thing they did was to change their clan name to Hyuga, which as you know is a reference to the Sun, to hide their ties to the Moon. But that wouldn't be enough. The newer generations had to forget about their past entirely so they wouldn't become targets, but doing so would imply to destroy all the knowledge they had accumulated during the centuries. And thus, a solution was devised.

"The first Hyuga Clan head created the Order of the Moon Acolytes, which would safekeep all the Otsutsuki knowledge, as well as the Yang half of the Six Paths Chakra they managed to extract from the captured Branch House members. The Hyuga Clan would continue with the Main House/Branch house division, albeit with a single, but meaningful change: the Caged Bird seal would be carried by the branch house members, and it would be modified so Main House members could inflict great pain upon them with a single hand seal. That way, a new uprising could be averted.

"From that point onwards, the Hyuga became a nomadic clan that traveled the world, until less than a century ago, when they joined Konoha," Takuya said. "Let's say that made our mission to keep track of your clan considerably easier. As for ourselves, our secret order thrived in the shadows, waiting for the right moment until a new Tenseigan could be created again."

"And that moment...is now?" Hinata asked.

"Yes. We knew that the Otsutsuki clan that remained on the Moon slowly declined, and hoped that the clan would die out, and thus the problem would solve itself, and a new Tenseigan wouldn't be neccesary," Nori told them. "But even if the Otsutsuki clan is reduced to a single member, said member is still in possession of that superweapon, and is planning to use it to finish what his ancestors started so long ago. And after the Hyuga are gone, the rest of the world will follow suit."

"And...you want Hinata-hime to be that bearer, right?" Naruto asked. He didn't need them to reply.

"But...why me? Why not Neji-niisan?" Hinata protested. "He's much stronger than I am. The Tenseigan would be better in his power than in mine."

"Neji-sama would be a fine candidate, but unfortunately, the new Caged Bird seal might be a danger for the process," Nori countered, shaking her head. She then turned at Neji with an apologetic expression. "Sorry, Neji-sama, but the stakes are too high to take such risk."

"It's okay. It's not a power I desired to begin with," Neji replied, letting out a weary sigh. While he spoke the truth, he was upset that that seal had robbed him of such chance to begin with. "Besides, it's obvious that Hinata-sama was fated to have this power bequeathed to her."

"If it's as urgent as you say, then I'll do it," Hinata sated, albeit some insecurity could be noticed in her voice. "What should I do?"

"Follow us," Takuya said as he stood up.

He went to the other end of the temple, and moved a candelabra to the side. It produced a clicking noise, instantly opening a secret door on that wall, leading to a dark and narrow passgeway. Wordlessly, the high priest walked in, and everybody else followed in. After a few minutes, they finally emerged from the other side of the passageway, into a different chamber.

Like the main instance, there was a hole in the ceiling that allowed light to illuminate the place, even if the sun was no longer in the sky, the moon took its place. The only thing worth noting in the chamber was a rather large pool of water, which reflected the moonlight.

"What is this place?" Hinata asked.

"This is what we call the Moonwell," Nori began. "Before I explain any further, Hinata-sama, Neji-sama, would you kindly check the water with your Byakugan?"

The two Hyuga complied, and when they did so, Hinata gasped. Neji's reaction was far more subdued, but couldn't completely hide his surprise.

"The water is teeming with chakra!" Hinata noted.

Takuya nodded. "Yes. The Yang Half of the Six Paths chakra. Anyone who will enter this pool and does not posses at least either half of Six Paths chakra will have their own chakra drained and die. However, if somebody who does enter this pool, they will absorb the chakra of the water."

"Hinata-sama, you now must enter the pool. When your inherent Yin Half chakra mixes with the Yang Half of the pool, they will merge into Six Paths Chakra, and your Byakugan will become a Tenseigan," Nori instructed the Hyuga to do so.

"Wait, what if you're wrong? What if Hinata doesn't have that kind of chakra and she dies?" Naruto worriedly asked.

"I understand your doubts, Naruto-san, but you must understand the importance of this. If we weren't sure Hinata-sama wouldn't survive the process, we wouldn't have asked her to do it," Nori replied.

"Okay, I'll do it," Hinata stated, sounding now more determined. "If this power is neccesary to face our future enemies, and I'm the only one who can bear it, I'll take it then."

"Good," Nori said in approval. "Neji-sama, watch over her with your Byakugan to make sure that the process happens as it should."

Neji nodded, and kept his Bloodline Limit activated.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata entered the pool. Contrary to what she was expecting, she didn't feel anything when her skin touched the water, other a bit of cold. She walked to the center of the pool, where the water covered up to her waist, and waited for something to happen.

"So...what do I do now?" Hinata asked.

But before anybody had the chance to answer, the pool's water surface erupted into a massive wall of purple flames, engulfing Hinata.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Hinata screamed from behind the fire.

"HINATA!" Naruto yelled, as he dashed towards the pool, before he was stopped by Takuya.

"NO! Don't do it! Not only will you interrupt the process, but you'll die!" Takuya urged, as he struggled to contain the blond.

"Get out of my way! Hinata needs my help!" Naruto said, before finally pushing the man aside.

"Naruto, stop," Neji calmly said.

"Huh?"

"Hinata-sama...she's in no danger," Neji stated, a bit in awe. "In fact...the chakra of the pool is being drained into her body."

"Finally. After so many generations...a new Sage of the Moon will be born," Nori said in awe and expectation.

…

 _Somwehere Beyond Time and Space_

When Hinata opened her eyes, she was no longer in that underground pool illuminated by the moonlight. She found herself in the middle of what appeared to be an ancient palace.

"Hello, Byakugan Princess. I've been waiting for you," an elderly male voice said.

Hinata turned around, and saw an old man looking at her. Said old man was dressed in a white robe similar to that wore by Takuya. The man had pale white skin and light gray hair. Two small horns grew from his forehead. Eight black spheres the size of grapefruits floated behind his back on a circle.

But the man's trait that drew Hinata's attention the most were his eyes. His eyes were light blue, with dark blue pupils, and glowing white floral patterns that overlapped with each other that slowly spun around the pupil.

A realiaztion of who this man was dawned upon her with the force of a giant sledgehammer.

"You...you are..." Hinata stammered in shock.

"My name is Hamura Otsutsuki. Nice to finally meet you, Hinata Hyuga," Hamura courtly greeted her. "There's much we need to talk about."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun! Hinata met Hamura Otsutsuki and awakened the Tenseigan! What will happen now?  
**

 **Like I said at the beginning, I've been dying to get to this arc. Mostly because Hinata finally gets the Tenseigan (seriously, I was so pissed when The Last didn't gave her one despite being imbued with Hamura's chakra).**

 **You know, besides that part, I also enjoyed a lot writing all the backstory of the Otsutsuki. While the part with the Senju and the Uchiha was more or less the same, I had a lot of work to do with the Hyuga, since we know pretty much nothing about their origins. Not helped the fact that Kishimoto's mythology for the series makes almost no sense, so I had to make an herculean effort in order to create a backstory that was both compliant to canon, as well as being coherent. Hope I succeeded. So, what we have here is what TVTropes would call Fan Wank. And Fan Wank of an epic magnitude.**

 **Regarding Kurenai, yeah, she said goodbye for the time being, but don't worry, she will be back to active duty once she delivers the baby. I'm not going to do the same thing as canon and have her retire being so young. And even then, I'll make sure to give her enough screentime during the breather chapters.**

 **Funny thing, I was planning to introduce a replacement for Kurenai, which would be Yakumo Kurama, that girl from one of the last filler arcs pre-shippuden. However, I realized that introducing her in an arc that's mostly about Hinata and the Hyugas really didn't work, so I had to cut her out, and decided that while Kurenai is on maternity leave, the Assault Squad will stay a three man squad.**

 **And this is the second chapter that isn't betaread due my usual beta being unavailable. So I think it's time to ask for a new beta. So if you're interested, send me a PM.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the beginning of this arc. Tell me your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	57. The Byakugan Princess, Part II

**Author's Note: Damn, I wasn't expecting the last chapter to have such a good reception! 27 reviews the very same day I posted it, plus eleven more reviews during the next two weeks! Oh boy, this story is much closer than I thought to the 2000 review mark!**

 **Also, a clarification regarding the last chapter I forgot to mention. You probably noticed that I didn't mention anything regarding reincarnation. That's because in this story, Naruto and Sasuke aren't Indra and Asura's reincarnations. I never liked that "plot twist", so away it goes. The Rinnegan in this story is awakened the way it was explained in the previous chapter.**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 57**

The Byakugan Princess, Part II

 _or_

 _The Princess' many suitors_

...

"Hamura Otsutsuki..." Hinata dumbly repeated, as her brain was trying –and failing– to understand that she was talking not so much to a living legend as much as a living myth. If he was living to begin with.

"Yes. That, I am," Hamura replied. "And if you're able to talk to me is because you, my descendant managed to form Six Paths Chakra inside you. Must say, it feels nice being able to talk to somebody else again after so many centuries of quietude."

"Are you...are you alive?" Hinata fearfully asked.

"Hmmm...you could say that I am...but in the same way, I'm not," Hamura answered. Noticing Hinata's growing confusion, he added: "I know those two concepts are hard to reconcile. While my body stopped working a long time ago, my essence is permanently tied to the kind of chakra that now courses through your body."

"I...see," Hinata said, not fully understanding it, but deciding to let the issue go, since it wouldn't lead anywhere.

"Tell me, Hinata Hyuga, what do you know about the history of our common family?" Hamura asked.

Hinata nodded, and told Hamura an abridged version of what Nori and Takuya had told her and the others a few moments ago, culminating with the visit to the Moonwell.

"Good, that will save us an explaination," Hamura satisfyingly said. "Though you'd understand that, with this new power, you'll have to carry on several duties."

"I do, but I have a question," Hinata replied. "Why me? What did I do to deserve this power?"

Hamura smirked a little. "Why the self doubt? Do you find yourself unworthy of it?"

"I think there may be others more suited to wield this power than I am. While I came a long way, I'm...not strong," Hinata admitted. "Meaning...it is okay for me to just have this power handed to me? Aren't others who deserve it more than I do?"

"Hinata, tell me. If you had a great power, what would you do with it?" Hamura asked.

Hinata felt a bit slighted that Hamura had ignored her woe, but she decided it was for the best to answer his question.

"I...I'd do what I've always done. Use it to help others, to the best of my ability. I would also try to not get lost in that power either. After all, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely," Hinata told him.

"Then there you have it. You're a good person, therefore this power will be good in your hands," Hamura casually said.

"You can't be serious," Hinata replied, a bit taken aback. "I'm sure a lot of people think the same way I do. And even then, I might be just saying this but deep down think otherwise. Power makes people change."

"Indeed. My brother and I were painfully aware of that," Hamura interjected. "We could have taken our mother's place, and rule over humanity forever. But her example was impossible to forget. That's why we tried to use our powers as little as possible, and try to live as any normal human would, even if we were far from normal. Our only regrets were not being able to do more with the time we had. Unfortunately, our descendants didn't live during her reign, and soon they forgot."

"Yes. Takuya-san and Nori-san told us how humanity used ninjutsu to wage wars," Hinata added. "And...still does."

Hamura nodded. "Yes, they did a good job preserving history and keeping secrets safe, didn't they? But even somebody as efficient as the Moon Acolytes make mistakes, and there were historic details that escaped them."

"Yes. They weren't aware of the current Rinnegan bearer," Hinata replied.

Hamura nodded. "Indeed. Feeling my brother's chakra among the living after such a long time was...surprising, to say the least. Sadly, I can't say I'm happy with the event, given the way its current bearer is using my brother's power. But that wasn't what I was referring to."

"Huh?"

"The part in which the last Main House heir arrived to Earth, formed the Order of the Moon Acolytes and changed the Otsutsuki into the Hyuga clan...you see, this man did manage to awaken the Tenseigan, and was planning to use it to continue the fight against the Branch Family," Hamura revealed.

"He did?" Hinata asked in shock. "And...what changed his mind?"

"I did," Hamura told her. "Just like you're talking with me right now, I met this young man the moment he awakened the Tenseigan. I had to told him that the bloodshed had to stop, that this wasn't the way. I don't like being authoritarian, but I was glad that my identity alone was all that I needed to convince him to drop the war."

"And what would have you do if he didn't obey you?" Hinata asked, a little curious.

"Nothing," Hamura flatly stated.

"Nothing?"

"What did you expect me to do? Like I told you before, I'm dead. My power no longer belongs to me," Hamura explained. "We old people may be able to guide and offer advice, but in the end, the younger generation must follow their own path and take their own decisions. All we can do is to have faith in that they will make the right choices."

"I see," Hinata said.

"I told him that the Otsutsuki Clan had to start anew. That's why he renamed it Hyuga. As for the Tenseigan, I told him that only somebody with a kind soul and an emphatic heart would be worthy of the Tenseigan. The Otsutsuki Clan was too blinded by their own power, and needed a better leader, somebody who would remind them of my brother's teachings. So I foretold a Byakugan Prince or Princess, that would lead the Otsutsuki Clan to a new golden age.

"And as I hoped, said princess was born fifteen years ago, Hinata. As the Moon Acolytes kept watch over your clan, they realized you were the person I was talking about, the one worthy enough to finally inherit my power after centuries of dormancy," Hamura explained. He stared at Hinata, and his rugged lips curved into a smile. "Was this explaination enough?"

"It was, Hamura-sama. Even if I can't help but feel overwhelmed at both this power and the responsibility it entails, I'll do my best to use it correctly," Hinata solemnly stated.

"That's what I was hoping to hear," Hamura replied. "Then I believe this conversation should reach its end. One last thing, though: some of my most misguided descendants also know about you. They will try to kill you or use you for their own purposes."

"Don't worry, Hamura-sama. I won't let such thing happen," Hinata assured the elderly man.

"One more thing," Hamura said, his expression growing worried. "There is another Tenseigan wielder. One who awakened it before you. I did try to convince him to follow the right psth, but I was unsuccesful. I sensed a great darkness clouding his judgement."

"In that case, I'll make sure that person sees the light," Hinata stated.

"Good. Then go, my child. We shall see each other again in the future," Hamura finally said, before everything turned black.

…

When Hinata opened her eyes, she found herself back at the underground temple of the Moon Acolytes. The rest of the Konoha ninjas were looking at her.

"Oh good, she's waking up!" a relieved Tenten said.

Then, all of them gasped.

"Whoa..."

"Just look at that..."

"Is that...?"

"Huh...?" Hinata groaned, as she slowly sit up. Her head was throbbing, and was having a hard time thinking. Her encounter with Hamura Otsutsuki –which she was still trying to determine if it was a dream or not– occupied her mind. "How...how long have I've been out?"

"Quite a few hours. You got us quite worried," Naruto said, chuckling a little. "It's almost sunrise."

"Are you okay, Hinata-san?" Haku asked.

"A bit tired, but fine otherwise," Hinata replied, before noticing the looks of both concern and curiosity that her friends were shooting at her. "Why...why are you looking at me like that?"

Wordlessly, Tenten pulled out a compact mirror from a bag and handed it to Hinata.

"See it for yourself," Tenten cryptically said.

Hinata did so, and soon her reaction echoed the one made by her comrades. Gone was her lavender colored Byakugan, now replaced by the same eyes Hamura Otsutsuki had.

"Is this...the Tenseigan?" Hinata unsurely asked.

"It is," Takuya confirmed. "I have seen it on ancient pictures, but to see a real one myself, with my own very eyes...it feels unreal."

"How do you feel, Hinata-sama? Do you feel the power of the Tenseigan?" Nori excidetly asked.

"My head feels a bit lighter. But other than that, I feel just like always," the Hyuga admitted.

"It's okay. Your new powers may take some time to manifest, and you will take some time as well to master them," Nori reassured. "That's why is imperative to return to Konoha as soon as possible and begin your training."

"I already ordered our brothers and sisters to pack all our valuable goods and move to Konoha," Takuya added.

"Wait a minute! Are you planning to move to Konoha? As in, permanently?" Gai asked.

"Yes, that's the intention," Takuya answered. "We remained hidden to keep the secret of the Tenseigan safe. But since a new Tenseigan has awakened, our secrecy is no longer necessary. All what remains is to move all our knowledge to Konoha. Konoha is Hinata-sama's home, and as her followers, we shall go wherever she shall."

"I'm not sure what the Hokage will say about this..." Gai replied.

"Don't worry. Hokage-sama will be more than happy to welcome us to your village, if only for the wealth of knowledge that we bring with us," Takuya said.

"It's a good thing Hokage-sama decided to send an additional team. I'm more than sure our enemies will try to attack us once we leave the safety of our shrine," Nori commented. "Especially with all the treasures we carry with us."

"Wait a minute! You guys expect us to escort all of you all the way to Konoha?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "But there must be more than one hundred people here!"

"Not to mention all the things they want to take with them. Even with sealing scrolls, it will be quite the luggage," Haku added.

"You don't have to worry. We won't leave at the same time, but in small groups. The first one will be the one to carry our most valuable possessions," Takuya explained. "Nori, you go with them. I'll remain here and supervise. Once the shrine has been completely evacuated, I'll leave with the last group."

"Again, if you're expecting more ninjas to come here and escort you, you're going to need more money to hire them," Gai reminded them.

"Don't worry, Gai-san. Is in Konoha's best interest for the treasures of this place to reach the village. They're worth more than any amount of money we could gather," Nori insisted. "Hokage-sama will agree with me."

"If that's the case, then we should move as soon as possible. When will be the first group ready to leave?" Gai asked.

"I'd say an hour. Two hours at the very latest. In one case or another, then it won't be too long," Takuya replied.

"ALRIGHT! Come on guys! Let's make sure all of them reach Konoha in one piece, and in ecord time!" Gai enthusiasthically yelled.

…

Many hours later, the Konoha ninja, accompanied by Nori and a few other Moon Scolytes, were heading back towards Konoha. Unfortunately, due the fact that this time around they were escorting more people, as well as a large cart loaded to the brim with scrolls of all sizes, meant that the journey back would go much, much slower. And that gave potential enemies better chances to attack.

Now out of their sanctuary, the acolytes looked clearly distressed, even more than Nori when they escorted her the first time around. It was the fear of somebody who knew they had a lot of enemies, and for the first time, they were in a vulnerable position. And the Konoha ninjas could sense that fear, which in turn made them become tense.

The Konoha ninjas positioned themselves in a surrounding formation towards the acolytes. Neji and Haku were leading the group –Neji had forbidden Haku and Tenten to stay close in a situation of potential danger– with Gai and Lee at each side of the cart, and Naruto, Hinata and Tenten in the back. Beside the acolytes, they also had the unsaid mission of protecting Hinata, given that awakening the Tenseigan left her both drained and a bit disoriented. At first she was able to hide this, but as the hours passed, her condition became more apparent.

"Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned his gaze at him, and smiled weakly. "Yes?"

"How do you feel?" Naruto asked, a little worried.

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. Don't worry about me. Nori-san told me I'd take some time for my body to get used to this new power," Hinata reassured him.

"The sun will set soon. You'll be able to rest once we set up a camp for the night," Tenten reassured the Hyuga.

Hinata wasn't just talking about her eyes. Back when she was uncoscious, when checking her chakra network to see if she was okay, Neji realized that Hinata's chakra reserves had multiplied tenfold. Her chakra reserves were still a far cry from Naruto's, but even then her chakra pools were those of a strong jonin.

"Wonder if I'll have to go through all those chakra control exercises again," Hinata wondered. "Because having my reserves expanded so suddenly is going to have side effects."

"Hey, maybe you've now enough chakra to use Shadow Clones! Trust me, once you get a taste, you'll wonder how can you live without them," Naruto excidetly assured her. Hinata giggled in return.

"I have a question," Tenten interjected. "Can you still use the Byakugan? Given that your eyes look all different now."

"If the Uchihas can use both the normal Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan at will, I don't see how this could be different," Naruto stated, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I would think the same, but the Tenseigan doesn't seem to be like the Sharingan or the Byakugan. It's permanently on," Tenten said, taking a closer look at Hinata's new eyes.

"That's a good question. Let me check," Hinata went through the same motions she did when she had her Byakugan. Her eyes briefly flashed blue. "Yes! The Byakugan's still there!"

"That's great!" Naruto cheered.

"Plus there's the bonus of those creepy veins not appearing at the sides of your eyes anymore," Tenten added. "And no offense to you, Neji or any of your clansmen, but whenever you guys use your Byakugan and those veins start to bulge...ewww!" the odango haired girl said, as she shivered.

"None taken," Hinata replied. "Though, I feel I can now expand my sight way beyond my previous limits. Let me try..."

And indeed, Hinata's Tenseigan now increased her range so much, it was almost unreal. Looking around, she could see the forests, small mountains, rivers, lakes, towns of the Land of Tea. Then, rather than area, she focused on range, and looked to the north, to see if she could see Konoha, despite being hundreds of kilometers away, though she was unable to reach that far. Even the Tenseigan had its limits.

As she expanded her sight, something caught her eye. Leaves and branches moving. Focusing on the disturbance, Hinata could see that there were people jumping from one tree to another. It was clear that they were ninjas, but their chakra was...off. Almost as if they weren't human, she couldn't tell from such a distance. But what was most worrying was that they were heading in their direction. They were walking into an ambush!

"Everybody, listen!" Hinata shouted, drawing everybody's attention. "There's a group of ninjas that are heading towards us from the north! While I'm not sure, I'd say they're enemies!"

"Really?" Neji asked, activating his Byakugan." I don't see anything."

"They're too far away yet, but they're heading in this direction. They'll be here in a few minutes," Hinata told them.

"What do we do? If we fight here, the acolytes might get hurt!" Tenten pointed out.

"Not to mention that their valuable scrolls might get damaged. You're right, Tenten, we need to get the fight far from them, but at the same time, make sure they're safe!" Gai stated.

Naruto bit his thumb, and started making hand seals. "Leave it to me, guys! Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto slammed his hand into the ground, producing a large burst of smoke. Once the smoke dispelled, Naruto was standing on top of the same giant green toad he had summoned during the battle of the Crimson Citadel.

"Greeting, Naruto. What can I do for you?" Gamahiro asked.

"Gamahiro, I need you to take that cart, and all the guys dressed in white, and take them to Konoha as fast as you can. Can you do it?" Naruto asked, before realizing that he had to give him info about their situation. "We're in the Land of Tea, about two hundred kilometers to the south of Konoha."

"You can count on me, Naruto," Gamahiro said, as he grabbed the cart with his giant, webby hands as if it were a mere toy.

"Nori, get your people on top of Gamahiro! You'll be safe with him!" Naruto told her, before making a hand seal. Four clones popped into existence. "I'll also send four clones as additional escort just in case."

The acolytes were natually unsure about the idea of riding on a giant toad towards Konoha, but at the ninjas' insistence, they climbed on his back.

"What do I do if I'm under attack?" Gamahiro asked.

"Ignore them. Just focus on reaching Konoha with the acolytes and the cart of scrolls in one piece. My dad will know what to do next," Naruto instructed.

Gamahiro nodded. "Very well. Everybody, hold tight, we're leaving!"

And thus, the giant green toad disappeared into the sky with a mighty leap, accompained by the screams of terror of the acolytes that were on his back, and weren't expecting such a sudden takeoff. After a few seconds, Gamahiro landed with a thud a couple kilometeres to the north, before leaping into the sky again. The second time he landed, he was so far nobody bar Hinata could see him anymore.

"Summons can be useful for more than just fighting, you know?" Naruto said, clearly proud of his idea.

"Hinata, are those ninja still heading our way?" Gai asked.

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Gamahiro passed them, but they didn't pay him any attention."

"Good! That means that we can go all out without having to worry about harming the acolytes!" an exicted Lee stated.

"What should we do? Should we wait for them here, or should we go and meet them?" Haku asked.

"For the small chance that they may not be enemies, let them attack first.," Gai replied. "Naruto, Lee, with me. Haku, Tenten, move to the sides of the road each, and try to ambush them after they attack. Neji, Hinata, you'll cover our flanks and our backs!"

"Yes sir!" all ninja chorused in unison, as they moved to their respective positions.

As expected, the ninjas turned hostile, as both Neji and Hinata could see their chakra spiking up. They were getting ready to attack.

"Here they come!" Neji shouted.

A barrage of golden energy projectiles rained upon the group, forcing them to scatter while barely avoiding the incoming explosions. The group dispersed, the attackers revelaing themselves. They were wearing dark brown cloaks under black pants and black long shirts. Beside the hoods they were wearing, they also had their faces completely covered in bandages, making it impossible –for the non-Hyugas– to tell what they looked like, or how they were able to see in the first place. Their forearms and forelegs were also bandaged. They were wearing a dark blue headband with a yellow symbol of a crescent moon and a sun.

One of the attackers, whoever, had his eyes exposed. He was also wearing entirely black clothes. He appeared to be the leader of this group.

Soon the mysterious attackers and the Konoha ninjas engaged in close combat. While the former were much greater in number, the latter had more skill and power on their side. And the number parts wasn't going to last long.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Naruto created a score of clones that quickly engaged the incoming enemies. However, the clones soon started to fall before the attackers' merciless skill.

"Damn, these guys are tough! My clones aren't even making a difference!" Naruto complained, as he made another group of clones to replace the ones he lost.

"What's with these people?" Neji asked, as he traded blows with two enemies. "My Byakugan can't see past these guys!"

"Mine can't, either," Hinata replied, as she struck her lightning-enhanced palm on the chest of one of those masked ninjas, to little effect. "And the Gentle Fist doesn't seem to do much damage."

"Then we'll use the strong fist!" Lee hotly exclaimed, as he delivered a flurry of punches and kicks to another of the ambushers. However, half his hits were parried, dodged or blocked, and the other half didn't make much effect on them either, other than pushing back.

"What village do these guys come from?" Tenten asked, noticing their headbands, as she cast a rain of explosive kunai upon a group of enemies. "Do you recognize that symbol?"

"Not at all!" Naruto shouted, as he dodged several of those weird golden energy blasts. "But then again, I don't know that many village symbols myself!"

"Wherever they come, they've been well trained!" Gai said, sending one of the enigmatic ninjas flying against a tree with a well delivered kick. "This is the kind of enemies I love to fight against! Those who give you a proper challenge, and a way to fan your flames of youth!"

"Yosh! You're so right, Gai-sensei! There's no point in taking pride in one's strength if one doesn't test that strength against worthy opponents!" Lee cheerfully agreed as resumed the fight with an even more vigor.

"That's fine, but should focus on finishing this mission rather than enjoing it," Haku replied a bit annoyed, while making several hand seals. "Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"

Haku slammed both hands into the ground, and multiple giant spikes of ice emerged from below, impaling some of the mysterious attackers. However, despite the direct hit, they were still moving, and struggled to get rid of the ice spears.

" _That one got his heart pierced by my ice attack, yet he acts as if it is a minor inconvenience...just what's with these guys, are they even human?"_ Haku thought.

"Watch out! More enemies incoming!" Neji warned.

Like the first wave, the new batch of enemies joined the fight by showering the Konoha ninjas with a rain of golden chakra blasts, fired with acute accuracy as to only hit their enemies and not their allies.

"Where are these guys coming from?" Neji asked, as he was on the verge of being overwhelmed. "Heavenly Spin!"

Neji turned into a spinning dome of chakra, succesfully repelling the attackers, but failing to do any lasting damage.

"Should we start opening the gates?" Tenten asked.

"Let's keep fighting. These guys must have some sort of weak point," Neji suggested, as he continued fighting.

What the Konoha ninjas didn't realize is that a good chunk of the second wave of enemies moved to attack Hinata, and little by little, isolated her from the rest of the group. Both Hinata, and of course Naruto were the first ones to notice this.

"Go help Hinata!" Naruto yelled, as he rushed towards her. "She's their target!"

However, before Naruto could help his girlfriend, the leader of the attackers landed in front of him, brandishing a sword made of the same golden chakra the strange ninjas used to attack.

"That was a bad move," Naruto darkly said, as he extended his hand, creating a Rasengan. He then rushed towards the masked ninja, and slammed the destructive sphere forward. "Rasengan!"

The enemy ninja used his golden chakra sword to parry Naruto's attack, and much to the blond's shock, it managed to resist the impact. The Rasengan exploded, and all that energy was pushed back, which in turn violently pushed Naruto into the same direction.

"Okay..." Naruto breathed out, as as he pulled out his own Wind Blade, producing a blade of flame-like white energy the moment he channeled his chakra through it. "Let's do it your way," Naruto said as he engaged the silent ninja in a swordfighting duel.

That meant that Hinata had to continue to struggle alone against the growing horde of enemies. Not helped by the fact that she was still lightheaded, and was having a hard time modling chakra due her sudden expansion of her chakra pool, leaving her mostly with taijutsu.

"I can't hold them like this much longer..." Hinata breathed, taking a step back with each hit she dodged or parried, despite knowing that's what the enemies wanted. "I need to push them back, maybe with a Vacuum Palm Wall or a Heavenly Thunderstorm..."

Suddenly, as if to answer Hinata's distressed call, the Hyuga heiress felt an alien but pleasant energy forming inside her gut, a power unlike anything she had felt in her life. Ignoring reason and going with a gut feeling, Hinata spread her arms, and unleashed the power building inside of her.

The air shimmered for a bit, before Hinata's body cast a powerful shockwave in every direction. The shockwave violently pushed the attackers away, some of them being painfully slammed against the nearby trees, producing a sickening crunch upon impact. However, the damage wasn't as bad as what it seemed, since they got back on their feet to keep fighting, even if some of them hobbled and had difficulty moving.

" _What is this...?"_ the confused bluenette thought. _"Is this...the power of the Six Paths...?"_

"What did Hinata do?" Haku asked, after witnessing her powerful replusion wave.

"No idea, but it's a good thing she learned to do that," Tenten said. "Maybe is the power of those new eyes she has now?"

"If that's the case, let's hope she finds more hidden powers that can help us turn this fight around," Haku replied.

Naruto continued his fight against the lead enemy, trading blows, pushing back and forth, until his enemy made a mistake, delivering a swipe slower than intended. It wasn't a mistake big enough to capitalize unless you were an elite ninja. And fortunately for Naruto, he quickly took advantage of that. Moving aside, he delivered a swift vertical wipe that chopped off the hand holding the golden balde, followed by another quick strike to the neck, which separated his head from the rest of his body.

The ninja fell to the ground, motionless, while Naruto smirked in victory. The blond jinchuriki then noticed something strange. Despite cutting first his hand and then his head, there was no blood pouring from the severed zones. Inspecting the body and the head a little further, Naruto realized what was wrong with them

"The hell? This guy isn't even human!" Naruto exclaimed, much to everybody else's surprise. "It's some sort of...puppet!"

"What?" Gai asked in shock.

"That can't be right! There are no guys pulling strings on them, and they can use chakra!" Tenten protested, as she tried to hold back several of those mysterious beings.

"Well, whatever they are, they're not alive, and they're definitely not human!" Naruto exclaimed, as he joined his girlfriend in fighting the group that was surrounding her. "Try to destroy their heads! I managed to kill one of them by beheading him...it!"

With this new piece of information, the Konoha ninjas proceeded to adjust their tactics in dealing with them.

" _I see. If they're not alive, then no wonder the Gentle Fist doesn't work with them. Even if they can somehow use chakra, nothing says that they must have a human chakra network,"_ Neji inwardly realized. "If that's the case, then we're going to need a little more brute force..."

Neji jumped back a few times, putting some distance between his enemies and himself, distance they quickly tried to bridge. But that moment was all the Hyuga needed. He crossed his arms in front of his face.

"Gate of Opening: Open!"

Neji spreaded his arms outwards, releasing a powerful burst of chakra, as a faint green glow surrounded his body.

"So, it's okay for us to use the Gates now?" Tenten asked.

"In light of the new information, yes," Neji told her. His hands started to shimmer as he gathered copious amounts of chakra on them. "Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Exploding Strikes! Two strikes! Four strikes!" Neji's palm strikes produced powerful chakra explosions that made them impossible to block. Each strike managed to seriously damage, mutilate, or downright completely disable the alleged puppets. "Eight strikes! Sixteen Strikes!"

"It seems that with just one Gate opened, Neji is doing rather well against these enemies," Lee observed.

"Okay then, Lee, let's go!" Tenten said, as she and Lee proceeded to imitate their teammate. "Gate of Opening: Open!"

Tenten and Lee joined their teammate, and with the additional boost provided by the first Gate alone, they started to trash their enemies and turn the tide in their favor. The masked ninjas noticed this, however, and changed their strategy. Some of them jumped backwards, and formed a circle around the battle. In perfect synchronization, they formed a golden chakra sphere between their hands, but rather than toss it as soon as it appeared, the sphere kept expanding as they spread their hands. Once they reached the diameter of their arms completely spread, they tossed the energy balls forward at the same time.

"Impressive...NOT!" Gai laughed, as he grabbed two of the puppet ninjas by their necks, and tossed them against a giant energy ball each, forcing them to prematurely explode.

Naruto had the same idea, except he simply used several clones to absorb the impact. Neji, Lee and Tenten opted to dodge them, Haku retreated to one of his Demonic Ice Mirrors, while Hinata used her newly found kinetic powers to deflect a couple aside.

This time, the ninja puppets opted for a different tactic. Half of them generated more giant sized golden chakra spheres, while the other half bombared the group with rapid fire of smaller blasts. Naruto, however, rushed towards the puppet ninjas while quickly deflecting their incoming blasts with his Wind Blade. When he reached hand to hand combat, Naruto hacked the puppet to pieces, before moving to the next.

Their tactics overturned and their numbers decimated, the puppet ninjas opted to flee.

"Yeah, run away, you cowards! Next time, bring more of you, maybe that way you can be a little of a challenge!" Naruto shouted to the retreating foes.

"Naruto-kun, they're puppets. They aren't going to react to your taunts," Haku told the blond.

"I know. But it feels take that out of my chest, you know?" Naruto replied, with a foxy grin.

"Is everybody okay?" Gai asked. "If yes, then we should try and catch up with the giant toad, before more enemies show up."

"Alright!" everybody minus Hinata said in unison.

The Hyuga Heiress hadn't listened to Gai's command, and stared at the sky with an unreadable expression. The others took no time to notice this.

"Hinata-hime? Something's wrong?" Naruto asked.

"Somebody's coming," Hinata said. She raised her hand, pointing at an the night sky, illuminated by a half moon. "Somebody with a really powerful chakra."

"Yes...I'm seeing him too," Neji agreed. He tensed even more. "This chakra...Hinata-sama, his chakra is very similar to yours."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked, not liking the sound of that.

Soon, even those without a Byakugan could see a figure standing on a golden floating platform with red railings was floating towards them. Once he was close enough, they could finally see who this mysterious individual was: an young man with soft facial features, shaggy white hair, and very pale skin. He was wearing a white, high-collared kimono with a black obi, with a pale green sash tied at the right shoulder. There were several black magatamas tattooed on his bare collarbone.

However, the man's most eye-catching features were his eyes. They were a pair of Tenseigan, just like Hinata's, except these ones glowed with a brighter gleam.

"Ah, the Byuakugan Princess. After so much time, it's great to finally see you in person. Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Toneri Otsutsuki," Toneri told Hinata, acting as if the rest of the group wasn't there.

"You have a Tenseigan too..." Hinata said in a whisper.

"Then that means that he must also have Six Paths Chakra, just like Hinata-sama," Neji observed. An enemy with such power was something not to be underestimated.

"Indeed. It's the power my family coveted. The power needed to destroy this corrupt world, and replace it with a better one," Toneri stated.

"Wait a minute, then you're the other Hamura-sama told me about! The one tainted by darkness!" Hinata said in realization, as she istinctively took a step back, closer to Naruto.

"Tainted by darkness?" he repeated. "Oh no, my dear Hinata. Is this world the one consumed by darkness. I am the light that shall purify it. And what did you say about Hamura-sama?"

"Hamura-sama talked to me when I awakened the Tenseigan. He warned me about another with the same eyes I possess," Hinata warily replied.

Toneri looked skeptical. "You said Hamura-sama appeared to you? Curious. I did not receive such a vision when I awakened my Tenseigan."

"It's the darkness of your heart that stopped him from reaching you," Hinata sharply replied.

"Hamura-sama is one of the most powerful beings who ever lived. Had such thing be true, he should have been able to reach me, darkness or not," Toneri insisted.

"Enough of that nonsense! What the hell do you want!?" Naruto shouted.

"A world of peace and justice, in which nobody has to suffer senselessly," was Toneri's reply, leaving Naruto a little flabbergasted. "But I presume you were expecting a more short term answer. That would be to take Hinata from this withering world, so she can take her rightful place in the next one."

"WHAT!?" Naruto asked, outraged, as he defensively stood between Hinata and Toneri.

"Hinata is the prophesied Byakugan Princess, a direct descendant of Hamura's eldest daughter, with a kind sould and an emphatic heart, that will lead the Otsutsuki clan to a new golden age," Toneri explained. Hinata felt a chill running down her spine. Those were the very same words Hamura had used. "That's why you must come with me. It's your destiny to join me in creating a new world devoid of wars, greed and misery, and a new lineage that will rule it once we're no longer here."

"Yeah, I don't see that happening anytime soon," Naruto coldly deadpanned. "Nor at all."

"Watch your mouth, jinchuriki. You have no idea who you're talking to," Toneri warned, his tone just as cold. "I wasn't talking to you, but to Hinata. What do you say?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Hinata incredulously replied. "I'm not going to leave my family and friends to join some stranger, much less one who wants to destroy this world!"

Toneri let out a sigh, and looked downwards. "I knew this would happen. You remained in this world too long, and thus you fell victim to its inherent corruption. That's why I arranged you to be brought to me when you were three years old."

"When I was three years old...?" Hinata repeated.

"The kidnapping by those Kumo ninjas! You were behind them!" Neji exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"Yes, it was me. But that's irrelevant now. Oh well, I believe it's not too late yet. You will see the light, even if I have to open your eyes by force," Toneri darkly said, as he made a hand motion.

His floating paltform elevated into the air, as another horde of puppet ninjas appeared out of nowhere, leaping into mid air, as they summoned golden chakra orbs between their cupped hands. Another rain of fire awaited the Konoha ninjas, who took no time to scatter. Naruto, however, made the hand seal of his favored technique.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Another multitude of Naruto clones appeared from thin air. A good chunk of them were instantly destroyed by the initial barrage, but those who survived quickly went to engage the puppet ninjas. All but one of them.

"I bet he's the one controlling these puppets, somehow," Naruto guessed, as the clone grabbed him by an arm and started to spin. "So if I take him out, his puppets will go down with him!"

After building enough momentum, the clone launched Naruto towards the white haired man in the sky. As Naruto flew like a missile towards him, he extended both hands, a Rasengan forming in each one of them. In a few seconds, he would be in range to attack.

"You're dead! Double Ra-!"

Toneri merely raised an open hand against him, and Naruto was hit by an extremely powerful kinetic blast, that not only negated all his momentum, but sent him flying backwards, falling several hundred meters behind them, among a bunch of trees.

"NARUTO-KUN!" Hinata shouted in horror, before she turned her eyes at Toneri, casting him a bone chilling glare. "You will pay for hurting him."

"Somehow, I find that unlikely," Toneri replied, as he jumped off his floating paltform, and slowly descended, as if he could somehow control the speed of his fall. "Now, you have to come with me, Hinata."

"Never!" Hinata replied, mimicking Toneri's earlier movement, and blasting him with a telekinetic push.

Like with Naruto, Toneri was hurled backwards, but Toneri was able to resist the hit, and remained still in mid-air.

"You may have the same eyes as I do, but not only mine are more developed, but my skill with them is far superior to yours," Toneri boasted, though his voice remained calm. "If you come with me, I can teach you how to use the power you now possess. Just imagine what we could do if we joined our forces."

"Sorry, but Hinata-sama said NO!" Neji's voice was heard, as Toneri was slammed by a white and brown blur, hurling him crashing against the ground. The Branch House Hyuga landed beside Hinata, and quickly went to check her. "Hinata-sama, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes. Thank you, nii-san," Hinata replied. "That was a good hit, but I doubt it was enough to put him out of commission."

"Yes, I thought as much," Neji said, as he turned around.

Like Hinata said, Toneri got back on his feet, and floated a few meters above the ground.

"You're fast, Hyuga. Even with my Tenseigan, I was unable to see you coming in time for me to react," Neji said, as he shook the dust from his robe. "However, you won't be able to land a hit like that a second time."

Neji smirked in return. "Is that a challenge? Gate of Life, open!"

As the third Gate opened, Neji's green aura glowed even brighter, and a powerful wind started to blow from his body in all directions. The Hyuga prodigy then vanished. However, the moment he did that, Toneri raised another palm, and blasted Neji backwards with another telekinetic shockwave, when the Hyuga was centimeters away from hitting him.

"That was close, I have to admit," Toneri smugly replied. "But my words were true. Now, Hinata, take a good look at the power of the Tenseigan."

Toneri clapped his hands together. The ground below their feet started to rumble, of huge chunks of earth were pulled upwards, floating around the last Otsutsuki in a surreal manner, Once he decided he had anough ammunition, his hands formed a hand seal, and the chunks of earth and rock fell towards the two Hyugas, though mostly towards Neji. Rather than dodge them, the two Hyugas met the incoming rain of giant rocks.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!"

With a strike of her lightning enhanced palms, Hinata shattered a large rock into a multitude of tiny pebbles.

"Eight Trigrams: Mountain Crusher!"

Neji thrust both palms forwards, releasing a destructive vacuum wave that also shattered a couple rocks headed towards him into small shards, but the force of the attack also pushed those shards back to Toneri. With a dimissive hand wave, Toneri deflected the incoming shards sideways.

"Not bad. Let's see how do you do against this," Toneri stated, making another hand seal. A few rocks floating around him instantly shattered into tiny, sharp pebbles. The pebbles started to spin in a circle around the area Neji and Hinata were in. "Let's see how well you do against an attack that comes from every direction."

Toneri closed his hand into a fist, and the spinning pebbles rained upon the two Hyugas. They nodded to each other.

"Heavenly Spin!"

The Hyuga cousins turned into a spinning blue chakra dome each, easily deflecting the rain of the stone bullets.

"Impressive," Toneri conceded, sounding strangly pleased. "Besides your beauty, you're also really strong, Hinata. You'll make a great wife."

"I know. I won't be _your_ wife, though," Hinata said, panting. Then, she suddenly fell on her knees, clutched her head, and started screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Hinata-sama!" Neji panicked, and grabbed her by her shoulder. She shot Toneri a murderous glare. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing," the Otsutsuki nonchalantly replied. "Those migraines are a side effect of the Tenseigan developing. They will stop once it reaches full maturity. Anyway, I think I wasted enough time as it is."

Toneri raised her hand, and Hinata was telekinetically pulled towards him.

"I won't let you!" Neji shouted, as he blitzed towards the white haired man.

But Toneri already predicted this, and had already raised his other hand to blast Neji backwards with a telekinetic pulse.

"You think you can keep me away from my bride?" Toneri asked. His politeness was replaced by condescension. "For somebody with these eyes, you're nothing but ants. Let Hinata be where she clearly belong."

"Manipulated Tools: Rain of Fire!"

Multiple kunai rained upon Toneri, who forced him to release Hinata in order to evade them. But much to his shock, he realized that the kunai had explosive notes attached to them.

"Disappear!" Tenten said, as she triggered all the explosives at once.

Using a kinetic blast, Toneri launched himself into the air, barely avoiding the chain of explosions that, even if they wouldn't have killed him, would have left serious injuries.

Toneri panted, seeing how close he was of getting caught in that ambush. "That was close...huh?"

"KONOHA WHIRLWIND!"

Two green blurs appeared besides Toneri, both delivering a powerful kick to his face. Toneri's reflexes, however, were fast enough to let him see Gai and Lee's double teaming him, and raised his arms to block the attacks. Even then, the kicks packed so much power, he felt they left his arms on the verge of breaking.

"Don't dare to touch me!" Toneri yelled, as he blasted Gai and Lee away with a repulsive shockwave.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

A loud, high pitched whirring noise alerted the Otsutsuki of a chakra shuriken flying towards him. He didn't need the Tenseigan to know that if he let that jutsu hit him, he would be as good as gone. Raising his hands, he projected the most powerful telekinetic wave he could muster, but much to his shock, while he was able to stop the shuriken's from going forward, he was unable to push it backwards, until it finally burst into a massive wind explosion, which hurled the Otsutsuki backwards, tumbling towards the ground.

" _What!? What kind of power is that? With these eyes, there's nothing that could be able to challenge me!"_ Toneri angrily thought, as he hit the ground.

"You won't be able to stop the next one," a voice Toneri recongized said, as the same infernal high pitched whir drilled his ears.

As he got back on his feet, Toneri saw that Naruto was back. For a reason he failed to grasp, his chakra had become incredibly more potent. He also noticed that his previously blue eyes were now yellow, and had some orange pigmentation around them. Naruto and a clone were now forming another of those destructive chakra shuriken.

" _It seems these people are far stronger than they let on. With my undeveloped Tenseigan, my chances are low,"_ Toneri regretfully thought. "You're really strong, Naruto. No wonder Obito-sama failed to capture you so far."

"Obito-sama...? Are you with Akatsuki?" Naruto asked, as he prepared his Rasenshuriken. Suddenly, a realization dawned upon him. "Wait a minute...!"

That moment of distraction was all what Toneri needed. Quickly raising his hands, he send another kinetic pulse that knocked the Konoha ninja on their backs. Wasting no second, he turned around, and flew towards his platform, still floating high in the air. Once he reached it, he flew away, disappearing into the night of the sky.

As everybody got on their back, they looked around to see if the enemies have truly fled, and were they now safe. Relatively speaking.

"Just...what was all that about?" a slightly confused Tenten asked.

"Guys...I think I have an idea of what's going on..." Naruto replied.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So yeah, Hinata finally awakened the Tenseigan, but you probably deduced that already from the way the previous chapter ended. If you're disappointed in that Hinata only got some telekinesis out of the whole ordeal, don't fret. Hinata's Tenseigan powers will start out small, but will gradually develop as the story progresses. After all, it's not that Sasuke was able to create Perfect Susanoo right after awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?  
**

 **The same thing goes for Toneri. You'll probably noticed that he's weaker than he was in The Last. But just like Hinata, he will reach the level of power he had in The Last in due time. Otherwise, well, he would be able to wipe out Konoha all by himself with little effort.**

 **Thanks a lot to my new beta, Grimlock987, for betareading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, with more action and less plot development. The next chapter will be the end of this arc. Let's say that there's going to be quite the big changes within the Hyuga Clan, hehe. And while you wait, give your thoughts on this chapter in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!  
**


	58. The Byakugan Princess, Part III

**Author's Note: And with the last chapter, this story officially crossed the 2000 reviews! Thanks a lot to everybody who ever left a review, so you could help this story achieve such heights.  
**

 **While not as popular as the one before, the previous chapter got a pretty good reception as well. I love how well received this original arc is turning out to be. Let's hope the third and final part is liked just as much. Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 58**

The Byakugan Princess, Part III

 _or_

 _Setting Things Straight_

As everybody got on their back, they looked around to see if the enemies have truly fled, and were they now safe. Relatively speaking.

"Just...what was all that about?" a slightly confused Tenten asked.

"Guys...I think I have an idea of what's going on..." Naruto replied. "I'm not one hundred percent sure...but that guy might be under Obito's mind control."

"Are you sure? If he was working for Akatsuki, he'd be more interesting in you than in Hinata-sama," Neji pointed out.

"You assume that the Tailed Beasts are Akatsuki's only target, my young student," Gai intervened. "Who says that they aren't after other sources of power, such as Hinata's new eyes?"

"Just great," Naruto said, letting out an annoyed snort. "As if I wasn't worried about Akatsuki going after me alone, they're not after my girlfriend. Just great."

There was a moment of silence, as the group of seven processes both Naruto's words, and what they entailed.

"So...what do we do now? Should we go back to the village, or should we rest and continue at morning?" Haku asked.

"For the time being let's rest. I'm sure all of us were already tired before this battle even began. By now, Naruto's toad should be close to Konoha, if he hasn't arrived there already. Let's set a campsite, and we'll continue our journey back tomorrow," Gai decided. "But before we do, let's see if we can salvage any of those ninja puppets that attacked us earlier. Knowing them will make us better prepared next time we have to face them!"

Everybody nodded. While Neji and Tenten went to retrieve and store the remaining puppets, the rest of the group went to find a good place to pass the night.

…

 _Next Day_

Said decision turned out to be the most sound. After a good night of sleep, the seven Konoha ninjas were now properly rested and full of energy –even Hinata–, and were ready to resume their way back to their home. And just by noon, the Konoha ninjas triumphantly returned to their village. A quick talk with the entrance guards told them that the Moon Acolytes and all the scrolls they were carrying safely arrived last night, on the back of a giant toad.

While the first thing they wanted to do was to go home and rest, or tell their loved ones about the mission, duty came first, and they had to go to the Hokage's Tower, in order to give Jiraiya the report on how the mission went. One of the first things Jiraiya noticed was Hinata's new eyes.

"So...that's the Tenseigan?" the Hokage asked. Hinata nodded. "And what does it do?"

"So far, it allows me to control attractive and repulsive forces," Hinata began. She moved her hand, and pulled a pen that was in the table to it. She then made it float above her palm. "Though I believe that there may be more to the Tenseigan than this."

"I think so, if the explaination Nori gave me is of any cue," Jiraiya replied. "She pretty much stated it was a doujutsu on par with the Rinnegan."

"Wait...Nori told you about the Tenseigan?" Naruto asked.

"Of course. That's why I allowed this mission to begin with. If there was a chance that one of our ninjas could awaken a power that can give us an edge against the Akatsuki, I wasn't going to let that chance go," Jiraiya explained Naruto, his tone uncharacteristically serious. "Of course, I took some precautions. That's why I sent team Gai with you as an additional escort. Especially since you guys are one teammate down."

"Which was a good thing, in hindsight," Tenten added.

"During our journey back, we were attacked by a mostly unyouthful individual claiming to be an Otsutsuki who also possessed a Tenseigan," Lee spoke. "But fortunately, Tenseigan or not, our flames of youth burned too bright for him to beat us!"

"The man commanded an army of puppets. However, unlike those used by Suna ninjas, they were autonomous and could use chakra," Tenten said, as she placed a couple scrolls on the Hokage's desk. "Here are the ones we managed to retrieve."

"That sounds like our Chakra Golems," Jiraiya observed, as he took the storage scrolls and placed them inside a drawer on his desk.

"In a way, yes, but..." Naruto began, struggling to find the proper words. "But they could fool you into mistaking them for actual humans, you know? I only realize that they weren't made of flesh and blood when I wounded one, but blood didn't come out."

"I'd say the craftmanship and technology behind such puppets is superior to those of the Uzumaki Golems," Hinata interjected. "Though thankfully, they are unable to absorb chakra, and are nowhere near as resistant or stout."

"Though those are indeed troubling news if the enemy counts with such assets," Jiraiya replied. "I'll send a letter to Suna so they can send some of their puppeteer ninjas here and help us studying these puppets."

"By the way, may I ask where are Nori and the other Moon Acolytes now?" Neji asked.

"They requested to stay at the Hyuga State as long as they remain in Konoha. I told them to talk with the leader of the clan to see if they were allowed to do that. If you want to see them, they will be there," Jiraiya replied.

"By the way, Hokage-sama, those aren't the only acolytes that requested to be escorted here. Almost a hundred more remain in their old hideout, as well as a good chunk of scrolls, books and other knowledge they claim to be of importance for both the Hyuga Clan and the village as a whole," Gai informed him.

Jiraiya nodded. "Understood. I'll send several teams to escort the rest of the Moon Acolytes. After this, you guys deserve some little rest."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Tenten gratefully replied.

"If there's nothing left to discuss, then you're dismissed," the Hokage finally said.

The seven ninjas nodded, and left the office.

…

As they exited the Hokage's Tower, the now dismissed ninjas went on their separate ways to enjoy their leisure time until they were summoned again for another mission. Hinata then walked towards Naruto, before the blond could leave.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, Hinata-hime?" Naruto replied to his girlfriend with his best smile.

Hinata looked away, and started to twiddle with her fingers. Naruto noted it was something she hadn't done in ages. In fact, he couldn't remember when was the last time she did that. Definitely sometime before they became boyfriend and girlfriend.

"I...there's something I want to ask you..." Hinata said, almost in a whisper.

Naruto guessed it had to be something big for such a regression in her behaviour. He gave her a ressuring smile. "You know you can ask me anything."

"I was going home...and, well...my clan is going to see my new eyes. And I'll have to break them the news about what Nori-san told us...if she didn't do it already," Hinata exhaled. "Would you like to come with me? I don't think I can do this alone."

"Of course," Naruto said, taking her hand. "You don't even need to ask."

Hinata smiled back. "Thank you."

…

 _Hyuga Compound_

As the couple approached the compound's gate, they were greeted by a Branch House member that was on guard duty that day. He smiled upon seeing the two teens closing by.

"Hinata-sama, Naruto-san, welcome back to the-whoa!" Not even the Hyuga's legendary stoicism was able to mask the clansmen's reaction to their heiress' new eyes. "Hinata-sama...!"

"Yes, she has new eyes, she will explain it right now. Can you go and tell her mother that we're here?" Naruto asked, midly annoyed, as he rolled his eyes.

"R-Right away, Naruto-san," the guard said, before heading inside the compound, with Naruto and Hinata following him at a slower pace.

To try not to draw attention to her, Hinata kept her eyes looking down, and kept them half closed, and relied on Naruto to guide her. As they walked, the blond noticed a couple of Moon Acolytes walking around the compound. It seems that Hikari had allowed them to stay with the Hyuga for the time being. He then saw the guard that had greeted them at the entrance walking towards him once again.

"Hikari-sama is waiting for you in main living room," the guard informed them. "Nori-san is currently with her. Do you want to see your mother in private?"

"Thank you. And no, it's okay. Nori-san already knows what I'm going to show her," Hinata replied, as she and Naruto walked in.

"Very well then. Hinata-sama," the guard made a polite bow before returning to his assigned post.

After a minute or so, they arrived at the main living room. And just as the guard said, both Hikari and Nori were there, talking about something, before the duo walked in. Hikari immediately smiled, and walked to greet her daughter and probably future son in law.

"Hinata! Naruto! So good to see you're back! Nori-san was telling me about-"

Hinata then raised her eyes to meet her mother's, and the older woman was stopped in her tracks, and gasped loudly, covering her mouth with her hands.

"Hi-Hinata..." Hikari mumbled, losing her composure for the first time in years. She took a better look at her daughter's face. "Your eyes..."

"I know, mother. Let's sit, there is much we need to talk," Hinata said, motioning to the nearby couches.

"Yes, Nori-san has been telling me-"

"Trust me, Hikari-sama, I barely told you anything," Nori interjected. "Listen to Hinata-sama. I'm sure that whatever she has to say, it will be mostly revealing."

"But before we begin, can you tell me where is Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked.

"I think she should be training with her team at their usual training ground," Hikari replied.

Hinata turned at her boyfriend. "Naruto-kun, do you mind fetching Hanabi-chan and taking her here? Tell her it's an important issue."

"Of course! I'll be back with her before you realize!" Naruto helpfully said as he rushed out of the living room.

"I should be able to give you a rundown of the events of the past day by the time Naruto returns with Hanabi-chan," Hinata stated.

And thus, Hinata began her tale, with Nori adding something at times, or correcting Hinata when she stated something wrong: how the mission began, their arrival to the Sanctuary, what they learned about the Sage of the Six Paths, his brother, the Senju, Uchiha, Uzumaki and Hyuga, Hinata meeting Hamura himself and awakening the Tenseigan, and finally, the confrontation with Toneri, another Tenseigan wielder, with all what it entailed.

When Hinata was finished, Hikari was speechless. There were so many things to process...so many things she thought were nothing but myths and old wife tales.

"So, the Sage of the Six Paths is real," Hikari said, chuckling. "Somehow, that's the least ludicrous part of this story."

"And we're his younger brother's descendants." Hinata emphasized.

"And the Tenseigan...to think that those people I heard about were actually right..." Hikari added, mostly to herself.

"You knew about the Tenseigan, mother?" Hinata asked, her curiosity piquing a bit.

"I did, but I didn't give it much importance. I thought it was a myth, like the Sage of the Six Paths," Hikari replied. "There were some members of our clan who tried to awaken it, some went so far they even lost their lives. One of your great uncles in particular, he dedicated most of his life to try to achieve it. Guess that, wherever he is now, he's possibly laughing while saying something like 'who is the crazy old man now?'"

"And most importantly...the caged bird seal, and the Main House/Branch House split," Hinata added. "Now we know where do they come from."

"Indeed. I never liked the way the clan was divided, and hearing its origins didn't make me like it much more..." Hikari admitted.

"Then why don't we change it?" Hinata asked her mother. "You're the Clan Head!"

"Being the Clan Head doesn't mean that I can do whatever I want," Hikari regretfully told Hinata. "However, I think we might have a chance now that-"

"I'm back!" Naruto happily chimed in. "And I brought Hanabi with me!"

"Naruto said that nee-chan had something important to tell me," Hanabi said, as her eyes darted towards her older sister. Naturally, she noticed Hinata's Tenseigan, and her reaction mirrored those of her clansmen. "WHOA! What the hell happened to your eyes!?"

Well, maybe a bit more brusque than her clansmen.

"Don't worry Hanabi-chan, you'll find out soon," Hinata gently said as she walked towards her. "Now, give me your hands, please."

"Okay...?" Hanabi unsurely replied, and complied. Hinata grabbed her hands, and both sisters were suddenly engulfed by an intense lavender aura, as Hanabi felt a huge power invading her body. "WHOAAAAAAAHH!"

"Don't worry, Hanabi-chan. This will hurt a bit at first, but it's for the better," Hinata said, in an almost regretting tone.

"Hinata-hime? What are you doing?" Naruto asked, midly concerned.

"Hikari-sama, what is she doing?" a distressed Nori asked, though she was already fearing the answer.

"Byakugan!" Hikari's Bloodline Limit came to life. "She's...she's transferring her Six Paths Chakra into Hanabi!"

"NO!" Nori shouted, as she rushed towards Hinata and tried to forcefully separate her from Hanabi. "Hinata-sama, you have to stop!"

Seeing the urgency in the priestess tone, Hinata stopped the flow of chakra. Hanabi moaned a little, before fainting into her older sister's arms.

"Why did you stop me? What's wrong?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata-sama, you can't do that! The Six Path Chakra in your body is what powers the Tenseigan! The less you have, the weaker it is!" Nori explained, still shaken.

"You didn't tell me this before," Hinata noted.

"Because I never thought that you'd do something like that! WHY did you do something like that?" Nori loudly asked.

Hinata's face hardened, and fixed a determined glare on the priestess. "Why, you ask? After hearing the true history of how our clan came to be, 'why not' would be a better question. The Otsutsuki clan kept the power of the Tenseigan for themselves, and look what happened. And our clan then continued those foolish practices. No, I won't hog this power all to myself. Besides, you said that only an Hyuga with a kind heart and an emphatic soul is worthy of the Tenseigan, and I like to think that Hanabi-chan fits those qualities. Besides, no one ever said that there can only be one Tenseigan wielder."

"Yes but...sharing that power dilutes it. You'll need the Tenseigan at its full power to face the enemies that are to come," Nori insisted.

"Can't my Six Path Chakra regenerate, like normal chakra does?" Hinata asked.

"Yes, but it will take some time," Nori replied.

"How long?"

"I couldn't tell. What you just did had no precedents. Weeks, months, years...who knows," Nori replied, letting out a sigh.

"I will find a way to accelerate the Six Paths Chakra regeneration speed, then," Hinata firmly stated. "But like I said before, there's no way I'm going to let our clan to continue with the same traditions that let it to its doom once."

"That's...very mature of you, Hinata," Hikari praised. "You know, all these revelations made me think. Given what Nori-san said about the wielder of the Tenseigan being the head of the Otsutsuki Clan...I think it may be the time for me to step down and let you take your place as the Clan Head."

"W-What!?" Hinata blubbered.

"That's awesome!" Naruto piped in.

"I understand it may feel overwhelming right now. You're still young, and had this strange power thrusted upon you. But deep down, I believe it's the right choice to do," Hikari explained. She then grabbed Hinata's hand, and smiled. "And you won't be alone. You will have me to help you and guide you if you feel lost or don't know what to do."

"Thank you, mother. I promise I'll do my best," Hinata assured Hikari.

"Well, I think we should also start your training with the Tenseigan as soon as possible. My group alone brought plenty of books and scrolls that you will have to study in order to master the new power you now possess, Hinata-sama," Nori interjected. She then took a look at the unconscious Hanabi, resting on the couch, uncosncious. "And Hanabi-sama as well, it seems."

"We better wait until she wakes up. That way we can start the two of them at once," Hinata suggested.

Nori nodded. "I see no issue with that."

"Meanwhile, I'll start making preparations for Hinata's announcement as the new clan head," Hikari replied. "I'll make sure the whole clan is gathered here for the afternoon."

"I'll be here as well to see such a moment," Naruto promised. "In the meantime, I should go see the Uchihas. They should know all the things pertaining their clan's history."

"Alright then, see you later, Naruto-kun," Hikari saw Naruto off.

…

 _Shisui and Shizune's apartment, a few hours later_

Just like Naruto told Hinata, after leaving the Hyuga Compound, he headed directly towards Shizune and Shisui's apartment, and had them gather the rest of the clan –which were just Sasuke and Itachi–, before Naruto could tell them about the mission. All of them gathered in the living room. Shiro, however, was playing with some toys, isolated from the others by a baby fence –not that the baby minded being alone–, while a sleeping Shizuka rested on her mother's arms.

Just like Hinata before him, Naruto gave the Uchihas a quick rundown on how their mission went, and all they learned about the Sage of the Six Paths and his family, but focused mostly on the part with Indra and Asura, the origins of the Sharingan, and Indra's Curse of Hatred. The Uchihas listened intently, and didn't open their mouth until Naruto was finished, not even to ask questions.

"...so that's pretty much everything," Naruto finished. "Well, technically not everything. There's a bunch of stuff about the Hyugas, but I thought that you guys wouldn't find that that interesting."

There was a moment of silence, before anybody broke it to speak. Said person was Sasuke.

"The Uchiha is one of the most powerful clan to ever lived. But to think that we are descendants of the Sage of the Six Paths himself..." Sasuke said, his awe being hidden by his usual low-key tone.

"The fact that the Sage is an actual thing as opposed to a myth is just as amazing," Shisui followed.

"Guess that those who said that the Uchiha is a clan cursed by hatred had no idea how right they were," Itachi sourly said. "The part about Indra's curse was...troubling, to say the least."

"Do you think that curse is real?" Shizune asked, as she looked apprehensively at both her sleeping daughter and playing son, worried for their future.

"I'm not somebody who believes in curses, but that would explain a lot of things," Itachi regretfully admitted. "But we allegedly now have tangible proof of the Sage of the Six Path's existence, so the curse might as well be real."

"Are you thinking that it might be the responsible of pushing our clansmen into that suicidal coup?" Sasuke asked.

"Again, it's a possibility, one more probable than I'd like to admit," Itachi replied. "I can't help but wonder what kind of extent does this curse has over our very actions..."

"Come on guys, don't get so gloom! Even if there's a curse out there, you guys doesn't seem to be ruled by it or anything!" Naruto vehemently countered. He looked at Itachi and Shisui. "When the clan rebelled, you guys worked to protect Konoha," he then turned at Sasuke. "And Sasuke, if it wasn't for you, I'd be dead right now, and Akatsuki would have the Nine Tails in their power. That has to count for something, right?"

Naruto's unbridled optimism made Itachi smile a little. "Thanks for having so much faith in us, Naruto, but it's not as simple as that. My father served loyally to Konoha for decades as Chief of the Military Police, yet in the end he decided to lead a coup."

"But I'm sure it wouldn't have done it if Obito didn't manipulate him!" Naruto protested. "He's the real cuplrit behind that."

"Naruto-kun, even if that might be true, the Uchihas weren't forced or coerced. They attempted the coup on their own volition," Shizune softly said.

"Yeah, as much as I hate to admit it, they have nobody but themselves to blame for it," Shisui agreed with his wife. "And it's on us to pick up the pieces and rebuild the clan into something greater, that won't make the same mistakes of the past."

"You know, now that you mention it, the Uzumaki Clan's downfall was pretty similar," Naruto said, earning the attention of those present. "Uzushio wanted to be a Great Village at any cost and...well, it brought the wrath of two other Great Villages upon it."

"Maybe it's not something exclusive to the Uchiha and inherent to all of the Sage's descendants," Shisui said with a chuckle, maybe joking, maybe not. "You mentioned that the Uzumaki and the Senju were descended from the Sage's youngest son, right?"

"I don't remember hearing anything similar regarding the Senju Clan, so that might not be it," Itachi interjected.

"Naruto, you said that the Sharingan has a form even higher than the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?" Sasuke asked. Itachi shoot him an apprehensive look.

"Yeah, the Rinnegan. It awakens when the Ying Half of the Six Paths Chakra all Uchiha have is combined the with the Yang Half of the Senju or the Uzumaki," Naruto explained, before shooting Sasuke an intriguing look. "Why? Do you want to get one?"

"Sasuke..." Itachi tiredly said.

"What? It would be an useful tool against the Akatsuki. And you said one of the Akatsuki have it too, right?" Sasuke asked.

"So there may be more Uchihas in the Akatsuki besides Obito," Shisui guessed, sighing a little.

"Actually, I think they might be an Uzumaki," Naruto interjected. All of them looked at the blond in surprise.

"Come again?" Shizune asked.

"During our mission in Suna, we found out that Akatsuki also have access to Uzumaki sealing jutsu," Naruto began. "However, it was a kind of seal that required a lot of chakra to make it work. That's why it made me realize that said Uzumaki seals might not be stolen. Now, it's possible that this person, besides Uzumaki, might also have Uchiha ancestry. That's how he or she was able to awaken the Rinnegan. Do you guys know about any Uchiha who disappeared under mysterious circumstances, defected the village, or something along those lines?"

Shisui sighed. "None come to mind, but it could be just about any Uchiha. Until a couple years ago, we all thought Obito died during the Third War, yet it turned out it wasn't the case. Maybe an Uchiha faked his death in order to defect Konoha, met an Uzumaki, and had a child together that would awaken the Rinnegan."

Naruto slumped in defeat. "So nothing then."

"Itachi, you've been gathering information about the Akatsuki. Do you have any idea regarding this mystery?" Shizune asked.

"Just one, but it's not very reliable," Itachi replied. "I heard rumors that Akatsuki had infiltrated Amegakure. This is coupled with the fact that Hanzo the Salamander, Amegakure's leader, hasn't been seen in years, despite official word being that he's still the leader."

"Wait a minute, you think somebody ousted Hanzo the Salamander? As in, the same Hanzo who defeated the Sannin in their prime?" Shisui asked, incredulous.

"Somebody with a Rinnegan could have done it," Itachi countered. "But like I said, these are just rumors with no actual solid evidence to back them up. Gathering said evidence would require an infiltration in Amegakure."

Naruto nodded wordlessly. Silence briefly reigned over the apartment. That is, until a realization dawned upon Shisui.

"Hey, all of these stuff Naruto told us about...doesn't it sound similar to the Stone Tablet?" the one eyed Uchiha asked.

"Now that you mention, yes. I knew this sounded similar to me for some reason," Sasuke agreed.

Naruto, however, was completely lost. "Uh? Stone Tablet? What stone tablet?"

"It will be better to directly show you," Itachi decided. "Let's move this conversation somewhere else, shall we?"

The others nodded. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

…

 _Uchiha Training Ground, a few minutes later_

"You still keep a private training ground?" Naruto asked, as he walked alongise the Uchihas through the field of grass, heading towards a small forest. "I thought you gave all the old Uchiha properties to the village as a compensation for the insurrection."

"We did, but Hokage-sama allowed us to keep this training ground," Itachi replied. "Given how far from the village they usually are, nobody would be interested in building anything here, so there wouldn't be any money to be made."

"We dug an underground chamber below this field to store all our clan secrets and knowledge, once we no longer had the compound," Shisui explained. "Though what we're looking for isn't underground."

"In fact, we're already here," Shizune announced.

The group were now standing in a small clearing surrounded by the middle of the clearing, surrounded by thick rope held by four stakes forming a square, there was a large stone tablet with several characters carved upon its surface.

"So, this is the stone tablet?" Naruto asked to no one in particular. Sasuke grunted something the blond took as a "yes". He tried to read the tablet's inscription, but was unable to do so. "Do you guys understand what it says? It's like a bunch of gibberish to me."

"Naturally. The cyphers of the Stone Tablet can only be translated by a Sharingan," Shisui replied.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan allows to translate it even further. And even then, there are still parts that not even the Mangekyo can fully read," Itachi continued.

"Which led me to believe that we need the Rinnegan to translate it completely," Sasuke finished.

"I see. And what does the tablet says?" Naruto asked.

"Mostly secrets regarding the Uchiha Clan, and the Sharingan," Itachi began. "How the Sharingan works, how the Mangekyo Sharingan can be achieved, how it can be used to put Tailed Beasts under one's control, as well as other powers."

"However, there's this line here, it says 'two opposing forces work together to form all things in the universe'," Shisui said.

"Sounds rather vague," Naruto pointed out.

"It is. This line has been the subject of much discussion among the Uchiha clan. Many thought that the two opposing forces were them and the Senju, and believed that if they stopped fighting the Senju and formed an alliance with them, happiness could be found," Shisui explained. "Madara Uchiha, however, believed it meant something else. Many of his clansmen thought that he was just blinded by his hatred of the Senju."

"However, the information you brought to us has shed a new light over the debate," Itachi interjected. "It's possible that this line alludes to the possibility of awakening the Rinnegan, by merging the Yin and Yang halves of the Six Paths Chakra Uchiha and Senju have, respectively."

"Thank goodness I'm not a Senju by birth. Having to raise two children that can awaken the power of a god..." Shizune shivered at the thought. "No thanks!"

"Think how well they would do in the Chunin Exams, though," Shisui joked, laughing a little.

"Then again, I believe in the first interpretation. When the Senju and the Uchiha buried the hatched and formed Konoha, it was the best for everybody, right?" Shizune suggested, as her face became a little more solemn. "And...sorry for reopening old wounds, but when the Uchiha rebelled and tried to subdue their former friends and allies..." Shizune left the sentence unfinished, but the message was more than clear.

"Don't worry. If there's a silver lining to this, is that future generations of Uchiha will learn from their ancestor's mistakes, and won't have to go through the same suffering," Itachi replied.

"By the way, guys, where did you find this stone tablet? Who wrote it in the first place?" Naruto asked.

"Nobody knows. It has been in our clan since pretty much forever," Shisui replied. "Some said that it was the Sage of the Six Paths himself who wrote it to guide the Uchiha. It was believed to be just nonsense, but given what we now know...it may as well be true."

"Wonder if the Sage left another tablet for the Senju or the Uzumaki," Naruto mused. "Anyway, now that you know the history of your clan...what do you plan to do?"

"Probably the same thing we've been doing so far. Living our lives, becoming the best ninjas we can be," Itachi replied, shrugging a little. "And continue undoing the damage our fallen brethen did to the village."

"Though now that we know about the Curse of Hatred, we'll do our best to overcome it," Shisui added.

"Yeah. Plus, I refuse to let some old guy who died centuries ago to dictate my life, Uchiha ancestor or not," Sasuke firmly stated.

Naruto smiled a little. "Glad to hear that," Naruto then turned around, and realized that the sun was starting to set. "Whoa, I didn't realize it was so late! I have to go to the Hyuga Compound!"

"Late for a date with Hinata, Naruto-kun?" Shizune asked, gliggling a little.

"Even better! Hinata is going to be named Head of the Hyuga Clan!" Naruto enthusiastically announced as he ran away.

"...say what?"

…

 _Hyuga State, an hour later_

Hanabi stirred in the couch, blinking slowly, groaning as she slowly woke up.

"You're finally awake, Hanabi-chan," Hinata said, smiling. She was sitting on the couch besides her, with Hanabi's legs resting on her lap.

"I had the weirdest dream ever," Hanabi groaned as she sit up, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

"What kind of dream?" Hinata asked, though she could imagine the answer.

"It had some weird old man with horns, and glowing eyes, kinda like yours," Hanabi explained, trying to recall the rather vivd dream. "He said something about how now I had a great power and that I had to be responsible with it. Sounds like a rather cliché line from a comic book."

"There's more truth to those words than what you think, Hanabi-chan," Hinata replied, as she handed her sister a compact mirror.

Feeling a bit agitated by such action, Hanabi opened the mirror and looked at her reflection. She yelped, and instinctively dropped the mirror. "My eyes! What happened to my eyes!? They're like-" she stopped, before noticing Hinata looking at her. "...like yours."

"Yes. Your Byakugan is a Tenseigan now. An ascended form that will grant you an array of new and powerful abilities," Hinata explained.

"Wow..." Hanabi said in awe. "And how did I manage to do that? Hey, wait a second! What you did before I fell asleep...!"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. I transferred some of my Six Paths Chakra so you could awaken it. While not much, your body will now generate more Six Paths Chakra so the amount you possess will match mine."

Hanabi titled her head. "Six Paths Chakra?"

"It's a bit complicated. You see-"

That moment, the door of the living room slid open, and Hikari walked in. "Oh, Hanabi, you're awake already. And look at that, with a Tenseigan as well," Hikari smiled. "And just in time. The whole clan is gathered outside. Time to make the announcement."

"Announcement? What announcement?" Hanabi asked.

Hikari couldn't help but smile knowingly. "You'll see soon."

...

When Naruto arrived at the Hyuga State, there was a huge crowd of Hyugas formed in the front patio. However, despite his initial fear, he realized that the announcement hasn't been made yet, much to his relief. Even if deep down he knew Hinata would forgive him, he wouldn't, and he didn't want to miss his girlfriend's big day.

Naruto wasn't alone. He made sure to bring both Haku and Kurenai with him, so the whole Assasult Squad could be present for the announcement.

"You know, Naruto," Kurenai began. "When you told me Hinata was going to be made Clan Head, I was rather skeptical, but seeing this crowd, well, it supports your claims."

"You didn't see Hinata-san after we returned from our latest mission, did you, Kurenai-sensei?" Haku asked. The Genjutsu Mistress shook her head. "Let's say that Hinata came from that mission more changed than anybody else."

"We'll explain you after we're done with this, because you just can't imagine what Hinata is now," Naruto cryptically said, visibly enjoying his sensei's confusion.

At that moment, the murmurs of the gathered Hyugas –and few guests– came to a halt when the state's main doors slid open, revealing the current Clan Head Hikari, flanked by her two daughters. The murmurs began once again when everybody noticed the blue and white glowing eyes the Hyuga sisters were sporting now.

Hikari cleared her throat before she started speaking. "My esteemed clansmen, both Main and Branch houses, thanks for heeding my call and gathering here. There's an important announcement that I need to make.

"But before I do, I have to explain a certain series of recent developments, in order to give all of you the context of the situation. As you probably know by their presence, our clan is now housing a group of religious scholars known as the Order of the Moon Acolytes. Said Acolytes possess numerous hystorical records and tresures regarding our clan and its past. Among those, is the ability to elevate the Byakugan to a higher level, called the Tenseigan."

The murmurs became suddenly louder when Hikari made such announcement. Even if some Hyugas made questions regarding it, the Hyuga matriarch chose to ignore them.

"Before you ask, yes. My daughters have awakened the Tenseigan. So far, due their lineage, they're the only ones capable of doing it," Hikari continued. Her explaination wasn't entirely true, but felt it should be for the better to keep the whole truth of the Tenseigan under wraps for them time being. "Hinata and Hanabi now possess a power not just beyond any Hyuga, but beyond most ninjas as well. All they need now is proper training in order to master that power.

"We've recently discovered that our clan are descendants of another clan named Otsutsuki. Like us, they also had a Byakugan, and their family was structured into a Main and Branch houses. And their leader was always somebody who possessed a Tenseigan.

"And, to honor such ancient tradition, and due the fact that both my daughters have surpassed me in terms of power, I have made a decision. I hereby step down from my position as the Hyuga Clan Head. Now everybody, give a warm welcome to our new Clan Head, my eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuga!"

Naturally, the news weren't met with cheers and celebrations. Hinata wasn't popular among Main House members due her opposition to most of the clan's traditions and hierarchy. And even if she was popular among Branch House members, they still considered her too young to be a proper leader.

Hikari moved aside, and let Hinata take the spot she was occupying.

"Thank you, mother," Hinata then turned at the large group in front of her, made mostly of her clansmen. "Like my mother told you, we recently discovered the true history of our clan. They had similar customs and traditions as ours, in order to make sure a few members had absolute power over the rest. Said customs led them to their downfall, and we will follow the same path, if we don't change.

"After many centuries, our clan finally recovered the Tenseigan, a power that was lost during the Otsutsuki Clan's downfall in the past. And as its wielder, it's my responsibility to use this great power for the whole clan's interest and well being.

"And thus, my first decree as the new Clan Head is to abolish the separation between Main and Branch houses. Application of the Caged Bird Seal shall be banned for future members, and while I'm looking for a way to remove the existing seals, any Main House member that is caught using the Cage Bird Seal to threaten, coerce or cause pain to a Branch House member will suffer harsh consequences."

Naturally, the effect was immediate. While the many Branch House members started to cheer and sing the praises of their new clan head, most Main House members started to protest loudly.

"You can't do that!"

"You'll tear the clan apart!"

"This will end in a disaster!"

Suddenly, Hinata's eyes flashed white for a second, as she send a pulse of chakra. The air became much heavier, and everybody felt as if Hinata's eyes were piercing their very souls. Everybody was silenced upon realizing the sheer power the new Clan Head possessed. Hikari wasn't exaggerating. Opposing her wouldn't be wise.

"Do you question the decisions of our Clan Head?" Hikari smugly asked.

"But...Hinata-sama," a middle aged Main House member began, sounding more pleading than demanding. "The Caged Bird Seal is a crucial tool to stop our enemies from acquiring the Byakugan. What will we do then?"

"What other clans with Bloodline Limits do: push ourselves harder and grow stronger. The stronger we are, the less chances our enemies will have to steal our eyes," Hinata sharpingly said. "The Hyuga had always prided in being one of the strongest clans of Konoha. Let's show everybody that we can back those boasts."

"You can't do this!" another Main House member, a woman, protested. "Clan Head or not, you can't change our ancient traditions on a whim!"

"I think Hinata made it clear that there will be consequences for those who oppose her," Hikari replied the woman.

"So if we refuse, she will impose her will by force? What a tyrant your oh so meek and gentle daughter turned out to be when she got some power handed to her," the woman scoffed

Hikari was about to protest, but Hinata beat her to the punch. "Tyrant? Imposing my will by force? Isn't that what the Main House has been doing to the Branch House for generations?"

The woman opened her mouth to reply, but no words came from it. She closed it, hesitating, as if trying to come up with a proper argument to refute Hinata's claims. She mumbled something, but eventually shut up.

"That's what I thought. If any of you think I'm abusing my both authority and my new power, feel free to express your concerns to me. But before doing so, I want you to realize that this is how the Branch House members have felt their whole lives," Hinata replied, resting her eyes on them. "In fact, I don't see _them_ complaining about my decisions or calling me a tyrant."

This made the Main House members realize that they were both outnumbered and overpowered. The Branch House was the majority of the clan, and if Hinata had their support, on top of the incredible power she now possessed, her rule would be pretty much uncontested.

"For the time being, that will be all," Hinata said. "More changes are bound to come in the near future. I know the Hyuga Clan values tradition, but hopefully in time you'll see that these changes are for the better, and you'll agree with me as well. You're dismissed."

The murmurs began once again as the crowd gathered in the patio started to slowly dissolve. Hinata's teammates, however, remained there.

"...was that Hinata? The same Hinata that has been my student?" a flabbergasted Kurenai asked. "She radiated so much..."

"Power?" Naruto finished.

"Confidence," Kurenai corrected. "I mean, Hinata did grew more confident over time, but such jump in attitude was quite the shock."

"Hinata-san always tried to put the more beligerent clan members in their place, and now she has the power to do so," Haku added. "Don't worry. Deep down, she's still the same kind person we know and love."

…

A few minutes later, Hinata, Hikari, and Hanabi returned to the living room.

"So...how did I do?" Hinata unsurely asked.

"That was amazing! I've never seen you being so assertive!" Hanabi excitedly praised.

"Don't you think I exceeded myself?" Hinata asked once again.

"Not in the 're the Clan Head now, you should show them who's in charge," Hikari firmly stated. "By the way, I loved what you did with that chakra pulse. A really good way to let those idiots know who were dealing with."

"Speaking of which...mother, you still haven't told me what are my responsibilities now that I'm the one in charge," Hinata asked.

"Don't worry about that. For the time being, I'll continue doing the boring part of the job. All you have to do is to make sure change can finally happen within the clan," Hikari replied.

"By the way, mother, if you wanted the Caged Bird Seal gone, why you didn't abolish it yourself?" Hanabi asked.

"It's not that simple, sweetie. As you can see, most of the Main House opposed its abolition, and if a Clan Head tried to eliminate it by force, the whole clan would fall into chaos," Hikari explained.

"But with Hinata-neechan is different," Hanabi concluded. "Is because of the Tenseigan?"

Hikari nodded. "Though it's not just because of the power. Both you and Hinata are the first persons in literally centuries to awaken a higher form of the Byakugan that most of us thought it was just a myth. Your place in the clan is too important to earn your enimity. Imagine if the Sage of the Six Paths appeared and asked to be made Hokage. I doubt anybody would turn down such request."

"But I'm not the Sage of the Six Paths," Hinata protested.

"No, but you have the same eyes his brother once had, if what you and Nori-san told me it's true," Hikari cheekily replied. "Yes, some clansmen will call you a tyrant, but don't listen to them. You're doing something great, and you will have my support."

"And mine too!" Hanabi chimed in. "And if you feel that using your power against them is wrong...remember that I also have a Tenseigan, but I'm not the Clan Head." Hanabi said with an evil giggle, as she punched her palm for added emphasis.

"Hanabi-chan!"

"Joking! I was just joking! Sheesh!" Hanabi protested, holding her hands defensively. "I was totally not joking," Hanabi added under her breath.

"By the way, I saw your teammates outside during the announcement. How about if we invite them to have dinner for us, to celebrate you appointment?" Hikari suggested.

Hinata smiled warmly. "I'd love it."

…

 _Outskirst of Takigakure, a month later_

Hidden within the thick forests that surrounded the Village of Takigakure, there was a large army that waited the order to move on. Said army was rather diverse, ranging from thugs unable to use chakra, ninja mercenaries, missing ninja whose strength ranged from Genin to low Jonin, and finally robe-wearing religious cultist whose entire skin was dyed in black and white, with skeletal patterns.

Commanding this army were two members of Akatsuki, Hidan and Kakuzu. They've been spending the last few weeks gathering this army to assault Takigakure. Most of them would die, but the Akatsuki cared very little for their eventual fate.

"The troops are ready to fight," Hidan said, as he walked towards his partner. "I can already smell all the blood that's going to be spilled today. Jashin-sama will be pleased."

"Make sure you and the lunatics that follow you do your job. And remember, do not harm the jinchuriki," Kakuzu stressed.

Hidan rolled his eyes, and groaned loudly. How many times did Kakuzu need to remind him that? As far as his tenure in Akatsuki go, he didn't kill any jinchuriki yet. Even then, the cultist decided not to answer that.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Hidan dismissively said. "So, this is your former village, right? I'm sure you can't wait to burn this shithole to the ground."

"While I try to keep personal feelings away from business, I'm going to admit that yes, I'm going to enjoy this mission in particular," Kakuzu confessed.

Hidan's grin formed a sadistic grin. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"Very well. Send the attack order."

Hidan couldn't repress a glee upon thinking in the incoming battle. Soon, the world will be one ninja village down, and Akatsuki will have one more Tailed Beast in their power.

* * *

 **Author's Note: And thus concludes the Byakugan Princess arc. I've been waiting to write and publish this arc since the moment I uploaded the first chapter, but alas, I just couldn't give Hinata the Tenseigan when she was still in the Academy.** **As you could see, this chapter was mostly exposition and characters recovering from the intensity of the two previous episodes. Still, I hope you enjoyed Hinata's ascension to clan head, and how she started to make things better for the Branch House.**

 **Next chapter will begin my take on the Hidan and Kakuzu arc, which will also bring back an old fan favorite, Fu! Who's also a favorite of mine as well. It's been a while since she last appeared, huh? Tournament arcs, like the Chunin Exams, are popular because they not only allow, but demand the author to use a lot of characters at once, and sadly, other arcs are much more restrictive, so sometimes several characters might go for quite some time without any major appearances or contributions to the story.**

 **Thanks a lot fro grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **So, what are your thoughts on this chapter and the arc as a whole? And what do you expect to see in the next arc? Tell me in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	59. The Fall of Taki

**Author's Note: Against my expectations, the Byakugan Princess arc was a success. I'm glad you guys liked it so much. Hell, some of you were even disappointed that it ended after just three chapters. I'll try to make sure all the future original arcs are just as good as this one.**

 **So now, let's start a new arc with a returning fan favorite (and personal favorite): Fu! Who didn't appear since...chapter 31? She's been absent for almost 30 chapters? Damn, that's almost half the story so far! Good thing this arc will fix such thing. Enjoy :**

* * *

 **Chapter 59:**

The Fall of Taki

 _or_

 _Clipped Wings_

 _Takigakure_

"It's not fair!" Fu whined to no one in particular.

The green haired jinchuriki was lying on a large branch of the village's Great Tree, looking at the sky through the small gaps left between the tree's leaves. She let out a loud snort, as if that somehow would relieve if her boredom.

She went through all the troubles of taking an S-Rank mission so she could get a several days permit afterwards, that she was planning to use to travel to Konoha, and get to see her friends again, and most importantly, her boyfriend. It's been three months since the last time she saw him, and while she enjoyed reading his letters, it was just not the same.

But then Shibuki said: "No, it's too risky letting you leave the village alone. And I can't afford an escort right now."

"Why don't you make up a reason to justify me sending me there?" Fu had suggested.

But Shibuki denied her request, saying along the lines of "I'm not going to make that mistake again", and that, since no Taki Genin team made it to the finals, there was no reason for any Taki ninja to be in Konoha. Meaning goodbye seeing the Chunin Exams, goodbye laughing with her friends, and goodbye making out with Shino.

She thought that earning a promotion to Jonin would show Shibuki her strength and thus result in more freedom, but how wrong she was. Despite her rank, she was never allowed to leave the village alone, not even for missions, which she always had to do under the watch of her babysitters –or "escorts", as Shibuki called them– despite the fact that she had grown way more powerful than most of the ninjas the village leader assigned as her squadmates.

What was the point of being a Jonin then? Sure, the Jonin paycheck was sweet, and allowed her to buy anything she wanted, but that's about it. No matter what she did, it would never stop Shibuki from treating her as a delicate porcelain doll that has to be protected at all time.

"I might as well ask Shibuki for a mission," she concluded. "Free days are rather boring if you have no friends to spend with."

Yes, that should do. Prefirably, a mission that involved going to the Land of Fire. Maybe that way, she could take a small detour to Konoha, and pay a brief visit to her friends, and her boyfriend.

Little did she knew that her wishes were going to come true, and the price she had to pay for them.

Deciding to stop wasting more time, Fu jumped to her feet, spread her wings, and flew towards Shibuki's office. She didn't pay attention to the buildings and people below her – while watching the village from the sky was incredible the first few times, it ended up losing its awe. That's it, until several screams caught her attention.

"Huh?" she said, as she uncosnciously moved towards the source of the commotion. She narrowed eyes. "Is that...a fight?"

Flying closer, Fu realized that she was right. There were several ninja invaders attacking her comrades, while others escorted the civilians to a safer place. She was unable to see where the invaders came from, since she was too high in the air to properly see their forehead protectors. At least, of those who carried them.

"Where did those guys came from?" she asked.

She got her answer when she saw that the enemy ninjas were coming from the lake, where one of the entrances to the village was.

" _But said entrances are top secret, and only Takigakure ninjas know about them..."_ Fu thought, as distress started to manifest within her. She forced herself to stop wondering about how such thing could happen. She could care about that later. Now she needed to put a stop to it. "I think I should help them...no, wait, I should tell Shibuki first! Then he can alert the village of the attack!"

Flying as fast as he could, the green haired girl zoomed into the center of the village, and in a few seconds, she burst through Shibuku's office's –thankfully– open window.

"WHOA!" the young leader of Taki shouted, startled by Fu's sudden entrance. "Fu, what the hell!?"

"Sorry, but there's no time! We are under attack!" an alarmed Fu told him. "Come on, you have to mobilize everybody!"

"Shibuki-sama!" a Taki ninja burst into the office, kunai in hand, ready to attack anybody who would dare to harm his leader. "What was that noise? Are you alri- oh, it was Fu."

"Calm down, Fu!" Shibuki told her. "What are you saying about being attacked?"

"What does it need to be said? Enemy ninja are entering the village! They found about the secret passageways! Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!" Fu urged, jumping up and down.

What Fu said was beyond unlikely. But she looked really distressed and frantic. And, eccentric as she was, she wouldn't lie about something so serious as an invasion for the sake of playing a prank. Shibuki's eyes rested on the ninja who had burst into the office shortly after Fu, who was still in the door.

"It seems that an enemy force had found one of the secret entrances to the village, and we're being invaded. Spread the news and make sure everybody's ready to defend the village. I'll join you shortly," Shibuki calmly ordered.

"Yes, Shibuki-sama!" the ninja obediently replied as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"Fu, how many enemies did you see?" Shibuki asked the mint haired girl.

"I didn't have time to count them, but they were a bunch! And more were coming from the lake, so there might be even more right now!" Fu stated.

"Okay. Knowing you, I was afraid that you'd rush into battle, but I'm glad you did the right thing, and came here to warn me first. Now, while we fight, find a safe place to-"

"NO!" Fu yelled, interrupting his leader. "Don't even dare to finish that sentence! Taki is my home, and I want to help to protect it!"

Shibuki sighed wearily. "Fu, we talked about this. You're too important for the village. If what you said is right, thing are going to get dangerous, and you may die."

"I know that! But I'm a ninja, for Kami's sake! A jonin! Hell, I'm sure I'm even stronger than you! What's the point of letting me be one in the first place, if you aren't going to put my abilities to use?" the jinchuriki protested.

Shibuki sighed again. He had no time to waste arguing with Fu. And if he made her relent, deep down he knew she'd disobey him anyway and join the fight. Besides, she wasn't entirely wrong when she talked about her strength and skill.

"Alright, but make sure you stay at my side at all times, understood? I don't want you to go on your own and get killed," Shibuki warned her.

The green haired girl's previous outrage disappeared, replaced by her usual sunny disposition. She flashed him a confident grin as she gave him a thumbs up.

"You got it, Shibuki! We'll cover each other's backs!" Fu happily said. "Now, to battle!"

Shibuki didn't share Fu's almost careless enthusiasm and optimism. For some reason, the young Taki leader had a very bad feeling about this.

…

Kakuzu had disappeared to do some "intelligence gathering", as he called it, leaving Hidan in charge of leading the initial assault. Kunai and shuriken flew through the air, some of them hitting thin air, but most of them finding their marks. Invaders and defenders traded elemental ninjutsu while others engaged their opponents in hand to hand combat.

From what Kakuzu had told him, Takigakure was a very small village, but they managed to stay afloat thanks to the quality of the ninjas they produced, which were almost as skilled as those that came from the Great Villages, but could be hired at an overall considerably cheaper price. The downside, however, was that due their low number of ninjas they couldn't take as many missions as other more populated villages.

And so far, such thing was proving to be true. Despite the rabble Kakuzu had gathered, plus Hidan's own cultists outnumbering the Taki ninjas, they were having a very hard time pressing their advance.

"Come on, you weak-ass shitheads! Fight a bit harder! Janshin-sama demands it!" Hidan hollered, as he skewered a Takigakure Chunin with his three bladed scythe.

His commands fell into deaf ears, and Kakuzu's fools kept dying. Oh well, it's not that he cared about their fate. Kakuzu himself admitted that these thugs were mostly fodder whose purpose was to wear down Takigakure's defenses. Until Kakuzu returned, he had to make sure the plan went as followed. Hidan rushed forward, and leaped into the air. Several shuriken flew towards him, but he skillfully parried them using his scythe. He landed in the middle of a cluster of enemies, as he started to cut them down.

"Those cloaks...Akatsuki!" a Taki ninja pointed out in fear.

"They must have come for our jinchuriki!" another one cried.

"Then we won't let them! Come on, attack, all at once!" a third one, braver than the first two, stated, as he charged forward.

"Yes, come and attack me, you fucking heathens! Jashin-sama is thirsty for the blood of the nonbelievers!" Hidan shouted, as he laughed maniacally while skewering more Taki ninja coming at him. "Let's step up our game! Brothers, summon the Sons of Janshin!"

"Yes, Hidan-sama!" the Jashin cultists chorused at once.

Hidan's acolytes spread in groups of three and four, focusing on a single Taki ninja each, and isolated them, before ganging on them. But the cultists didn't kill them. They only hurt them enough so they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. However, those poor Taki ninjas would wish they were given a quick death instead, since once they could no longer fight, they were placed on their backs on the ground, and the cultist would use their own blood to draw demonic symbols around them in a circle. And finally, the cultist would weave the same chain of hand signs, completing the process.

"Demonic Summoning: Sons of Janshin!"

Suddenly, the ninjas used for the strange rituals were invaded by a nauseating feeling. As if something appeared inside them, and started to quickly grow. A massive pain got hold of them as whatever was eating their bodies from the inside out grew bigger, until they burst from their chests, killing them almost instantly.

The other Taki ninjas watched in horror how creatures that they've never seen before emerged from their deceased comrades' bodies, like a macabre childbirth. The creatures were of many sizes, ranging from a small as a housecat to as big as a tall person. Each of them had a different number of limbs, all of them ending in long, sharp claws. Some of them didn't have eyes, while others had mutliple eyes all over their bodies. The only thing they had in common were their inky, dark blue skin, and their huge mouths full of razor sharp teeth.

"Behold, heathens, the Sons of our mighty lord, Janshin-sama!" a cultist screamed. "Let them fill your hearts with pain and terror, and rejoice!"

Without needing to be ordered, the demonic aberrations lunged in disorderly fashion at the Taki ninjas, who tried to protect themselves as good as they could. But between the numerical advantage of the invaders and the damage these abominations were doing, soon they found themselves forced to fall back.

"Yes! Now you'll see Janshin-sama in all his glo-" Hidan gloated, before he was being interrupted by a Taki ninja impaling his chest with a large sword. He shot the attacker an annoyed look. "Didn't your bitch of a mother teach you that interrupting someone who's speaking is rude as fuck?"

"H-How...? I impaled your heart!" the Taki ninja stammered.

"BECAUSE I'M FUCKING IMMORTAL!" Hidan yelled, as he pulled the sword out of his chest, an stabbed it into the Taki ninja's gut. "This knife's yours, by the way, I don't want it!"

"It seems you're having quite the time here," a deep, monotone voice said. Hidan turned around, and noticed Kakuzu standing besides him. "However, your fun has to end. I've located the jinchuriki."

"Oh well. As long as I get to use my ritual with something worthy of sacrifice, it will almost make up for the pain in the ass that it's not to kill the jinchuriki," Hidan replied.

"I'd suggest the leader of the village, but I need him alive, since the reward for his head is greater that way. However, I'm sure that god of yours will find any of his bodyguards worthy. From what I know, despite being the leader, Shibuki isn't a particularly strong ninja," Kakuzu told him. Hidan's unnerving grin was all the answer he needed. "Meaning that I'll take care of both him and the jinchuriki. You take care of the rest."

"Whatever. Can we go now?" Hidan impatiently asked.

With that last warning, both Akatsuki vanished in a blur, like two predators ready to hunt their preys.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Shibuki, Fu, and other Taki ninjas –most of them Shibuki's bodyguards–, were fighting with all they had against the mercenaries, thugs and cultists that were swarming the small village.

"Water Release: Water Blade Jutsu!"

A sword made of pure water appeared in the young Taki leader's hand, as he engaged a couple missing-nin in melee combat, who were easily pushed back. "These thugs are nothing but rabble! There must be somebody leading the attack! If we take him down, we'll win half the battle!"

"Yes, Shibuki-sama!" his escorts chorused in unison.

"More enemies incoming!" one of the Jonin, a middle aged broad man with a thick moustache warned, pointing to a group of thugs coming towards them. "Ninjas and...what the hell is that!?"

Along with the enemy ninjas, there were what appeared to be some kind of near skeletal, inhuman inky creatures with sharp teeth, claws and either lots of eyes across their bodies, or no eyes at all.

"I'll take care of it!" Fu happily said as she leaped into the air, while wounding her fist back. "Takigakure Whirlwind!"

Fu landed in the middle of the arriving group, her fist slamming into the ground. The force of the impact alone produced a shockwave in every direction, which in turn created a powerful tornado around her, hurling the enemy ninjas and monsters away in every direction.

Unlike the human opponents, the inhuman monstrosities recovered rather quickly from Fu's initial assault, and quickly stood back to their feet, and charged at the jinchuriki, letting out high pitched, inhuman screeches.

"Want for more? Suit yourself!" a small tornado enveloped Fu's fists. "Hurricane Punch!"

Fu punched the first of the Sons of Janshin with such force, it was literally vaporized, producing a loud booming noise. The Wind Chakra, as well as the force of the punch created quick but powerful bursts of wind that knocked the other demons back. Undeterred by their siblings' death, the rest of the demons charged again, with predictable results.

"Whoa, that bitch's strong!" a loud voice said.

"Indeed she is. So you better get ready, since that's the jinchuriki," a deeper voice replied.

Everybody froze when the newcomers revealed Fu's jinchuriki status so casually. Suddenly, two men wearing Akatsuki cloaks landed in front of them. Remembering Naruto's words about the organization, Fu instinctively took a few step backwards, closer to Shibuki and his group.

"I mean..." the Akatsuki with the red scythe narrowd his eyes at Fu. "That's a girl, right? Because damn, she's so fucking jacked, she almost looks like a dude."

"Look like a dude? I'll show you-!" Fu snarled as she stomped forward, but she was grabbed by the shoulder by a fellow Taki ninja.

"Remember, Hidan, leave the Jinchuriki and Shibuki to me. Do with the others whatever you please," the masked Akatsuki reminded his partner.

"Hey, I think I know you...you're Kakuzu, our village's most infamous missing-nin!" Fu said, pointing a finger at him.

"K-Kakuzu? It can't be!" Shibuki cried, as fear started to creep into his body. If Kakuzu was the leader of this attack, then things would get way harder than Shibuki had expected.

"After you failed to assassinate the First Hokage, you murdered the village elders and stole Taki's secret kinjutsu!" Fu recalled, sounding oddly excited. "There's only one reason you came back here!"

Kakuzu chuckled under his mask. "So, it seems today's youth still know about me. I should feel flattered. That's right, girl, I'm back, and that's because-"

"You regret your past crimes and want to ask for the village's forgiveness!" Fu finished.

A moment of silence followed Fu's optimistic statement. Kakuzu blinked a few times, not knowing how to answer that.

"Kakuzu...is she mentally retarded?" Hidan asked.

This seemed to snap Kakuzu back to reality. "No, girl, none of that it's true. This village betrayed me, all what I did next was a fair retribution. And my reason to be here is to capture you and extract the Tailed Beast sealed inside you."

" _Of course, if Akatsuki lead the attack, they're clearly after Fu,"_ Shibuki thought. _"But they're smart. They brought a large attack force so we're forced to divert our ninjas to defend the village, and they have an easier time capturing Fu. It also explains how do they know how to access the village."_

"Kakuzu? Impossible! Somebody that old can't still be a ninja!" a Taki ninja with red short hair cried.

"He can, thanks to the forbidden jutsu he stole when he left the village," Shibuki explained. "I don't know exactly what it does, but he can harvest the heart of his defeated enemies to both prolong his lifespan, stay in his prime, and acquire their strenght."

"I see that you're well informed, Shibuki-kun," Kakuzu replied.

"Shibuki-sama, you need to take Fu to a safe place. We'll hold the Akatsuki as much as we can," one of the Jonin, a woman holding a large sword with blond hair tied in a short ponytail told Shibuki.

"I can't ask you to do that! Kakuzu is by far the strongest ninja this village has ever produced! And we don't even know what his partner can do!" Shibuki protested.

However, his warnings fell on deaf ears as one of his Jonin, a man in his thirties with a buzzcut, dashed forward. "Go now! I'll create an opening!" the man said, tossing a shruiken, and making several hand seals. "Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"

The lone shuriken turned into several dozens. Hidan, however, smirked, and tossed his scythe forward. Using the thick cable it was attached to, he made it maneuver and spin so it would easily deflect all the shuriken away.

"Damn, now I have no choice!" Shibuki cursed inwardly as he grabbed Fu by the forearm, and started to run, pulling her. "Come on Fu, we need to leave!"

"Whoa, wait!" Fu protested, as she allowed herself to be dragged by her leader. "Aren't we going to fight?"

"They're after you! We need to take you to a safe place!" Shibuki told her.

"You're open right now!" the woman with the large sword said, dahsing forward. Her sword started to glow with a blue light as chakra was channeled through it, before she made an slashing motion. "Flying Chakra Blades!"

The released chakra took the shape of crescent shaped energy blades that flew at the Akatsuki. However, Hidan merely smirked, as he easily jumped above the incoming attack, while pulling the cable down. His scythe came down towards her, however, she was able to parry it with her long sword.

"Himiko!" the Taki ninja with the buzzcut replied.

"I'm okay, Tadashi!" Himiko replied, as she struggled against the scythe. "Quickly, attack him now!"

The redheaded Jonin was about to do so, until he noticed something. "Hey, where did Kakuzu go?"

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Shibuki was taking Fu to one of the secret emergency exits the village had for evacuations. The fact that no enemies were coming from that direction meant that the Akatsuki weren't aware about it. They managed to make it out of the village, and were heading the edge of the island lake.

"Shibuki, we should stay and fight! If we help the others, we can-" Fu protested.

"No, it's too risky!" Shibuki replied. "We cannot allow them to get their hands on you! You're too important! I need to protect you at all costs!"

Unfortunately, their escape was cut short by Kakuzu violently landing in front of them, opening a crater, and raising a large cloud of dirt and dust when his feet hit the ground.

"Protect her? Please. From what I know about you two, she's the one who needs to protect you," Kakuzu said in a condescending tone, as he walked towards them.

"Fu, stay behind me!" Shibuki insisted, as he took a step forward.

"No!" Fu protested once again. "He's right! You're no rival for him! But if we fight together, we might have a chance!"

"If I'm allowed to give my opinion, you should listen to her, Shibuki-kun," Kakuzu interjected. "Not that it will change the result of this fight, but it's indeed the most intelligent way of dealing with me."

Suddenly, much to Kakuzu's surprise, Fu vanished behind his very eyes. The Akatsuki barely had time to jump away before Fu's fist came down, hitting the ground, opening a large crater that send chunks of rock and dirt everywhere.

"You are...ridicuously strong," Kakuzu observed.

"You have no idea!" Fu replied, as she sank her other fist inside the former Taki ninja's gut. However, Kakuzu burst into smoke, leaving a log in his place, which instantly shattered upon receiving the brunt of Fu's attack. "Shit!"

The ground beneath her fist cracked, and Kakuzu burst from below just as fast, hitting Fu's lower jaw with a powerful punch. The mint haired girl was sent flying backwards in an arc, before landing with a thud.

"But I'm still stronger," Kakuzu cofidently stated.

"FU!" Shibuki cried, as he dashed towards Kakuzu, his water sword above his head. He brought his sword down upon the unmoving ninja in a vertical slash, but much to his shock, Kakuzu caught his makeshift weapon with just one hand. "What?"

Kakuzu's hand darkened, and squeezed the water sword with greater force, making it burst into dozens of water droplets that splashed both Shibuki and the ground below.

"You should know that Earth beats Water. Though with the gap between us, elemental advantages become irrelevant," Kakuzu said, as he delivered a brutal kick to Shibuki's gut, sending him flying a few meters backwards. "This was even easier than-"

The masked Akatsuki was interruped mid sentence by another equally brutal kick, this time to the side of his head, which also send him flying a few meters, before painfully landing on the ground. After getting on his feet, Kakuzu saw that it was Fu who had attacked him.

"You are even stronger than I had intially assessed," Kakuzu admitted.

"I'm even stronger than that," Fu said, as she rubbed her pained jaw.

"I find that doubtful. But then again, I do not seek to kill you, and beating an enemy while holding back makes the fight complicated. However, I wouldn't be the best bounty hunter in the elemental nations if I lacked skill," Kakuzu said, as he made several hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"

Mud started to gather in front of Kakuzu, and it took the shape of a dragon head. The dragon opened its jaws, and fired a quick barrage of mud bullets. Fu then deployed her wings, and flew high in the air. The dragon head continued firing mud bullets at her, but her flight gave her more room to dodge than an earthbound target.

"And she can fly too. This task is becoming more complicated by the moment..." Kakuzu groaned.

Meanwhile, Shibuki managed to get back on his feet. Despite the brutal kick, he could still fight, even if he was sure he had a broken rib.

"One hit...that's all what he needed to take me out," Shibuki moaned in pain, as his hand reached his ninja tool pouch. "He's right. The difference between him and me is too big. Fortunately, I have the means to bridge that gap!"

In his hand there was a vial with a glowing blue liquid.

"The boost from this amount of Hero Water should be enough to deal with Kakuzu, with the backlash not being so big as not to survive it..." Shibuki said to himself, as he downed the contents of the vial in one go.

The effect were almost instant. He felt all the pain disappearing from his body, being replaced by a powerful wave of energy. He felt his bones strengthening, and his mucles swealling up a little. His chakra became so strong, it manifested in the from a blue aura all around his body. Yes, with this power, he and Fu would be able to take down Akatsuki.

"KAKUZU!" Shibuki yelled as he dashed towards the Akatsuki. While some might think it was stupid to waste the surprise factor like that, the young leader wanted to draw his attention away from Fu.

"Oh? You're still alive?" Kakuzu nonchalantly deadpanned, as he moved his body a little, so his back pointed to neither Fu nor Shibuki. However, he was forced to focus on Shibuki the moment the young man assaulted him with a flurry of punches and kicks. While unrefined and not that hard to block or dodge, they moved much faster and packed far more power than before. "What? How did you become so strong all of sudden, kid?"

"With the only thing you weren't able to steal before you defected!" Shibuki replied, as he delivered a high kick to Kakuzu's head.

The Akatsuki blocked the kick with his forearms, but it had enough force to push him sideways. He had barely time to notice a shadow falling over him.

"Takigakure Whirlwind!"

Kakuzu jumped back before a green haired meteor could crush him. Like it did before, Fu's punch opened a crater the moment it hit the ground.

" _Now is my chance!"_ Shibuki thought, as he moved backwards, closer to the edge of the lake as his hands flied through hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A massive, serpentine dragon made of water rose from the lake's surface. It let out a distorted growl, before it lunged at Kakuzu. Fu deployed her wings once again, anf flew into the air to avoid thw attack. Kakuzu replied by making hand seals of his own.

"Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu!"

Dirt and stones gathered around the Akatsuki, quickly forming a dome around him, which was finished just in time the water dragon found its mark, collapsing into a massive torrent that left the entire area wet and full of puddles. The dome, however, was left untouched.

"Damn, not even with the Hero Water I can overcome the elemental disadvantage..." Shibuki cursed.

"Let's bring you out of your shell, shall we?" Fu shouted from above, as she slammed the rock dome with both feet, shattering it into a multitude of peebles. However, rather than Kakuzu, she only found a hole. "Dammit! He escaped underground again!"

"I have an idea! Fu, let's force him out by flooding the tunnel he just dug!" Shibuku suggested, as he ran towards the hole.

Fu nodded, and the two of them started weaving hand seals as well.

"Water Release: Water Gun!"

The two Taki ninjas expelled a stream of water from of each of their mouths, quickly flooding the tunnel Kakuzu had dig. If he didn't come out, he'd drown.

Suddenly, the earth started to shake. That definitely wasn't the effect the two Taki ninjas were expecting. Suddenly, powerful streams of water burst from underground as if they were geysers, startling them into stopping.

"What...what the hell is going on?" Fu asked in shock, as she took a step back.

The jinchuriki noticed too late the ground trembling under her feet, and she was hurled into the air by a powerful stream of water.

"FU!" Shibuki yelled.

The mint haired girl deployed her wings once more, and managed to escape the stream of water. She panted a little, spitting the water that had flooded her respiratory system. And that moment was all what Kakuzu needed to strike. Fu didn't even see the Akatsuki appearing besides her, and found herself at the receiving end of a rather savage punch that send her flying against the ground. But when she hit the ground, she didn't stop there. The force of the punch keep pushing her towards the edge of the island, leaving a furrow behind.

"Fu! Are you okay?" Shibuki asked, as he rushed towards her. However, he was stopped in his tracks when several kunai with explosive tags attached to them landed in front of him. "What?"

The young Taki leader managed to jump back in time before the tags detonated, producing a chain of loud explosions. When the smoke of the explosions dispelled, there were several missing-nin of several villages.

"Kakuzu-sama, we came here to help!" a missing-nin from Ame said.

"Yeah, the situation in the village is pretty much under control!" anoter one from Kumo confidently added.

"What do you want us to do?" an Iwa missing-nin asked.

"Good job. It seems the money I spend on you was a good investment. Keep that man busy, but make sure he lives. Meanwhile, I'll secure the girl," Kakuzu said in a deadpan tone, as he walked towards the bruised Fu, who was trying to get back on her feet. "Stand down, jinchuriki. You've already lost."

"That's...that's the best you have?" Fu laughed weakly as she got back on her feet. She wiped a trickle of blood that came from her mouth.

"Girl, you only experienced a fraction of my true power. I recognize that you're strong, but my experience as a ninja far outstrips yours. Don't make this harder than it should be," Kakuzu said, as he continued walking forwards.

"Fu! You have to flee!" Shibuki shouted, as the various hired misssing-nin engaged him at once.

"There's...there's no way I'm going to do that! Taki is my home, and I'll defend it!" Fu stubbornly shouted back.

"And you will defend it, but not this way! Don't let Akatsuki get their hands on your power! Go and look for help!" Shibuki pleaded, as he felt the effects of the Hero Water slowly banishing.

"I'm not going to abandon you, Shibuki!" Fu yelled, as she tried to fight back the tears.

"You won't," Shibuki replied, as he parried a kunai blow from the Ame missing nin. "Fu, you're a ninja. You know what you have to do."

Fu didn't reply. Her sight shifted back and forth between Shibuki and three approaching Kakuzu. He was right, she did know what to do, even if deep down she didn't want to admit it. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and her face reflected a look of determination, looking as if she was ready to fight.

"A last stand against me? Brave, but foolish," Kakuzu observed.

Fu clapped her hands together. "I will fight against you, and I will beat you," she said, as her hands formed a single seal. "But it won't be today. Hiding in the Scale Powder Jutsu!"

Fu released a huge cloud of glittering power that blinded Kakuzu and all the missing-nin in the area. Taking advantage of the distraction, Fu turned back, deployed her wings, and flew away. At that moment, the effect of the Hero Water vanished, and Shibuki fell on his knees, not being able to fight anymore. He was quickly aprehended by two missing-nin.

"Lock Shibuki up in a safe place. The rest of of us, come with me. We have to catch that girl," Kakuzu ordered.

"But, Kakuzu-sama...she's flying," the Kumo missing-nin weakly protested.

"I can see that," Kakuzu deadpanned in return. "But she won't be able to fly forever, especially with those wounds and bruises. Now keep your mouths shut and come with me! I pay you to follow my orders, not to question them."

"Y-Yes, Kakuzu-sama!" the present missing-nin chorused, as they all ran after their employer, ready to hunt the fleeing jinchuriki.

…

As Fu flew, she didn't look back. She knew that if she did, she'd turn back and try to help Shibuki and the rest of her comrades. She hated everything so much. Feeling so impotent, the Akatsuki bringing her village to its knees so easily, what would happen to Shibuki...

She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, and focused on her mission: reach Konoha. Once there, she could ask her friends for help in driving the Akatsuki away. She had to cover a lot of distance, but with her wings and natural speed, it would be no problem.

" **Fu,"** a voice said in her head. A voice she hadn't heard in quite some time. **"What are you doing?"**

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to Konoha and get some help!" Fu answered the Seven Tails.

" **You know, you could have used my power. That way, you could have defeated those Akatsuki,"** the Seven Tails replied.

"Not falling for that one again. I still remember what happened the last time I tried to do that," Fu bitterly replied.

" **It's the only way. You won't reach Konoha in your current state. Besides, they're chasing you,"** the Seven Tails pointed out.

"Unless those guys learn to fly in the next hours, I don't see them catching me," Fu replied.

" **No, but they will wait until you get tired and can't fly anymore. I'm trying to heal you, but I will take some time. There's not enough luck in the world that can take you out of this,"** the Seven Tails insisted.

"Why do you care about me so much all of sudden?" the mint haired girl snapped.

" **Because I know what will happen to me if those Akatsuki get their hands of you. I felt what happened to Isobou and Kokuo. I wasn't sure myself, but Shukaku confirmed it. I don't plan to get sealed back into the Demonic Statue,"** the Seven Tails replied, sounding almost scared.

"Demonic Statue? What are you talking about?" Fu asked.

" **There's no time to explain. If you're foolish enough not to use my power in such dire situation, guess that I have no option but do the next best thing,"** the Tailed Beast cryptically said.

"And that would be?" Fu asked.

But she got no answer.

...

 _Konoha Stadium_

Like two and a half years ago, a good chunk of Konoha's population, as well as many foreigners, were gathered in the village's stadium to watch the finals of the Chunin Exams. This time, however, instead of a tournament of one on one fights, the Hokage decided to break the mold, and make team fights instead. Most of the teams were from Konoha, but there were a couple from Suna, and another two from Kiri, participating in an Exam hosted by Konoha for the first time in more than two decades.

Currently, the second fight of the tournament, between two Konoha teams, came to an end as the last member of one of the teams fell to the ground, unable to continue fighting.

"All members of Team Masaru are no longer able to fight!" the proctor, Anko Mitarashi, declared. "Team Yamato moves to the semifinals!"

"We did it, guys!" Kaida happily said as she high fived both her brother and Hanabi.

"I can already feel that Chunin Vest around my body," Hanabi gushed.

"We're doing good so far, but we better not get overconfident," Hagane wisely noted. "The best way to ensure a promotion is to win this tournament."

"Yeah. Besides, mom will bet a lot of money on us, and if we lose just like Naruto-niisan did during his exams..." Kaida shivered upon thinking what her mother's reaction would be.

"We may have to become missing-nins," Hagane solemnly noted.

"Come on, Tsunade-sama may have a gambling problem, but he wouldn't do anything too bad if we lose after she bets on us, right?" Hanabi asked. The Hyuga grew nervous upon seeing the look her teammates were giving her. "...right?"

…

"Those children better win their remaining fights, or they shouldn't even bother to return back home," Tsunade stated, as she gripped her many betting tickets on both hands.

Alongside Tsunade was Shizune, with Shiro and Shizuka respectively sitting on their laps. Naruto and Hinata were also with them, watching and enjoying the fights. Many Hyugas were sitting on previous rows.

"I wouldn't worry about them losing, Tsunade-sama. They were already strong before, and now that Hanabi has a Tenseigan, I find doubtful that they will find any team that will give them a challenge. Not even veteran ones," Hinata said in an assuring tone.

"How can you be so sure? You only started training with it for a couple weeks, right?" Shizune asked. "Hanabi didn't look that different to me."

"It might not be obvious to the naked eye, but her new power it's still there. It manifests in a more subtle way. You'll probably noticed that her blows pack more power than they did before," Hinata explained.

Naruto was ildly following the conversation, until he felt something. A pull. Knowing what it was, he let himself be pulled in, and soon he found himself inside the Nine Tail's seal.

…

"Do you want something?" Naruto asked. "Because I'm having a good time watching the Chunin Exams with my family."

" **Your entertainment will have to wait, brat. I've received a distress call,"** the Nine Tails began. **"From the Seven Tails."**

Naruto's bored expression immediately changed into one of shock. "Fu!"

" **Yes. It was short but from what the bug told me, Akatsuki is after her. They invaded her village, and is currently on the run. You better hurry. You got lucky you were able to save the tanuki's host, but you might not be so lucky this time,"** the fox warned him.

Naruto nodded. "I will. Thanks a lot for telling me."

The Nine Tails snorted dismissively. **"Keep your gratitude for somebody who might appreciate it. I only warned you because it's of my interest that the Akatsuki don't capture anymore of my siblings."**

"Whatever you say, you furball," Naruto replied with a cheeky smile, before leaving the seal.

…

The moment Naruto returned to the real world, he found his girlfriend staring at him in concern.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, mildly worried. "Are you okay? You look tense."

"It's the Nine Tails. He told me Fu is in danger. The Akatsuki are after her. We have to save her!" Naruto stated.

Hinata emphatically nodded. "Okay, let's fetch Haku. By the way, do you know where Fu is?"

"The fox didn't tell me. Somewhere between Taki and Konoha, I think."

"That's...a lot of ground to cover. We'll need a tracking team to find her. Is Kakashi-sensei's team in Konoha?" Hinata asked.

"If they are, they should be in their usual training ground. I'll go fetch them, you get Haku," Naruto replied. He stood up and looked at Tsunade and Shizune. "Mom, Shizune-neechan, we need to go. Akatsuki is on the move again, and another jinchuriki is in danger."

"I understand. Take care," Tsunade said. "Before you go, you should warn your father about it."

"I will," Naruto said, as he made a Shadow Clone.

…

Meanwhile, in the Kage Box, three Kages were watching the fights. The first was Rasa, looking a bit bored, since so far none of the Suna Genin had fought yet. Just like the other time he was in Konoha, he brought Baki and Maki as his escorts. Sitting in the middle was Jiraiya, escorted by Shisui Uchiha and Neji Hyuga. And lastly, to the left of Jiraiya was Mei Terumi, escorted by Chojuro and Ameyuri.

"Your children are truly a sight to behold, Hokage-dono," Mei praised.

Mei hadn't changed that much since the last time Jiraiya had seen her, when she came to Konoha to hire some ninjas to boost her rebel forces. That's it, unless one ignored the rather large round belly that she now sported.

"Wonder if mine will be just half as good as those three are," Mei said, as she lightly patted her pregnant belly.

"With you and Zabuza as their parents, I doubt they'll be a weakling," Jiraiya said with a light chuckle. "Speaking of which, where is Zabuza? I thought you'd bring him with you."

"I planned to, but I had a better idea," Mei replied, her outh forming a slighly malicious smirk. "You see, Zabuza-kun wants to become Mizukage after me, so I decided it would be a good idea to let him get acquainted with the job while I'm out."

...

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, Zabuza was trying to make sense of the loads of paperwork that occupied most of Mei's desk. One of Mei's assistants entered the office, carrying another large stacks of paper.

"Zabuza-sama, here are the mission solicitudes that need to be approved or rejected," the assitant said, as he added the papers to the growing pile. "And don't forget that you have a meeting with the ANBU commander regarding the upgrade of equipment. And after that, there's the the meeting with the Guild of Merchants regarding the safety of the trade routes..."

As the assistant droned all the duties that awaited Zabuza, the swordsman stopped what he was doing, and let his head hit the desk.

"No more paperwork and meetings...no more paperworks and meetings..." Zabuza cried, as tears of despair streamed from his eyes.

…

"Yes, I'm completely sure Zabuza-kun is adapting perfectly to the job," Mei stated, almost repressing a laugh. "By the way, Hokage-dono, given the outstanding abilities your children possess, didn't your clan or your wife's clan pressure you to have more?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I have no clan, and before we had Hagane and Kaida, Tsunade was the last Senju alive. Besides, Tsunade had them at a rather late age, so we decided it was for the best not to have more. And between those two and Naruto, we had our hands full."

"So lucky," Mei said, letting out a longing sigh. "People think that having a Bloodline Limit is a gift, and in a way it is, but they're unaware of everything that it entails, such as the need to pass it to the next generation. Do you know that the only reason I exist is because my three older siblings failed to inherit both my parents' Bloodline Limits? My oldest brother only has Steam Release, while my older sister and second older brother only have Lava Release."

"Yes. Some research shows that very few human beings have the proper physical condition to handle two Bloodline Limits," Jiraiya replied.

"And now, they expect me to do the same. You have no idea how much pressure my clansmen put on me to get married as soon as possible. 'When are you going to marry, Mei-chan, you're already pushing thirty', 'You know, Mei-chan, if you marry too old, you won't be able to have children', 'Mei-chan, when your older siblings were your age, they already had at least one kid'," Mei said in a mocking tone, before her face turned red. "Well, sorry for not marrying and having children as soon as you wanted, mom, but I was busy leading a FUCKING REBELLION!" Mei yelled, as she slammed both fists on her chair's armrests, earning a few looks from Jiraiya, Rasa and their escorts. Mei's face reddened, this time of embarrasment rather than anger. "Uh, sorry. I'm usually not this emotional. The pregnancy and all that..."

Rasa scoffed, and rolled his eyes. Jiraiya let out a hearty chuckle. "Don't worry. You should have seen Tsunade-hime when she was pregnant. Between that and not being allowed to drink...looking back, I'm amazed our house managed to survive her with such little damage."

"Dad!" a loud voice yelled.

Naruto Body Flickered into the Kage Box, startling all those present not from Konoha.

"What's the meaning of this?" Rasa asked, outraged. "Your father my be the Hokage, but you can't be here!"

"Sorry, Kazekage-san, but this is important. I need to talk with dad about the Akatsuki," Naruto quickly replied.

"Akatsuki? Where?" Mei asked.

"In the Land of Waterfall. They're after Taki's Jinchuriki," Naruto explained.

"Naruto, how do you know about this?" Jiraiya questioned.

"The Nine Tails told me. By the way, I'm a clone. My team and I are going to see if the Animal Squad is here so we can track and rescue Fu before Akatsuki does," Naruto stated.

Jiraiya let out a sigh in resignation. "If they are not, at least one tracking team should be available. I made sure to leave one in standby in case something like this happen. Alright then, consider this an official Konoha mission sanctioned by the Hokage. Take care. I'll try to send you reinforcements as soon as I can."

The Naruto clone nodded, before dispelling a burst of white smoke.

…

 _An Hour Later, Forests of the Land of Fire_

Fortunately for them, Kakashi's Animal Squad was on Training Ground Seven, doing their morning routine training. Since none of them had any friend or relative taking part in the Chunin Exams, they had no interest in seeing them.

The moment Naruto explained the situation, they were immediately on board. Kiba, Tamaki and specially Shino were really close with the Taki Kunoichi, and weren't going to let anything bad happen to her. Using the scent of one of the letters she had sent to Shino over the past years, Kiba and Akamaru managed to track her scent. As expected, they were heading northwest, to Takigakure.

"Kiba, how long until we reach Fu?" Kakashi asked.

"A few hours. Maybe more. She's too far away!" Kiba shouted, as he tried to go faster.

"Naruto, did you got any more messages from Fu's Tailed Beast?" Tamaki asked.

Naruto shook his head. "Not even one. I hope we aren't too late."

"Fu's strong. She will resist until we can lend her a hand," Shino confidently said.

Naruto couldn't help but admire Shino's ability to remain calm in such situation, as well as mantaining a positive attitude. The blond didn't know what he'd do if Hinata was in such situation. In fact, he did remember when Hagane and Kaida were kidnapped by Orochimaru's minions almost three years ago, and despair had been eating him from the inside out.

Maybe Shino was also feeling that way, except that he was much better than Naruto at hiding it. Aburames were known for being almost impossible to read.

"Alright, I know Fu is a friend of yours and you're rather tense, but I need you to keep a cool head," Kakashi advised. "We've never faced an Akatsuki before, so be careful."

"Hey, Naruto's squad killed one and drove his partner away. They can't be that tough," Kiba mentioned.

"Underestimating them wouldn't be wise, Kiba-kun. The two our team fought were rather powerful, and we needed a lot of help to take them down," Hinata recalled.

"Besides, you guys are a tracking squad. You didn't see as much combat as we did," Naruto added.

"We'll see that once the fight begins!" Kiba heatedly replied.

"Will you stop you two? Why don't we focus on saving Fu?" Tamaki interjected.

"Tamaki-san is right. Our priority is to help her, not to beat the Akatsuki," Shino continued. Despite he sounded in his usual monotone, his words were coated in some harshness.

Neither Naruto nor Kiba said anything. Following Tamaki's advice, they decided that it would be better if they focused on rescuing Fu. But in order to do so, a clash with the Akatsuki would be inevitable.

" _I don't care how many of them are, or what kind of strength they do possess,"_ Naruto decided with determination. _"I won't let Akatsuki harm another jinchuriki ever again."_

Unfortunately for the blond, he wouldn't be able to keep that promise for long.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuun! Fu is being chased by the Akatsuki and Naruto and his friends rush to save her! Will Fu survive, or will she join the ranks of Han and Yagura? The answer to that question is within the chapter itself, meaning that if you paid attention, you should know already.**

 **Besides Fu, I was also dying to get to this arc because of Hidan and Kakuzu, two of the most interesting Akatsuki members in both powers, personalities and dynamics. I hope my writing can make them justice. Unlike other arcs like Kazekage Resuce or Sasuke and Sai, the original Hidan and Kakuzu arc was pretty good, and making it better is going to be an uphill battle.**

 **As you can see, Fu wasn't the only familiar face to make a return. Even if her presence is going to be pretty small, Mei is back, with an "expansion pack". Yeah, Mei and Zabuza are an item now. You know, I always found Mei being unable to get married ridiculous, not only because given that being super hot, smart, skilled and holding a big position should make men to fight to death to be her husband, but as I highlighted here, Mei has TWO Bloodline Limits, and thus her clan would pressure her to get married and have as many kids as possible in order to pass said Bloodlimits. So in this story, Mei's lack of romance is due her dedication to overthrowing Yagura's regime, and later being busy both leading and rebuilding her village. I hope you find my interpretation better than what we got in canon.**

 **Thanks a lot for grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Next time, while not the conclusion of the arc (this one is going to be longer than the Byakugan Princess Arc) we'll see if Fu is captured or not. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	60. Calm Skies

**Author's Note: I have the feeling that readers were expecting this chapter more than any other. Can't imagine why. Anyway, enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 60:**

Calm Skies

or

 _Time to counterattack_

 _Forests of the Land of Fire_

 **"Well, do you plan on using my power yet? Because frankly, I can't see how the situation can get any worse,"** the Seven Tails deadpanned. **"And not even my luck is going to be enough to get you out of this."**

"Shut up already!" Fu shouted out loud.

Despite not wanting to admit it, the situation was dire. Kakuzu managed to take her down from the sky with a powerful long range attack involving both fire and wind. Once down, one of the first things the Akatsuki did was to rip her wings out of her back. While they would regrow after a good night of sleep, she was now deprived of her greatest asset for survival.

It was then when his goons moved for the kill.

She was now in the middle of a thick forest, cornered against a cluster of trees, with no escape route. If she was at her best, she could easily crush them, but so far, she only managed to keep them at bay. She was too weakened to offer proper resistance.

She noticed an Iwa missing-nin making several hand seals.

"Earth Release: Rock Crusher!"

A shadow alerted Fu of the three giant boulders that suddenly appeared above her, before gravity pulled them down.

 _"They're probably expecting me to dodge them, and another one will attack me while I'm vulnerable,"_ Fu thought, as her muscles tensed while she prepared to counterattack. _"They're in for a surprise then!"_

Even if she could no longer fly, the Taki kunoichi shot into the sky with a mighty leap, shattering an incoming boulder with a powerful punch, and another one with her other punch. She then spun mid air, and kicked the last boulder back to the Iwa nin.

"Shit!" the Iwa missing-nin cursed, as he ran away before being crushed by his own attack.

While Fu was busy, a Konoha missing-nin made hand seals on his own in order to capitalize Fu's predicament.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A volley of fireballs flew towards Fu as she fell to the ground. Of course, that didn't mean that the Taki jinchuriki was helpless in the slightest, as her hands quickly formed several hand seals in return.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Fu expelled a massive amount of water from her mouth, which formed a circular wall around her, successfully absorbing the volley of fireballs flying at her, resulting in a cloud of smoke that blinded both sides from each other.ç

 _"Good, this steam curtain should give me a few seconds to breathe,"_ Fu thought.

 **"I know I'm being repetitive, but you could-"** the Seven Tails piped in.

"Shut up! I'm not using your power! I know what happens when I do! Sure, I could defeat these guys easily, and even the Akatsuki as well! But then what? I couldn't stop you from going on a rampage!" Fu angrily replied. "I'm not letting innocents die because of you!"

 **"At the cost of your own life? How heroic. Too bad you aren't only putting your life on the line,"** the Tailed Beast dryly replied. **"And if you haven't noticed, these guys are merely wearing you down. The Akatsuki is still watching from afar. And once you're weak enough, he'll move and end this fight in one hit."**

"Oh, he's going to need more than just one hit if he wants to-"

"Everybody, attack at once! Even if we can't see her, she's still there!" one of the missing nin shouted. "I can hear her somewhere inside the cloud, rambling about something!"

 **"You...you weren't speaking out loud when you were talking to me, right?"** the incredulous Seven Tails asked. **"RIGHT!?"**

Fu laughed awkwardly. "...perhaps?"

 **"How did you last this long it's beyond me. Next time I hear Gyuki complaining about his human, and I'm going to suggest a trade and see how-"**

The Tailed Beast's rambling was interrupted by a volley of fireballs, watery missiles, rocks, kunai and shuriken appearing from the cloud of steam, flying directly at her.

"OH SHIT!" Fu yelled as her hands scrambled to form the correct right seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Fu blew a massive gust of wind that was able to push back the kunai and shuriken, and even dispelled the water attacks. However, not only it failed to stop the stone projectiles, but it magnified the power of the fireballs coming at her.

"This is going to hurt," Fu whimpered.

 **"YOU DON'T SAY!?"** The Seven Tails sarcastically replied.

The rocks and fireballs found their mark, resulting in a massive explosion that hurled Fu into the air, as well as taking down several of the trees behind the jinchuriki. The mint haired girl fell back to the ground with a loud thud, as Kakuzu's thugs cheered in victory. Fu, however, managed to summon enough strength to get back on her feet, if barely.

Perched on a tree branch, Kakuzu was looking the ongoing fight, carefully analyzing Fu's strengths and weaknesses. His information already stated that the girl was powerful beyond belief, but it wasn't until he saw Fu's extraordinary resistance and toughness that he understood the whole extent of it.

"It doesn't matter now. After a whole day of flying, then fighting for so many hours, she can barely stand. There's no reason to drag this any longer," Kakuzu decided, as he jumped from the tree branch, and landed on the ground below. "Everybody, stand back. I'll deal the final blow. I can't risk you lot accidentally killing her."

The others nodded, and followed Kakuzu's instructions, while he dangerously came closer to claim his prize. Fu tried to back away, but she tripped, and fell flat on her butt.

"So this is it...it's too late to use your power?" Fu weakly asked, as feelings of primal fear and desperation crawled on her back.

 **"Girl, even I'm amazed at how much luck I can bring,"** the Seven Tails cryptically answered.

"Uh, what do you-?" Fu was about to ask, before several whistles could be heard.

Multiple arrows made of chakra rained upon Kakuzu, which was forced to stop, and take a few steps back.

"What the...?" the Akatsuki wondered aloud, before a loud, sharp whirring noise filled the air.

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

A massive tornado came from above, catching the Akatsuki off guard, and violently hurling him against a tree, which was instantly snapped in two. Amazingly, the Akatsuki didn't appear too hurt by such a brutal onslaught, and got back on his feet without much difficulty.

Several ninja landed around her in a protective formation. It took her a few seconds, but she ended up realizing who they were.

"Alright, hunt's over, you jackasses! So scram unless you want to get your butts kicked!" Kiba shouted, with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"Yeah, if you want to get your dirty hands on her, you'll have to go through us first!" Tamaki added, as three blades appeared on both of her gauntlets with a 'snikt' sound.

The missing-nin snarled at the newcomers, as they cautiously stepped back.

"You sounded like you were having a good time hurting my girlfriend," Shino coldly said, as he spread his arms. Swarms of beetles emerged from both his sleeves. "Let's see if you're that bold now that the numbers are more even."

"Alright, we'll leave hand to hand combat to you three, we'll cover you from behind," Haku said, as he and Hinata tensed their chakra bows, producing another arrow each, which was pointed at Kakuzu.

"Guys...you came!" Fu squealed, trying to hold back her tears. "Lucky Seven is really worthy of her name!"

"Thank goodness we reached her in time. A few seconds late, and Akatsuki would have claimed another jinchuriki," Naruto said, sighing in relief. His expression then turned sharp with determination the moment his golden eyes rested on Kakuzu. "So, you want to see if you can finish the job? Please say yes."

"Whoa!" Hinata said in shock, almost taking a step back.

"Hinata-hime? What's wrong?" Naruto asked his girlfriend.

"That Akatsuki...I don't know what's with him, but his chakra system and his organs...they look like nothing I've seen before!" Hinata replied in shock and even some horror, unable to tear her sight apart from Kakuzu.

"Explain," Kakashi instructed.

"His body...is a jumbled mess of multiple organs, held together by some sort of wires. I'm seeing several hearts...and his chakra network looks like several networks intermingled together...is he even human?" Hinata wondered aloud.

"You have a keen eye, girl," Kakuzu mentioned. "You look like a Hyuga, but that's definitely not a Byakugan. What are those eyes?"

"It's a long story. One I'm not keen on sharing with a mortal enemy," Hinata harshly replied, as she fixed a hard stare on the Akatsuki. First Sasori, and now this man. Where did Akatsuki find these inhuman freaks?

"Kakuzu-sama, what do we do?" a missing-nin from Kumo asked, his fearful tone clearly indicating he wasn't expecting such huge opposition.

Kakuzu reviewed his options. Even if he fought with all he had, sacrificed both his hired thugs and even some of his hearts to retrieve the girl, the odds weren't that good. Among this group of Konoha ninjas, he only recognized Kakashi Hatake, somebody skilled enough to give him a hard time, and the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails. Then there was the Hyuga with the weird eyes, which gave the Taki missing-nin very bad vibes. The other four looked unremarkable, but underestimating them would be a mostly unwise thing to do.

He also noticed the blond's appearance. Their data stated that the Fox's jinchuriki had blue eyes, yet his were golden. And those markings around his eyes, could that be...senjutsu? If that was the case, he was seriously outmatched. Even with Hidan at his side, it would be a battle really hard to win.

"You win this round, jinchuriki," Kakuzu conceded. "But know this: your village is pretty much in our hands now. You have three days to come to us peacefully. For each passing day past that limit that you fail to show up, we will kill ten Takigakure inhabitants, ninja or civilian. For your people's sake, I hope we do meet again soon. Everybody, fall back!"

The hired missing-nin were relieved that their leader had chosen to retreat to fight another day. Almost in unison, they all leaped away, and disappeared among the trees, followed by Kakuzu.

"Fu!" the Chunin of the Animal Squad shouted, as they rushed to hug her.

"Guys, you have no idea how happy I am to see you!" Fu gushed, as tears fell down her cheeks.

"You're hurt. Let me heal you," Shino offered, as he placed a hand on one of her visible wounds, which started to glow with a green light.

"Fu, that Akatsuki said that your village was his. Can you explain what did he mean?" Kakashi asked, shedding his usual nonchalant tone for a far more serious one.

Fu nodded, and as Shino healed her, she told the Konoha ninja about Takigakure's attack, how those two Akatsuki and their army had pretty much crushed what resistance they had put up, mostly to get their hands on her and extract her Tailed Beast. She wasn't sure if Shibuki was still alive, but she hoped for the best.

"Akatsuki is far more powerful than we feared if they were able to take down a ninja village with such ease and celerity," Haku grimly noted. He remembered far too well the massive efforts the Kiri rebellion had to make in order to have a chance at conquering the city.

"It would be in any other village's case, but in Takigakure, not so much," Shino interjected.

"Huh? Why do you say that, Shino?" Naruto asked.

"Takigakure is one of the least populated ninja villages," it was Fu who replied. "And as such, most of our ninjas are always out doing missions in order to bring money to the village. That means that we don't have that many people protecting the village in case of attack."

"If that's the case, how is that your village hasn't been invaded before?" Haku asked.

"Because our village is actually hidden. Every way to enter the village is a fiercely guarded secret," Fu mentioned.

"It's true. Not even I have been considered trustworthy enough to be made privy of such secrets. Whenever I came to the village, I was told to put on a bag on my head as a ninja lead me both inside and outside," Shino explained.

"Wait, then how do your potential clients can ask for missions, if they can't even enter the village?" Kiba asked.

"We do have several outposts on nearby towns that take mission requests which are then sent to the village for their approval," Fu explained. "It may sound bothersome, but Takigakure has a pretty high rate of S-Rank missions successfully completed."

As Fu finished her brief explanation of how her village worked, Shino had also finished healing her.

"Okay, I healed most of your injuries, but it would be better if you were checked at a hospital, just in case. Can you stand up?" the Aburame heir asked.

"Yeah, thank you," Fu replied, as she got back on her feet. Then, almost all Konoha ninja minus Shino and Kakashi flinched and gasped. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Just...WHAT THE HELL DO THEY FEED YOU!?" Naruto screamed.

While Naruto's reaction might seem exaggerated, it was far from unwarranted. Everybody remembered Fu as the short, scrawny girl whose massive strength was deceptive. It wasn't the case anymore.

Fu had grown. A lot. Now that she was standing up, they could see she pretty much towered above all her Konoha friends, standing a full head taller, and even had a few centimeters on Kakashi. And that was far from her only change. Her previous scrawny build had vanished, replaced by a far more muscular one, and while not as curvaceous as Hinata or even Tamaki, she still retained a feminine figure. Her affinity for extremely revealing white clothes remained the same, though.

"Wow, now that I get a better look at you guys...you got so short!" Fu observed, almost giggling. "I thought it was just Shino, but it seems that you Konoha guys need to eat more greens!"

"Sorry to interrupt this moment, but we need to take Fu back to Konoha. You can talk and do some catch up later," Kakashi interjected.

Nobody could deny the truth in those words, as they all nodded, and headed towards Konoha.

…

 _Takigakure, a few hours later_

Hidan took a deep breath, and exhaled, moaning a little. He was in such good mood. He didn't remember when was the last time he witnessed such a blood spilling of this scale, and he was going to savor every second of it, make sure the sight of the corpses everywhere, burning buildings and overall wanton destruction would be burned into his retinas for the rest of his life.

Jashin-sama was happy, he could feel it in his heart. He had ample opportunity to use his Curse jutsu with powerful ninjas, the kind of sacrifice his god valued the most. In turn, Hidan's strength had multiplied, and would remain at that level in the foreseeable future.

The Takigakure defenders had surrendered already; those who were alive were on their knees with their arms on the back of their heads. Who would have guessed that taking over a village was so easy?

"Hidan-sama?" one of his cultists asked, as he walked towards him. "The village is now secured. Those who refused to surrender have been killed or managed to escape."

"Good. You did a good service to Jashin-sama, acolyte. You should feel proud," Hidan praised the cultist.

"Thank you," the acolyte said, making a slight bow. "What shall we do with the prisoners? Should we sacrifice them?"

"Tempting, but for the time being, let's keep them alive. I'd like to have some stock for the future," Hidan instructed. "Besides, I know for a fact that Kakuzu would get mad as shit if I decided to do something like that without asking him first, and I don't want my good mood to be ruined by one of his fucking dressing downs. Lock them down somewhere safe."

"As you wish, Hidan-sama," the acolyte replied, as he went to communicate Hidan's instructions to the rest of their forces.

At that moment, a group of ninjas entered the village. Everybody was startled for a bit, but relaxed upon realizing that they were part of their own forces, lead by the other Akatsuki.

"Speaking of the devil, he took his sweet time to get his sorry ass back," Hidan said, as he walked towards his partner. "Oi, Kakuzu!"

Kakuzu didn't greet Hidan. The Jashin high priest noticed that Kakuzu looked dour. Well, dourer than usual, since that mask made the Taki missing-nin a bit hard to read. The fact that he didn't appear to have the jinchuriki with him probably had something to do with it. He was holding something in one of his hands.

"Hey, why the long face?" Hidan asked in an irritatingly teasing tone. "No jinchuriki? Did she escape you, uh? Hehe!"

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at Hidan, and clenched his fists. But refrained himself from attacking.

"Yes, the jinchuriki escaped, regrettably so. She was somehow able to call for reinforcements from another village," Kakuzu told his partner. He then took a look at the ravaged village. "It seems like things have gone well since my absence."

"They would have gone better if you did your job and caught the fucking girl," Hidan needled him, before deciding to ask about the item Kakuzu was carrying. "What the hell is that?"

Kakuzu showed Hidan what appeared to be a pair or rather large insect wings. "I managed to tear her wings apart. Though I admit I don't know if she can regrow them."

"Hehe, you did brought something of the jinchuriki after all. Too bad that shit's worthless," Hidan laughed. Upon seeing Kakuzu's scowl, he decided to change the topic. "But yeah, the village is pretty much ours now. I ordered all our prisoners to be locked up. It is okay with you?"

"Yes, you did good," Kakuzu nodded. "Even if the jinchuriki escaped from our grip, we still have this village and a good chunk of its inhabitants under our control. She will return, sooner rather than later."

"You know she won't return alone, right?" Hidan told him.

"I'm aware of the possibility. In fact, I already met some of the ninjas that she'll probably bring with her in an effort to take the village back," Kakuzu replied.

"And what are we going to do then? Should we ask help from Akatsuki?" Hidan asked.

Kakuzu shook his head. "No. She will make the mistake of thinking that we care about keeping this village. We'll use that for our advantage. Is the Takigakure leader alive?"

"Nobody touched him since you ordered it. How is more money going to solve anything?" Hidan asked, rolling his eyes.

"I wasn't talking about the bounty. Well, not yet. I noticed that the girl was quite attached to him. Listen, Hidan, this is what we're going to do..."

…

 _Konoha, a few hours later_

The sun was starting to set when the group of eight finally arrived at Konoha. Exhaustion started to wash over their bodies, as they finally allowed themselves to relax, knowing that, for the time being, danger had finally passed.

"I think it's too late to give the Hokage the report of our mission, so we'll give it to him tomorrow," Kakashi decided, before his eye rested on Fu. "Now, I think that the first thing to do is to send you to the hospital to check that you're okay, or get you fixed if there's something that's not."

"I feel fine," Fu happily replied. "I really don't need to go."

"It's better not to take any chances. Come on, I'll walk you there," Shino offered.

Fu let out a defeated sigh, and slouched childishly. "Okaaaaay..."

"As for you, Naruto, the moment you see Hokage-sama, you should tell him of what had transpired in Taki. We're going to take decisive actions against the threat of the Akatsuki," Kakashi told the blond.

Naruto nodded in return. "I was planning to. Thankfully Taki is an ally of Konoha, so this won't be seen as meddling into another village's affair."

"Technically speaking, that's not the case anymore," Haku interjected. Upon seeing Naruto's confused stare, he elaborated. "Just like how Kiri's old alliances were nullified when Mei took over, Taki is now under Akatsuki's control. Their alliance with Konoha is void until the previous regime is reinstated."

"Even then, I doubt any village will take us attacking a village occupied by Akatsuki as a pretext for war," Naruto replied. "If they do, they'd be pledging their support to the organization."

"A fair point. But there's still much to discuss before we decide what to do," Kakashi replied. "We'll talk about this tomorrow. Now try to get some rest all of you."

And the silver haired Jonin Body Flickered away, leaving a poof of smoke behind.

"Let's better do what Kakashi-sensei said. After running so fast toward Taki, and then back to Konoha, I'm kind of tired," Kiba mentioned. Akamaru yawned emphatically.

"Then it's a good thing we didn't have to fight, or else you'd be so exhausted, you wouldn't have been of any help," Tamaki sneered, giggling a little.

"Even asleep, I sure can be of more help that you at your best," Kiba fired back. "Come on Akamaru, let's go home."

Tamaki just stuck her tongue at the Inuzuka, before she let put a yawn. "I think I'll go home as well. See you later, guys."

With Tamaki gone, the Assault Squad was left alone.

"You know, sometimes I wonder when those two are going to get together," Hinata commented, letting out a giggle.

"I know, right? Their constant bickering is starting to get stale," Haku added.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Naruto asked his teammates.

"Kiba-kun and Tamaki-san," Hinata replied.

"Those two? Getting together?" Naruto asked in disbelief. "But they are constantly arguing!"

"Yeah. But deep down, they do care a lot for each other. They're simply afraid of confronting their mutual feelings," Hinata explained. "When they met, their animosity was genuine, but as soon as they got to know each other better, those feelings changed. They're simply too stubborn to admit it."

"None of the couples I know ever behave that way," Naruto pointed out.

"Maybe not at the beginning, but some started out that way. They won't argue as much once they move past that childish phase," Haku added as well.

"Well, I'm so glad that Hinata-hime and I were never that way. Otherwise, it would have suck," Naruto said.

"Just like how not all persons are the same, not all couples are the same either. We did start out as friends, but that doesn't necessarily apply to everybody," Hinata told him. "Anyway, I think I'm heading home. I have to apologize to Hanabi-chan for leaving in the middle of her fight. I also have to ask her how did it go."

"Oh damn, the Chunin Exams! I totally forgot about that!" Naruto sheepishly admitted. "I better do the same with Hagane and Kaida. Maybe I should buy them something just in case."

"Your little siblings seem to demand a lot from you," Haku observed. "I'm kind of worried about the time Seiichi-kun grows up."

After that, the three members of the Assault Squad went their separate ways.

…

The next day, just like with their own Chunin Exams, the promotion ceremony took place in front of the Hokage's Tower. So far, only one team was found worthy of being promoted to Chunin, and to no one's surprise, it was that composed by Hanabi, Hagane and Kaida. The three of them were proudly standing in the podium, holding their diplomas and flak jackets.

"Despite their youth and relative lack of experience, these girls and boy have proven in front of everybody that they're more than deserving of the Chunin rank! Let's give them the congratulations they deserve!"

The public loudly cheered and clapped, as the newly minted Chunin smiled and waved at them. before they finally stepped down and joined the crowd, heading towards their respective families. Hikari, Hinata, and a group of other Hyugas were expecting Hanabi.

"Look mother, Chunin on my first try, just like nee-chan!" Hanabi proudly announced.

"In fact, you managed to become Chunin a year younger than I was," Hinata pointed out, smiling. "Then again, of the two of us, you're the one with the most talent, Hanabi-chan."

Hanabi crossed her arms, and frowned. "Yeah, sure. I know you only said that to make me feel better. You don't have to. I'm not a baby, you know? I'm aware of how strong you are, even before the Tenseigan."

"But Hanabi-chan, for mother and I you'll always be our baby," Hinata said, giggling.

Hanabi stuck her tongue at her sister, before she went to show her trophies to the rest of the Hyugas gathered there. Hinata, meanwhile, shook her head.

"Hanabi-chan's so blinded by her admiration towards me, that she can't see how much farther than me is she going to go," Hinata said.

"No matter how much stronger than you Hanabi becomes, she'll never stop kissing the ground you walk. You're an amazing big sister, Hinata," Hikari praised her, making Hinata to blush a little.

"Well...I try," Hinata sheepishly replied.

"Especially after you passed her half of your Six Paths Chakra so she could awaken a Tenseigan as well," Hikari recalled. "She will never forget such a gesture, no matter what."

"I felt it was the right thing to do. I meant everything I said when you appointed me as the new clan head," Hinata firmly replied.

"By the way, how is the training with the Tenseigan going?" Hikari asked.

"Slowly, but we're progressing," Hinata replied. "We're still having some trouble with the flight, though."

"Flight is a very rare ability, so you won't find many teachers," Hikari pointed out. "As far as I know, there's a jutsu used in Iwa that allows one to fly by making reducing your weight. However, it's a fiercely guarded secret that's only taught from one Tsuchikage to the next. There may be another jutsu that allows one to fly, but I don't know any other."

"Wait...I do know somebody who can fly," Hinata's lips formed a smile. "In fact, we rescued and brought her to the village not long ago. I think she'll be more than happy to lend Hanabi-chan and I a hand."

Meanwhile, Hagane and Kaida were showing their diploma and flak jackets to their parents (Jiraiya was now among the crowd), Shizune, Shisui, their kids, and finally Naruto.

"It's a pity you had to go on that mission, Naruto-niisan, if you could had seen us," Kaida said.

"All Chunin Exam matches are recorded. I'm sure Naruto will be able to see you once Hokage-sama gives us a tape of it," Shizune pointed out.

"In fact, why don't I ask dad about it now? That way, we can see your matches tonight all together," Naruto suggested with a smile, as he looked at Jiraiya.

"Sure, I'll ask for a copy of the tapes. Being Hokage, there shouldn't be any problem," Jiraiya said with a shrug.

"That would be great!" Kaida agreed, nodding fervently.

"Alright then, it's settled," Naruto replied. "Say, dad, why don't you go to the tower to get the tape, and since we're at it, we discuss the Taki job more thoroughly?"

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. Now that the Chunin Exams are finally over, I can spend more time and resources on working on the Akatsuki threat. Come on, let's go."

After bidding Tsunade, Shizune and all the kids a "see you later", Naruto and Jiraiya headed to the tower, while the rest went back to their respective homes.

…

 _Hokage's Tower, Ten Minutes Later_

Naruto thought that Jiraiya would take him to his office, but was surprised to see that they actually headed for the council room. There, three people were already waiting: Hiruzen Sarutobi, Rasa, and Mei Terumi.

"Kazekage-dono, Mizukage-dono, sorry for making you stay longer than you intended, but there's an important issue that needs to be addressed, and think it's to your interest," Jiraiya began, sounding ominous. "We got recent news that Takigakure has been invaded and taken over by the Akatsuki."

Both his fellow Kages and his predecessor Hokage reacted immediately. Shock was more evident in Rasa and Mei's faces, while Sarutobi merely frowned.

"C-Come again?" Mei asked, almost choking.

"That's...unbelievable..." Rasa added. "I know Akatsuki is powerful, but to think that they can topple a ninja village like that..."

"If I remember correctly, Takigakure had a jinchuriki. The only of the minor villages to have one," Hiruzen recalled. "What has been of them? Do Akatsuki have yet another Tailed Beast?"

"Thankfully no," it was Naruto who replied. "Fu, the jinchuriki, managed to contact me through the link of our Tailed Beasts, and we could save her before it was too late. She's now in Konoha, under our protection."

"If Akatsuki knows that, then this village is also a target for them," Mei somberly noted.

"Konoha's might is much greater than Taki. If they plan to attack our village, they're in for a nasty surprise," Jiraiya firmly stated, angry at the notion of Akatsuki daring to do such a thing.

"I wouldn't be so confident. Akatsuki is growing bolder with each passing day. If they can take down a village, even a minor one, I wouldn't assume they can't do the same with our villages," Rasa noted.

"The difference is that while Suna and Kiri don't have jinchuriki anymore, Konoha now houses two," Mei added.

"It's not the same," Naruto interceded. "Takigakure has a very low number of ninjas compared to our villages, and thus their defense force is much smaller as well. To compensate, their defenses rely mostly on their secret entrances. If somebody finds out about those entrances, well, getting an invading force into the village wouldn't be that hard."

"Even then, it would be wise if we reinforce our own defenses, just in case Akatsuki does dare to attack us," Hiruzen noted. Jiraiya nodded in return.

"Anyway, you can imagine the reason for which I requested your presence here," Jiraiya said. "We can't allow a village, now matter how small, to remain under Akatsuki's control. Konoha is coordinating a counter-attack with those Taki ninjas who escaped the invasion with their lives, or those who were away on missions while the invasion happened. I'd like for Suna and Kiri to lend us a hand, if possible."

A deafening silence fell upon the council room. Rasa was the first one to break it with a heavy sigh, before opening his mouth to speak.

"In another time I would have declined," Rasa admitted. "My loyalty is to Suna and Suna only, but given what Akatsuki did to us, and that if it wasn't for Konoha, my son would be dead, I think I can't decline such requests."

"Think that, by helping us weaken Akatsuki, you'll be protecting Suna from their threat," Hiruzen told Rasa.

Rasa, however, let out a snort. "Akatsuki already took what they wanted from Suna. I seriously doubt that they'll come after us again."

"That's an unwise line of thought, Kazekage-dono. After all, what do you think it will be of Suna, as well as pretty much every ninja village, once Akatsuki fulfill their goal and capture all Tailed Beasts?" Hiruzen asked.

Rasa's face lost all color upon thinking in such scenario. He gulped uneasily. "You make a fair point, Sarutobi-san. Suna will help you in your fight against this threat."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jiraiya said, as he turned his sight on the pregnant Mizukage. "How about you, Mizukage?"

"Given how much Konoha has done for Kiri, I have even less reason than the Kazekage to turn down such request," Mei admitted, smiling. "Not to mention, Sarutobi-san's words hold a lot of truth. We can't let this issue snowball to a point beyond no return. Though keep in mind that, due the distance between our villages, moving Kiri ninjas all the way to Taki might take us a considerable amount of time. When is the counterattack due?"

"As soon as possible. Probably in less than a week's time. We already have a strategy to draw the Akatsuki out of the village, making the counterattack easier," Jiraiya stated.

Mei pondered the Hokage's words. "Very well then. Even if I can't promise that my forces will arrive in time, I'll also send help in the form of food, medicine and other supplies for Taki once the Akatsuki have been ousted and they begin rebuilding."

"Very well, thanks a lot for both your help, Kazekage-dono, Mizukage-dono," Jiraiya said, as both he, Hiruzen and Naruto bowed before them.

"Alright. In that case, I should better return to Suna and prepare our forces for the operation," Rasa stated.

"And I'll do the same as well," Mei replied.

"Alright. Then we can consider this meeting finished. I presume you'd want to return to your home villages as soon as possible," Jiraiya correctly sensed. "I'll start planning the counter-attack with my councilors immediately. I'll send you a toad messenger once we're ready to strike.

The other two Kage nodded, before they stood up and left the room.

…

 _Training Ground 8_

Hinata and Hanabi were standing in front of Fu. The green haired jinchuriki's smile was wider than usual. She cleared her throat before she started to speak.

"Hello, and welcome to Fu's Fantastic Flight lessons! My name is Fu, but you may call me...Fu-sensei, hehe," the bubbly girl giggled. "It has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

Hinata and Hanabi looked at each other awkwardly, before a pair of Tenseigan rested on Fu again.

"Okay...what do we do first, Fu-sensei?"

"Let's start with some warm up exercises!" Fu brightly stated, as her two insect-like wings protruded from her back. "First, deploy your wings!"

Once again, the two Hyuga sisters stared at each other awkwardly, until Hanabi raised her hand.

"Yes, mini-Hinata?" Fu asked.

"My name is Hanabi," the annoyed Hyuga youth corrected. "And...we don't have wings."

Fu reacted as if she had a bucket of cold water splashed at her. "Say what?"

"What Hanabi said. We don't have wings," Hinata repeated.

"Then how can you fly?" Fu asked, almost indignant.

"We don't know, we just...can?" Hinata unsurely said.

Then, to prove her words were true, both Hinata and Hanabi's feet stopped touching the grassy ground, as the two sisters elevated about half a meter above it. Fu opened her eyes very wide as her iris shrunk. She then came closer to the floating sisters, and carefully inspected them.

"Amazing..." Fu said in almost a whisper. "You two are clearly floating..." she moved to inspect their backs. "...but you have no visible wings. This is unbelievable!"

"Can you still teach us how to fly?" Hanabi asked.

"Sure!" Fu cheerfully said, her previous amazement vanishing as if it was never there to begin with. "Though your lack of wings threw me off. I'll have to restart my teaching plan from scratch...oh well, improvising is always more fun!"

Hanabi leaned towards Hinata. "Nee-chan, do you think that this girl is qualified to teach us?" the younger sister asked.

"She may look a bit loopy, but Fu-sensei is a very strong kunoichi, and a Jonin. I'm sure we're in good hands," Hinata reassured Hanabi.

"Okay, first of all we should- OH MY GOD, A SQUIRREL!" Fu yelled, as she started chasing the rodent. "Come here, squirrel! I want you to become my pet!"

"...she's the only one who knows how to fly, so she'll have to do," Hinata said, letting out a defeated sigh.

…

 _Takigakure_

On a safe room protected against potential spies, Kakuzu and Hidan were in front of an astral projection of the Akatsuki leader, and that unnamed woman that was always by his side.

"So, you managed to take over your former village, but the jinchuriki escaped, am I right?" the leader asked. Kakuzu's silence was all the answer he needed. "Disappointing."

"Oh come on, we took over a fucking village, give us some slack!" Hidan protested, throwing his hands in the air. "How is this different from what you guys did with Hanzo?"

"Because the world at large thinks that Hanzo is still alive and in charge of Amegakure, and thus nobody suspects that our village is under Akatsuki's control," the woman harshly replied. "On the other hand, you embarked on open warfare. Upon seeing what we can do, the other villages will watch out for us."

"You talk as if that didn't happen already," Kakuzu replied. "Everybody knows our involvement in the Kirigakure Civil War, as well as the village's previous state. Not to mention the ruckus caused by the abduction of the Kazekage's son. Han's capture was easy to hide due his self-imposed isolation, but we won't be able to do the same with the other jinchuriki. Besides, I promised that I'd increase Akatsuki's resources, and I brought a whole village."

"The jinchuriki is more valuable than any village, Kakuzu," the leader replied, fixing a hard stare on him. "Do not let your love for money deviate from what should be your mission. I really hope you have a plan to capture her."

"I do. I told her that for every day that passes before she surrenders to us, we'll start killing her fellow villagers in small groups," Kakuzu mentioned. "Hidan here is more than happy to carry such threat."

Hidan nodded fervently. "So many sacrifices for Jashin-sama...I can't believe we didn't do this before."

"I already anticipated that she'll bring reinforcements to Konoha in an attempt to retake the village. When she appears, taking advantage of the chaos of the ensuing battle, Hidan and I will isolate her and capture her," Kakuzu explained.

"You seem to be really confident in your plan," the woman noted.

"Aren't you afraid of losing the village while you're capturing the jinchuriki?" the leader asked.

"You yourself stated that the village comes second to the jinchuriki. And even if such thing happen, the other villages will think that Akatsuki is weaker than they thought and that there's nothing to be afraid of, prompting them to lower their guard, and making catching future jinchuriki all the easier," Kakuzu explained.

There was a moment of tense silence as the leader pondered Kakuzu's words. He seemed to agreed, as his head moved in a nodding gesture.

"Very well. Given that you two proved to be competent in the past, I'll leave it to you two to fix the mistake you made. I hope to hear from you two soon," the leader omniously said, as he and his female partner's projections disappeared.

Kakuzu exited the safe room, followed by Hidan. The two thugs guarding it stood to attention when their boss walked past them, but quickly relaxed and went to do something else once the new leader of Takigakure no longer required their services. After that, the two Akatsuki exited the building they were in, which was Shibuki's old residence.

"Man, what a dress down leader-sama gave us," Hidan said, sounding amused, as he shook his head. "Are you sure that that bitch is coming back? If I were Konoha, I'd lock the jinchuriki up somewhere safe, toss the key into a river, and kill everybody who knew about her."

"Yes, that would be the wisest thing to do," Kakuzu would never imagined he'd indirectly call the religious fanatic 'wise'. "But given the way Konoha manages its jinchuriki, it won't be the case. She'll want to take part in the counterattack, she will argue that her strength and power are needed to beat us, and those Konoha fools, following feelings over reason, will let her. Then, we will capture her and let this wretched village burn to the ground."

"Leader-sama did make a good point there. Things didn't go according to the plan the last time. Why are you confident they will go now?" Hidan asked.

"The jinchuriki being able to call for help from Konoha being so far from the village was something I would have never foreseen. This time, however, will be different. Now it's our enemies' turn to move," Kakuzu answered. "I had much time to study both Konoha and its current Hokage. I know what they will do. If our goal was to keep this village, then I'd worry. But snatching the jinchuriki will be easy if you do what I say."

"We are always doing what you fucking say," Hidan dryly replied, rolling his eyes.

"Because I'm the one with the most experience. Even if it wasn't the case, I'm also the one with the most common sense," Kakuzu coldly replied, narrowing his eyes at his silver haired partner.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Your plan sounded all nice and shit, but how are we going to isolate the jinchuriki from the rest of the attack force?" Hidan questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Because I doubt that they be willing to leave her alone."

"I'm counting on that. That's where the previous leader of this village, Shibuki, comes to play. When I fought the two of them, I noticed they were pretty close. While they don't look to be related, they treated each other as if they were family. " Kakuzu stated.

"How the fuck does he have to do with this? Do you plan to use him as a hostage or something?" Hidan asked.

"Yes. I'm not going to force the jinchuriki to trade his life for hers, since I know such thing won't work. However, she will more than likely try to free him. But most of the forces will be preoccupied with taking the village back. So we'll take Shibuki away from the battle, to a battleground far away from the village, and we'll make sure no reinforcements can reach her," Kakuzu explained.

"Even then, if she's as retarded as to take the bait, she won't come alone," Hidan pointed out.

"No, she won't. But we should be more than able to deal with any rabble she's assigned as an escort," Kakuzu replied. He then handed Hidan something. "Take this."

Hidan looked at the item puzzled. "What the hell is this?"

Kakuzu explained Hidan what the item in question was.

"I see. But I don't think I'll need it. As long as Jashin-sama is with me, my enemies will never know victory," Hidan boasted.

"I don't doubt that. But keep it with you just in case," Kakuzu said in a warning tone. "Now, one last thing: the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails, a loud mouthed brat, will be more than likely one of the jinchuriki of the Seven Tails' escorts. He's a powerful master of Senjutsu, but I doubt he'll be able to bypass your immortality. I need you to deal with him, but I need you not to kill him either."

Hidan rolled his eyes, and snorted in annoyance. "I'm starting to get sick of this no killing rule..."

"The rule is just for the jinchuriki. You can go broke for the rest for all that I care," Kakuzu dismissively replied.

"In that case, I better prepare some worthy sacrifices to appease Jashin-sama beforehand," Hidan decided.

"Do as you wish. I'm going to prepare the village for the imminent attack, as well as the battlefield where we'll capture at least one jinchuriki," Kakuzu said, before he and his partner went their own ways.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Fu did survive this encounter. I can already hear all your collective gasps of relief.**

 **Though it's not that she came out of this unscratched. Her home village now belongs to Akatsuki, and the man she loved like an older brother is now their prisoner, and they plan to use him as bait for her. And while Fu might enjoy some peace in the next chapter, soon she'll have to address Kakuzu's threat and head to Takigakure in order to help her people.**

 **Thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Not much else to say here. Just tell me your thoughts on this chapter in a review, since reviews make me really, really, really happy.**


	61. Training for the Dangers to Come

**Author's Note: I love how everybody's enjoying Fu's return. Well, here's more Fu goodness for you to dive into:  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 61:**

Training for the Dangers to Come  


 _or_

 _Teaching is not as easy as it looks_

 _Hokage's Tower_

It was early in the morning, and Naruto knew that his father wouldn't have any kind of meeting until at least two hours. However, when he arrived at his office, he found through Jiraiya's secretary that it wasn't the case, as somebody was already in the office discussing something with the Hokage.

"But...who the hell requests a meeting with the Hokage this soon?" Naruto asked, a bit frustrated.

"...you did?" the secretary, a middle aged woman with graying brown hair, replied. "And if you're wondering no, I'm not allowed to disclose such information with anybody. Not even with his son."

Naruto huffed, and crossed his arms. "And how long until dad's free again? This is kind of important!"

"Everybody who wants to meet the Hokage thinks they have important matters to discuss," the secretary snarked at Naruto.

Fortunately, the blond didn't have to wait much, and in a few minutes, the door to the office opened, and the last person Naruto was expecting his dad would see this soon in the morning walked out.

"Ino?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Oh, hello, Naruto. Sorry if you wanted to talk with your dad and I made you wait. He's free now," Ino said with a friendly smile.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked. He sounded more curious than demanding.

"I was giving Hokage-sama the report of my latest mission," Ino replied, as if stating something obvious.

"At this hour?" Naruto asked, scratching his temple. There was something fishy about Ino, but couldn't tell what.

Ino merely shrugged. "The sooner I do it, the sooner it's out of my hair. Anyway, I should get going, I have plenty of stuff to do today. See you later, Naruto!" Ino happily waved him goodbye as she left the office.

Naruto shrugged, and entered the Hokage's office, where Jiraiya was sitting by his desk.

"Oh, hello, Naruto. What can I do for you?" Jiraiya asked.

"I came to ask you something. But first, what was Ino doing here?" Naruto asked.

"She was giving me the report of her latest mission. Nothing you should worry about," Jiraiya added, noticing that Naruto's encounter with Ino left him a bit uneasy. "Anyway, what do you want to ask me?"

Naruto took a seat. "It's about Fu."

...

 _Land of the Waterfalls, undisclosed location_

Kakashi was leaping from one tree branch to the other, as he was heading towards his destination. He looked at the sun, at his highest point in the sky, indicating it was high noon. The Copy Ninja felt satisfied with how fast he had managed to reach the country that hosted one of their former allies. Though with some luck, said alliance should be restored.

"Okay..." Kakashi mumbled, looking around. "This is the zone, but I have no idea where I should go..."

The silver haired Jonin continued to move forward, expecting to see some patrols or sentries that may direct him to the place he should go. He wondered if he should summon his tracking dogs and have them find the place for him.

His thoughts were interrupted when his uncovered eye saw multiple kunai flying at him from higher tree branches. Fast as lightning, Kakashi pulled a kunai of his own, and while jumping backwards, deflected the incoming knives he was unable to dodge.

"Ah, I was wondering where you'd guys show up," Kakashi nonchalantly said as he let himself fall to the ground below.

Two ninja wearing Takigakure headbands emerged from the canopies, a woman in her twenties with light blue hair tied in a ponytail, and a tall man about ten years older than her, with undercut black hair, a moustache and a small goatee. The man started to make hand seals.

"Water Release: Syrup Shot!"

The man expelled a stream blue jelly-like liquid from his mouth, which immobilized Kakashi and glued him to the ground when it hit his body.

"Yakari, now!" the man stated.

The blue haired woman nodded as he leaped at Kakashi, doing hand seals before winding her fist back.

"Fire Release: Combusting Fist!"

Yakari's fist burst into flames, before punching Kakashi with it, producing a considerable fiery blast. However, when the smoke caused by the explosion dispelled, there was only a charred log behind, much to her shock.

"Oh, shit! Where is he?" the Taki kunoichi asked.

"Right here," Kakashi said, not dropping his nonchalant tone, as he appeared behind the mustachioed man, and placed a kunai on his throat. "Whew, you guys know how to treat a guest, don't you? With such a warm welcome, no wonder Hokage-sama send me to deliver a mere message."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Yakari angrily asked, as she leaped into a branch close to Kakashi and the male Taki ninja.

"My name is Kakashi Hatake. I've been sent here by Jiraiya, Hokage of Konoha, in order to inform the Takigakure Resistance –which I presume you two are members of– about the incoming attack on your village to drive the Akatsuki out."

There was a moment of silence, as if the two ninjas were trying to discern if Kakashi's words were true, or if it was a trick by their enemy.

"Taeshi?" Yakari asked her partner.

Taeshi nodded, making sure not to touch Kakashi's kunai. "He...he's telling the truth."

"Oh, a sensor type, I see," Kakashi said, as he removed the kunai from Taeshi's throat. "Now that everything's been clarified, can you take me to your base camp? Like I said before, I have a message that I have to deliver to whoever is in charge of the Resistance. And no, I can't tell you the message to you two. My orders explicitly said the Resistance leader, or leaders if there's more than one," Kakashi clarified, before the two sentries had the chance to protest.

"Alright, it seems that you're telling the truth. We'll take you there," Taeshi said, as he started to look for something inside his ninja tool pouch.

"Sorry for attacking you, Kakashi-san," Yakari apologized, as she made a slight head bow. "But you have to understand our situation, with our village lost-"

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, dismissing her apology with a hand wave. "I know what you guys are going through, and I think I wouldn't be too trusting with strangers if I were in your shoes."

"Before we go, however, you must put this on your head," Teashi said, as he handed Kakashi a black cotton bag. "Nothing personal, but all non-Taki ninjas, even allies from other villages, can't know the location of our base."

"Of course. I can't believe I wasn't expecting it," Kakashi said, as he took the bag and placed it on his head. "Guess I won't be able to enjoy the sights this country has to offer while you guys take me there. Pity."

Taeshi carried the blinded Kakashi piggyback as he and his partner headed towards their base camp. After about fifteen minutes –Kakashi was sure they made several detours so he'd have a harder time remembering the way with his other senses, they arrived the base camp, and the silver haired Jonin was allowed to see again.

Kakashi found himself entering campsite. It was exactly as he imagined: several rows of camping tents, some bigger than others,a few piles of crates containing what he guessed would be supplies of the both the battle kind, such a kunai and shuriken, and necessary goods like food or medicine, torches scattered around –all of them unlit, given that it was daytime–, and Taki ninjas doing a variety of activities, such a menial tasks, talking, sparring, sharpening their weapons, and so on...

The Copy Ninja saw a small group of Taki ninja walking towards him. Leading them was a square-jawed man with spiky black hair. For some reason, he had the feeling he had seen this man somewhere.

"Yoro-sama," Yakari began. "This is Kakashi Hatake, from Konoha. He brings news from his village."

"Very well then. Welcome to our camp. This pretty much what the true Takigakure is now," Yoro told Kakashi, as he spread his arms in an enthusiastic manner.

"Thankfully, things won't stay like this for much longer. Hokage-sama has ensured the cooperation of both Sunagakure and Kirigakure. With three Great Villages joining forces, retaking Takigakure will be child's play," Kakashi explained, as he gave Yoro an -eye-smile.

Yoro smiled in return, letting out a sigh of relief. "It's really good to hear that. Morale will improve a lot when our comrades hear we're going to have such a huge support."

"Hokage-sama knows the threat of Akatsuki, especially since his oldest son is a jinchuuriki," Kakashi told him.

"Oh, speaking of which, what happened with Fu? I heard rumors that she managed to escape to Konoha, but we were unable to confirm them. Is that true? Is she in Konoha? Is she alright?"

"Fu is alright, you have nothing to worry about her. We're taking good care of her," Kakashi said in a reassuring manner.

Yoro chuckled. "Heh, good luck with that. Fu can be quite the real handful, despite her age and rank. She didn't grow up, she just became bigger."

"Oh, now I remember," Kakashi said in realization. "You were one of the two ninjas that came with her during the past Chunin Exams held in Konoha, right?"

Yoro laughed awkwardly. "I can't believe you still remember that. I thought that Fu would get all the spotlight, given that Kegon and I faked our defeats during the preliminaries."

"I usually have very good memory for faces," Kakashi stated. "I knew that there was something suspicious about you two, but when I heard that you were Jonin..."

"Shibuki-sama was afraid that sending Fu to another village unprotected would be too risky. That's why he sent us with her," Yoro explained.

"Wait, doesn't Fu had her own teammates or sensei? Why did you have to go through such charade that the Hokage ended up finding out anyway?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, Fu...she doesn't have a squad in the traditional sense of the word," Yoro replied, sounding uneasy.

Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow. "Elaborate, please."

"Fu had some trouble adapting to her squadmates. Between her...exuberant and eccentric personality, status as a jinchuuriki, and closeness with our village leader, she always ended up on bad terms with her teammates. She went through four different teams before we finally give up and decided to give her personalized tutoring," Yoro explained.

"I see. It wasn't just one of two things, but several elements that gave her a hard time making friends and connecting with others," Kakashi pointed out.

Yoro nodded. "Which was a pity, since Fu is one of friendliest persons that ever walked this world. We were glad she able to make friends during her short stay in Konoha. If she wasn't a jinchuriki, I'm sure Shibuki-sama would have let her go there for a visit from time to time."

"Though it's no coincidence that the people she ended up befriending were the friends and former classmates of Naruto Uzumaki, our village's jinchuriki. They more than likely were able to see past her status and judge her by the strength of her character."

"Knowing that she's okay in Konoha will also act as moral booster for our troops. We're the only minor village with a jinchuriki, and she's like a symbol of pride for all of us," Yoro stated.

"Soon you'll be proud of her, though not for the beast that hosts inside her body, but by the actions she will take to help liberate the village," Kakashi thought.

…

 _Training Ground 8_

"One of the requirements for a proper flight is to create a shield of chakra around your body, but mostly your face," Fu explained. "Not only to protect your body from the cold of higher attitudes, but also to stop dirt floating in the air to get into your eyes, as well as not accidentally swallow insects. Unless you like to do that, I'm not one to judge. Albeit Shino-kun isn't going to like if you do such a thing..."

As Fu's mind drifted into one of her rather usual aimless ramblings, Hinata and Hanabi followed their teacher through the sky. Right now, they were only slowly flying in circles as they learned the basics of proper flight.

The Hyuga sisters were rather surprised to learn how many things there were to flying. Fu made it look so easy, but that was only the years of experience showing. The chakra shield was only the tip of the iceberg: they had to learn how to sense wind currents in order to maximize their speed, how to jump from one wind current to the next, choose the proper attitude to fly depending on what speed did you want to go, adapt their stomachs to resist height-induced stomach sickness, and many more things. They would take a lot of time before they could reach Fu's level of expertise.

The mint haired girl interrupted her own ramble when she noticed that Hinata and Hanabi were struggling to keep her pace. She stopped mid air.

"Uh, am I going too fast?" she asked them.

The sisters stopped in front of her. At the very least, they had mastered how to remain in mid air stationary. Fu guessed it was their lack of a need for wings that allowed her to master rather quickly something she still had trouble with.

"Flying while keeping the shield active is far more complicated that I would have guessed," Hanabi admitted, her older sister nodding in agreement.

"Eh, it's like those chakra control exercises. Fighting somebody on a wall or on water was hard at first, but you get the hang of it with enough practice," Fu nonchalantly explained, as she shrugged. "So, you want to take a rest?"

Hinata looked at Hanabi, who looked back at her pleadingly.

"Yes, please. It would be appreciated," Hinata replied.

Fu's mouth formed a cheery smile. "Alright then!"

And with that, the three kunoichi landed on the ground. Fu's wings disappeared into her body. Hinata and Hanabi started to pant, as if they just made some brutal training exercise with Maito Gai.

"My, my, look at how exhausted you look!" Fu said, sounding so bright it was borderline obnoxious. "I'm not that strict of a teacher, am I?"

"No, but this...is, well...it's way harder than it looks," Hanabi replied between pants. Then, she smiled. "But it's really cool!"

"I know, right?" Fu replied, just as excited. "Those landwalkers will never know the amazing feeling of seeing the world from so high above. That's why, when I met Shino for the first time, I HAD to share such an experience with him. Occasional screaming aside, I think he enjoyed it."

"Hey, nee-chan, maybe you should take Naruto to a flying date!" Hanabi happily suggested.

"Now, that's something I wouldn't mind trying," Hinata said, as her lips formed a smile while her mind imagined the possibilities. "Though I don't think I'm strong enough to carry Naruto-kun into the air for long..."

"Oh, don't worry, I have the best solution! Just follow the same training Shibuki gave me, and soon your arms will be as thick as mine!" Fu proudly boasted as she flexed her rather impressive biceps.

"That's...tempting, but I think I'm going to pass," Hinata replied, trying to sound as polite as possible. "For the time being, let's stick to the flight, okay?"

Fu shrugged. "Your loss."

"Hey!" a new voice called.

The three girls turned towards the direction of the newcomer, and saw a smiling Naruto walking towards them.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, as she ran at him with renewed forces. She wrapped her arms around his neck and greeted him with a kiss on his lips.

"Hello, Hime," Naruto happily replied. "So, how's the training going?"

"Slow, but we're progressing," Hinata replied. "Did you come here to see us train?"

"Yes, but that's not the only thing," Naruto said. He then looked at the mint haired girl. "There's something I want to talk with Fu about."

Fu perked up upon hearing her name. "Oh, and what that would be?"

"I was wondering...are you able to tap into your Tailed Beasts' power?" Naruto asked.

Fu's smile instantly vanished, replaced by shock, then by another smile, except this time, it was far more subdued. She averted her gaze, looking at her feet.

"Wow, you don't pull any punches, do you? Hehe," she laughed weakly. "To answer that, no. I don't know how to use the power of my Beast."

"Did somebody in the village teach you how? Or have you ever practiced on your own?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto-kun, stop," Hinata gently requested. "Don't you see that you're making her uncomfortable? Such topic clearly troubles her."

Naruto sighed. "I know, Hime. But this is important," the blond stated, before his eyes turned back at Fu, who rubbed her arm as she continued averting eye contact.

"The answer to those questions are 'no' either," Fu replied. "After, well...you do remember what happened in my fight against Gaara almost three years ago, right?"

Naruto nodded. "It's something hard to forget. Did that experience make you fearful of the Tailed Beasts' power?"

Fu nodded. "I lost control. The Tailed Beast took over. And if the pale redhead didn't knock me out...who knows what would have happened. I brought great shame to both Shibuki and my village with such display."

Both Naruto and Hinata were taken aback, even if they managed to hide their reaction. Hearing Fu, somebody so carefree who gave the impression that she didn't have a care in the world about whatever other people think of her, admitting feeling ashamed, then that past event had to affect her way deeper than what she let others believe at that time.

"From that day onwards, I swore that I'd never let that incident repeat again. And that means no more using Lucky Seven's chakra, other than the wings," Fu said in determination, as she raised her sight and looked at Naruto directly in the eye.

"I see. And is there anything I can do to change your mind in that front?" Naruto asked, as she tried to give Fu a reassuring smile.

Fu raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want me to do that?"

"Think about it. Akatsuki are after us, and we're going to need every resource at our disposal to fight them. Using our Beasts' chakra would can give us the edge against the enemy in battle," Naruto told her.

Fu looked unconvinced. "What kind of control do you have over the Fox?"

Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Eh, not much. I can use his chakra to some degree, usually to one or two tails, if I push it. And even then I tend to have a hard time keeping in control."

The mint haired girl crossed her arms over her chest. "So you have the same problems as me. And you expect me to learn to use the power of Lucky Seven when you can't do the same with the Fox?"

"In my case, I have something else that serves as a replacement: Sage Mode."

"Sage Mode? Never heard of that," Fu replied.

"It's not an art many people are able to master. Long story short, you can draw nature's ambient energy and mix it with your own chakra. As a result, your body gets a massive boost in strength and endurance, and ninjutsu becomes far more powerful," Naruto explained. "The requirement to learn Sage Mode is that you need to have a rather large chakra pool in order to properly mix nature energy with your chakra. The larger your reserves, the easier you'll master Sage Mode."

When Naruto and Jiraiya went to Mount Myoboku to learn Sage Mode –or in the white haired man's case, to perfect it–, Naruto took a little more than a week to master it, and about half of that time was spent trying to understand how nature energy worked. Naruto even figured out a way to work around the Nine Tails making merging with Fukasaku or Shima impossible by using Shadow clones.

Naturally, Jiraiya was half amazed, half indignant, and wholly shocked, to see Naruto mastering Sage Mode in such a short amount of time while he struggled.

It was later revealed that the reason Naruto had such an easy time with nature energy was his colossal chakra reserves. It was like dissolving a spoonful of sugar in water; you'd have a hard time dissolving it on a few drops of water, but no problem with a large bucket. That's why large chakra reserves were a must to master Senjutsu.

So with that information, Jiraiya trained as much as he could in order to expand his chakra reserves until he got an acceptable level of control. Now, he only needed to merge with Fukasaku alone in order to activate Sage Mode, and could also use clones to gather nature energy like Naruto did.

"That sounds like fun! Why don't you teach me Sage Mode instead? I have pretty huge chakra reserves!" Fu excitedly suggested.

"I want to learn that too!" Hanabi piped in. "My chakra reserves got a boost after I awakened the Tenseigan!"

"And I'd love to teach it to you, but it's not that easy," Naruto replied, making the two girls to pout a little. "In order to be able to draw nature energy, you first need to get a taste out of it."

"How did you do it then?" Fu inquired.

"The toads of Mount Myoboku have some special oil that, when applied to the skin, makes your body draw nature energy on its own," Fu opened her mouth, but Naruto interrupted her. "And before you ask, no, you can't use that oil. The oil evaporates in a few seconds if it's taken out of Mount Myoboku. I don't know why."

"Maybe we could go to Mount Myoboku then?" Hanabi asked, almost pleasing.

Naruto shook his head again. "Only toad summoners can go there. And before you ask to become one, I find that unlikely. Summon tribes almost never accept more than two summoners at once."

Both Fu and Hanabi slumped in defeat, letting out depressed sighs.

"With so many obstacles, there's little wonder as for why there are so few Sages out there," Hinata commented.

"Besides," Naruto said, looking at Hanabi. "Why do you want to be a Sage so much? You already have the Tenseigan. From what I heard, it's a power beyond our wildest imagination."

"Duh, so I can have both," Hanabi replied, as if stating something obvious. "I'll do whatever it takes to be a kickass kunoichi like neechan!" she proudly stated, before throwing two quick punches into the air.

"I think you should focus on learning how to use the Tenseigan," Naruto said good naturedly. Then, he looked at Fu. "And you should try to learn to control your Tailed Beast's chakra. To some degree at least."

Fu let out a sight. "Okay, you win. You're no fun, you know that?"

"Oh, I'm plenty of fun!" Naruto replied, with a wide grin.

"So, who's going to train me to do it? You?" Fu asked.

"No, me!" a new male voice said, as Jiraiya landed behind Naruto, and started to make poses. "The Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku! The author of the successful Icha Icha Series! Konoha's Powerful and Handsome Fifth Hokage! The Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya!"

"Hokage-sama?" Hinata asked.

"Were you hidden near here all the time until you got a cue to come out?" Hanabi asked in disbelief.

"So what if I did? There's nothing wrong with being a little theatrical!" Jiraiya protested.

"You're going to train me? Nice!" Fu chirped.

Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "Nice? A living legend like yours truly is going to train you, and that's all what you have to say?"

"That's...very nice?" Fu asked, looking as if she trying really hard to think something else. "Is that better?"

"Uh, with all due respect Hokage-sama, I know it might not be my place to ask, but aren't you supposed to be working right now?" Hinata asked, trying to sound as deferential as possible.

"And I am. I'm a shadow clone reinforced with fuinjutsu for increased durability," Jiraiya explained. "Anyway, let's get to the training already! You too, Naruto! It's been a while since we last trained you on the Nine Tails' chakra!"

…

 _Training Ground Three_

After Hinata and Hanabi went home, Jiraiya took Naruto and Fu to another training field so he could start their specialized training.

"Okay, we'll invade Takigakure in a few days, so we'll only have time to teach you some basic stuff," Jiraiya's clone began. "First of all, tell me what do you know about your Tailed Beast."

Fu raised an eyebrow, looking a bit lost. "Uh...not much, honestly. Is it important?"

"It is," it was Naruto who answered. "The more you know about your Tailed Beast, the better you'll be able to use its power. Sometimes you'll need to ask for power. Others, you'll be able to take it by force. I mostly need to ask the Nine Tails for his chakra, but sometimes I'm able to do it without his permission."

"If you can do it without his permission, what stops you from doing it at all times?" Fu asked.

"Because when I do that, I usually do it unwittingly. If I'm overwhelmed by an intense emotion, like anger, I'm able to draw the Nine Tails' chakra. But I'm at risk of losing myself to the rage when doing it," Naruto explained.

Fu's eyes saddened. "Like what happened to me when I drank the Hero Water."

"Indeed. The water allowed you to tap into your Beast's chakra freely, but it also allowed it to influence you to a greater degree," Jiraiya interjected.

"In my experience, when it's the Beast the one who allows you to use their chakra, it's when there's the least risk in using it," Naruto added.

"Because you're in a calmer state of mind?" Fu guessed.

"Exactly," Naruto told her. Fu smiled and clapped childishly upon guessing it right. "That's why the first step is to try to create a bond with your Tailed Beast so they'll be willing to lend you their chakra."

Fu started to grow uneasy, as she started to rub her arm. "Uh...do you think that's a good idea?"

"Don't worry, I'm here if things go out of control. I have a set of sealing tags able to suppress Tailed Beast chakra," Jiraiya assured her.

"Well, we can try but..." Fu began, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"But?" Naruto asked.

"...but after the Chunin Exams, I kinda rebuffed all of Lucky Seven's attempts to talk with me. I don't think she'll be very eager to let it go."

Naruto was going to point out that it was thanks to her Tailed Beast that she was able to call for help and evade Akatsuki. But then again, it could also be the Beast saving her own skin. After all, he used a similar trick with the Nine Tails in order to get his chakra.

"Okay, now, let's try to make contact with your tailed beast. Given that we have two jinchuriki, I'll like to try something that I have been thinking. First of all, sit in front of each other with your legs crossed." Jiraiya instructed. Naruto and Fu did so. "Okay, now hold your hands."

"Uhh..."

"Eh..."

This time, the two teens weren't as obedient. Both of them started to feel a bit uneasy. Jiraiya just rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Come on, I know you two have a significant other, but I'm only asking you to hold hands, not to kiss!" an exasperated Jiraiya snapped. Naruto and Fu quickly obeyed the Hokage. "Okay, now close your eyes, and try to synchronize your chakra with each other. As you do, think in your Tailed Beast, and let your chakra drag you to them..."

…

Jiraiya's voice started to sound more and more distant, as if the Sannin was slowly walking away. Naruto was already aware of what was going on, but it was something new to the green haired girl.

"Hokage-sama? What do we do now?" Fu asked, but got no response. "Hokage-sama?"

"He's no longer with us. At least not in this place. Open your eyes," Naruto instructed.

Fu did so, and gasped. She was no longer on the grassy training field, but some sort of...she was unable to find the word that properly described the place. It was some kind of large chamber made of a nondescript light brown material. Several torches on the walls provided some dim light to the place.

"Where are we?" Fu asked.

"Since you're a jinchuriki, a pocket dimension exists within you where your Tailed Beast is sealed. I presume this is such place," Naruto explained.

But much to the blond's confusion, Fu shook her head.

"No, I already talked to Lucky Seven before, and this place looks nowhere like where she's sealed," Fu replied. "Maybe this is your seal?"

 **"It's both, and it's neither,"** a new voice said, a voice that was foreign to Fu but familiar to Naruto.

"Nine Tails?" the Konoha ninja asked.

Wordlessly, Naruto and Fu started to walk towards the place the voice came from. Much to their surprise, when they reached one of the chamber's end, they saw two gigantic cell gates. The Nine Tails was in the one to the left, while the Seven Tails was in the rightmost one.

"Whoa! What the-?"

 **"Since you synchronized your chakra, the dimensions where we're sealed have been temporarily merged,"** the Seven Tails explained.

 **"Not that it's too big of a change for us, as you can see,"** the Fox dryly said as he flicked one of the heavy bars with one of his fingers.

 **"Hey, at least we now have each other to make us company,"** the giant beetle chimed in.

 **"I take that back. It's change for the WORSE,"** the Nine Tails grumbled.

 **"Awwww, don't be like that brother,"** the Seven Tails whined. **"You must feel all lonely on that cage. I certainly do."**

 **"I am. But then I think that it could be sealed with you or the rest of our dim-witted siblings,"** the Nine Tails fired back.

"Enough you two!" Naruto shouted. "We didn't come here to see you squabble."

The Nine Tails scoffed. **"I couldn't care less about what you two came to do here."**

 **"I do! What did you come here?"** the giant beetle asked excitedly.

 _"Wow, this beast is almost as overexcitable as Fu. You'd think they would get along just fine,"_ Naruto wondered. "We came here to try to fix things up between you two. I know that the Fox is a lost cause, but from what I see of you, there might still be hope."

 **"There is!"** the Seven Tails happily chirped. Fu crossed her arms and looked away. It was obvious that the memory of the Chunin Exams was still in her mind despite being almost three years ago. **"I'm willing to help her, but she doesn't want to. Not even when that Akatsuki guy almost got us."**

"You already proved to me you can't be trusted! If that pale redhead wasn't as strong as he was, we could have killed him!" Fu protested.

 **"Oh come on, the boy had Shukaku with him, there's no way we could have make any permanent damage,"** the giant beetle feebly protested. **"Besides...it was the first moment in a long time that I had some semblance of freedom, so I got a bit...carried away."**

Fu, however, continued to give her Tailed Beast the cold shoulder.

"You should at least listen to her, she's willing to cooperate with you," Naruto advised Fu. "The Nine Tails only threatens to kill me and everyone I love at every opportunity."

 **"Yes, and you better remember those words, you puny human!"** the Nine Tails growled, but Naruto ignored him.

"See?" he told Fu, as he rolled his eyes.

Fu still looked unconvinced, but decided to listen to her fellow jinchuriki.

"I guess I could give her another chance...since these Akatsuki guys are a rather big threat and I'm going to need more power..." Fu weakly conceded.

 **"See? That's the spirit! The next time we face that guy, use my power and tables will turn!"** the Seven Tails happily claimed.

"I still have the feeling that you only want to have a chance to escape your seal..." Fu grumbled.

 **"Can you blame me?"** the Seven Tails replied. **"But don't worry, I have my priorities straight. It's not that I could keep a low profile in my true form...but anyway! If you don't trust me, just try using a little of my power. Enough to make a difference, but still not enough to let me influence you. Deal?"**

Fu remained silent, but visibly conflicted. After she silently pondered her options, she reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Alright. But the moment you step out of your bounds...!" Fu threatened, as she pointed an accusatory index finger at the caged beast.

 **"I get it girl! You won't have to worry, promise!"** the Seven Tails said, raising all six arms defensively. **"Okay then, let's get started!"**

"Wait, you want to give me your power right now?" the green haired girl asked.

 **"Why not? That way you can get a taste after such long time. Plus even I was tricking you and was biding my time to escape –hypothetically speaking, of course!– you have that Jiraiya guy that can suppress my chakra,"** the Seven Tails explained.

Fu sighed. "Okay then."

 **"Yay! You're SO going to enjoy this!"** the giant Beetle cheerfully said, as a wave of reddish-orange chakra emerged from her cage and enveloped Fu.

…

Both Naruto and Fu opened their eyes, and found themselves when they were before they were transported to that odd mental dimension, still sitting and holding both hands. The only difference is the reddish-orange aura that surrounded Fu's body.

"Given the results, I take it went well?" Jiraiya asked, snapping the two teens back into the real world.

They both stood up as Naruto nodded. "Yeah, the Seven Tails is far more reasonable than the stupid Fox."

 _ **"I heard that!"**_

 _"I know, I don't care,"_

"Well, Fu, how do you feel?" Jiraiya asked.

Before answering, the green haired girl took a few seconds to contemplate her glowing hand, as if it was a new part of her body.

"It feels...oddly nice. It doesn't feel like that time in the Chunin Exams," Fu explained.

"There are many reasons for that. For once, you're using much less Tailed Beast chakra. You also aren't under the effect of the Hero Water either," Jiraiya explained. "Say, how about a spar against Naruto to test your new power?"

Fu enthusiastically nodded. "Yes!"

Naruto smirked. "Okay then, bring it on!"

…

 _Hyuga State, next day_

Much to the Hyuga sisters' disappointment, Fu wouldn't be able to train them in the art of flying, since the green haired girl herself was undergoing some training of her own with the Hokage and Naruto on how to control her jinchuriki powers. Not that they didn't have anything to do, since their training to control the Tenseigan had just barely begun. They simply enjoyed flight practice much more.

Right now, the two sisters were in the state's ample backyard, practicing their telekinetic/gravity based powers –nobody really knew what those powers were– by stacking concrete blocks on top of each other, forming a tower. The point of this exercise was to test the limits of their power by lifting and manipulating large, heavy objects. Another similar exercise was to use lots of tiny bits of wood, which helped them refine their control by handling multiple small objects.

Watching over their training was Takuya, the High Priest of the Acolytes. Despite not having a Tenseigan –not even a Byakugan– the man proved himself to be a competent teacher.

"I've read the scrolls and books detailing the powers of the Tenseigan many times during my life. If I had one, I'm confident that I'd be able to master its powers with reasonable aptitude," the old man had replied when Hanabi pointed such thing out.

"Can I read those scrolls too? I'd prefer to choose what I get to train on," Hanabi said, as she lazily placed a block on the top of the tower, which briefly threatened to fall.

"Hanabi-sama, training can't be done in the order we wish. I know these exercises must be tedious, but the Tenseigan is no ordinary ability, and great skill honed through practice is needed in order to fully master it," Takuya patiently explained.

"There HAS to be a better way to learn this," Hanabi said as she stomped towards the small pile of books and scrolls that were resting on a bench, which Takuya was using for their training. The young, impatient Hyuga skimmed over the texts, until she found something worth her interest. "Aha! This sounds pretty exciting! Why don't you teach us how to do this?"

Takuya walked towards Hanabi, picked up the scroll the young girl was holding, and read it. A disproving expression appeared on his face.

"The Truth Seeking Ball? I think this is far too advanced for somebody who had just begun her training," Takuya said, shaking his head.

"Can I see what this 'Truth Seeking Ball' is?" Hinata asked, walking towards her teacher.

Takuya nodded and wordlessly handed the Hyuga Leader the scroll.

 _Truth Seeking Ball_

 _Also called Truthseeker Orbs, this jutsu is the ultimate elemental combination, as they're composed of all five basic elements, as well as Yin and Yang. Across history, very few individuals managed to acquire this power, as it is not something a normal human being can attain, regardless of their strength, skill or determination..._

While she found such description fascinating, there was something about it that made little sense.

"Wait a minute," Hinata said, as she stopped reading. "In order to combine two elements, one need to have affinity to said elements, and I know it's neither the case with Hanabi nor me. We had our elemental affinities tested. I'm just lightning, and she's just fire."

This seemed to amuse Takuya. "But you tested your affinities before awakening the Tenseigan, right?"

"Yes, but awakening it didn't change our affinities," Hinata replied. Seeing Takuya's expression, her confidence in her words faltered. "...right?"

"Why do you have to take my word for it? I'm sure you can see it for yourselves if I'm right or not," Takuya told them.

Hinata wordlessly left the backyard. She returned a couple minutes later with two pieces of Chakra Litmus paper, and handed one to Hanabi.

"Okay, let's see," Hinata said, as she and Hanabi channeled their chakra into the paper. "WHOA!"

Much to the sisters' shock, the paper quickly crumbled while turning wet, was sliced into multiple bits that turned almost immediately into dust, which ignited into small explosions as if it were gunpowder.

"W-What...?" Hinata dumbly stammered.

"So, do you believe me now, Hinata-sama?" Takuya asked, savoring the moment of validation. Hinata silently nodded.

"This...this...this is SO COOL!" Hanabi loudly cheered, as she threw both fists into the air. "All five elements! Just wait until I tell Kaida! She's going to be so jealous!"

While Hanabi continued cheering and planning all the cool things she'll do with all five elements at her disposal, Hinata continued to read the scroll. Once again, she stopped reading when she reached something that left her a bit puzzled:

 _Before any attempt to produce Truth Seeking Balls can be made, the user must have a certain level of mastery over the Tenseigan Chakra Cloak._

"Tenseigan Chakra Cloak? What is that?" Hinata asked.

"The Tenseigan Chakra Cloak is a state that brings to the surface the power of the Tenseigan. You need to awaken it in order to have access to most of its abilities," Takuya explained.

"Wait, but we are already using Tenseigan abilities without that mode!" Hanabi pointed out.

"Your kinetic abilities are nothing but a scratch in the surface. Or did you think moving objects from afar with your chakra was all the eyes of the Sage of the Moon had to offer?" Takuya asked.

"Then why aren't we learning how to use this mode, instead of working with concrete blocks?" Hanabi asked, her exasperation growing with each second.

"We're doing exactly that!" Takuya replied, who was also becoming a bit heated. "Six Paths Chakra is hard to control, and these exercises will help you in that regard."

"Takuya-san, maybe my little sister expressed it in a rash and impatient form, but I agree with her in this regard. Our chakra control is already good enough," Hinata softly said, trying to sound reasonable. "I was wondering if you could speed up our training. We're going to face powerful enemies in the near future, and we can't take a lot of time trying to master this new power."

Takuya crossed his arms over his chest, and pondered the Hyuga's words. When she put it that way, her request sounded more reasonable than Hanabi's lack of patience with a repetitive exercise.

"Very well then. I'll introduce you to the Tenseigan Chakra Mode, and I'll see for myself if you're ready to learn it or not," Takuya conceded.

"Way to go, nee-chan! I wish I had your way with words," Hanabi said, earnestly happy. Hinata giggled at her in return.

…

 _Training Ground Seven_

The next day, Fu had asked the Animal Squad to go train with her, or at the very least, see her train, so she could show them the fruits of just one day of training with Naruto and Jiraiya. Given that the Animal Squad was temporarily lacking a sensei and didn't have any kind of schedule for today, they decided to tag along and spend some quality time with their seldom seen friend.

But what they saw wiped out completely whatever intention they were of training with Fu.

"I knew that she gotten stronger over the years, but this..." a dazed Kiba said. "This is too much..."

The three Chunin of the Animal Squad stared at the orange blurring forms of Naruto and Fu trading blows, moving so fast they were nearly impossible to track. Naruto was using his Sage Mode, while Fu was using the most basic stage of the Tailed Beast chakra cloak. Even then, it give her enough of a power up to push Naruto to fight seriously.

Though, given that it was a 'normal spar' to help Fu get accustomed to the Seven Tails' chakra, they decided to limit themselves to taijutsu only. No ninjutsu, or even kunai or shuriken. Naruto didn't use clones, and Fu's wings were hidden beneath her skin.

Every time the two jinchuriki traded blows, it would be accompanied by a loud thunderclap and a shockwave that raised some rather strong winds. And given that they traded several blows per second, for the onlookers it was like being in the center of a powerful storm.

"Watching them going like that, doesn't make you feel...inadequate?" Tamaki uneasily asked her teammates,

"Eh, maybe, but they're jinchuuriki, and Naruto is a Sage on top of that. They're on a completely different level we normal humans are unable to reach," Kiba said in mild resignation, shrugging.

"I'm sure that Kakashi-sensei would be able to fight either of them, and he's neither a jinchuriki nor a Sage," Shino pointed out.

"You guys just love to oppose me no matter what, right?" an annoyed Kiba asked.

"No. But if seeing them makes you feel inadequate, then maybe we should train harder. Even if we can't reach their level, at least we'll have the satisfaction to know that we're doing our best," Shino explained. "We might never be able to reach Fu and Naruto-san's level, but we can at least aspire to surpass Kakashi-sensei."

Nobody contested Shino's statement, and continued watching Naruto and Fu's bout in silence. They swore they could hear some giggles and laughs among the constant thunderclaps, as if the blond and the mint haired girl were having the time of their lives beating the tar out of each other. They spend like that for a few more minutes until the two of them put some distance from each other, in order to take some breath.

While the two jinchuriki were visibly panting, and their visible skin –a lot in Fu's case– had several bruises, the two of them looked ecstatic.

"We can't stop if you feel I'm going too hard on you," Naruto taunted.

Fu smirked in return. "Ha, asking to stop and making it look as if it's because of me. Give some credit, will ya?"

"So, how are you doing? Feel any different?" Naruto asked.

Fu looked at her hand, flexed her fingers before curling them into a fist, and threw a punch forward.

"I've never felt better. I can move so fast it's almost as if I weight nothing, yet at the same time I can hit really hard while my fists barely feel the impact!" Fu cheered.

"It's nice to see that you're getting the hang of Tailed Beast chakra, but try not to revel on it too much. Remember that the Tailed Beast will use it to trick you into letting her take over you," Naruto warned her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know! But don't worry, I'm not feeling any different," Fu reassured him.

"If the Tailed Beast chakra influenced you, would you notice it? Did you notice it when you lost control during your fights against Gaara?" Shino promptly asked.

The green haired girl opened her mouth to reply, but no words came from it. She tried to tell him that yes, she knew when something was wrong, but the truth was that it wasn't the case.

"Well...no," Fu was forced to admit. "But if I started to lose myself, I would notice that there's something wrong, right?"

"Sometimes yes, others not so much," Naruto replied. "There were a couple moments in which the Nine Tails' chakra completely overwhelmed me, and I thought that everything was okay. Tailed Beast chakra is at its most dangerous when you're overwhelmed by an intense emotion."

"So the key to control it is to remain calm?" Fu asked.

"It's a possibility. If you keep your head cool, the Tailed Beast won't be able to influence you," Naruto then looked at the Animal Squad. "Hey guys, why don't you fight against Fu now?"

"Fight against Fu while using Tailed Beast chakra?" Kiba incredulously asked. "No thanks, I choose to live!"

"Come on, guys, it will be fun!" Fu insisted.

"Then you and I have very different concepts of 'fun'," Kiba snarked.

"Listen, Fu won't go all out against you like she did with me. She'll have to remain calm while keeping the Tailed Beast chakra active. Such mental effort will stop her from fighting at her best," Naruto explained. "Plus it's three versus one."

"And I'll go easy on you guys, promise!" Fu happily added.

The three Chunin looked at each other unsurely. Well, Kiba and Tamaki looked unsure.

"Well, she said that she'll go easy on us. Plus we do this to help a friend in need," Tamaki said, though she clearly wasn't happy with the idea.

"And I know what you're going to say," Kiba said, looking at Shino. "So yeah, let's go with it. It might be good training for us as well."

As the Animal Squad Chunin walked towards Fu, Naruto cancelled his Sage mode and left them some space, taking their role of spectator. The four ninja adopted fighting stances, and the handicap spar began. Though it wasn't exactly clear who was the handicap for, given the difference in power between both sides.

As expected, the fight was nowhere near as fast paced and brutal as when Naruto was fighting her. While Fu was clearly in control of the fight, she wasn't overwhelming the three Chunin, and fought with less wild fighting style. She kept her eyes on her opponents, dodged their attacks with quick movements, and then she would deliver a single, precises strikes.

Not that this strategy worked all the time, not even close, especially against opponents that, unlike her, weren't holding back. Kiba and Tamaki managed to land quite a few hits on her, and on more than one occasion the jinchuriki found herself unable to avoid her boyfriend's long range jutsu.

"Dang, this is much harder than I thought!" Fu complained, as she briefly struggled against Tamaki, before disengaging her and jumping backwards, narrowly avoiding a claw swipe from both Kiba and Akamaru.

"You're used to rely on strength and reaction instead of thought and action," Shino stated. "Such things will only take you so far. Eventually, one must learn to think before they act. And against superior opponents, the time to think will be severely limited."

"Eh, I've always been a 'going with the flow' kind of person," Fu shrugged, as she resumed the fight.

"Keep going like that, Fu! You're doing great!" Naruto praised, as she gave her a thumbs up.

So far, the green haired kunoichi was doing fine with the most basic level of Tailed Beast chakra while remaining in control of her emotion. But Naruto wondered if that would be enough to face the Akatsuki.

…

 _Training Ground Twelve_

While Naruto helped Fu train with the Animal Squad, Hinata was doing the same with her little sister. The Hyuga Clan Head, and Hanabi's sensei, Yamato, were watching the young Hyuga fighting against both Senju siblings.

"Fire Release: Burning Palm!"

Hanabi's palms were coated in fire, as she dashed towards her female teammate, who jumped backwards while making several hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

Kaida slammed both hands into the ground, erecting a wall with the Senju crest carved on it between herself and Hanabi. Hanabi's burning palm strike blew a hole in the wall, but the construct did its job in stopping her tracks. Her Tenseigan immediately saw Hagane, his body glowing with a white aura, leaping at her from behind, ready to deliver a flying kick.

Hanabi jumped into the air just in time to avoid Hagane's incoming kick, which shattered the wall Kaida had created. Staying mid air, she clenched her fists, causing the fire surrounding her hands to grow bigger.

"Now take this!" Hanabi said, as she began to thrust her hands downwards in a rapid way. "Fire Release: Eight Trigrams Phoenix Fire!"

Which each arm thrust, Hanabi released a small projectile of concentrated fire that produced a huge explosion when crashed against the ground. Despite the jutsu's widespread destruction, the twins' didn't falter.

"Brother, I need some senjutsu juice!" Kaida called.

"On it!" Hagane replied, as he jumped to her side, before bumping fists with her.

Hagane's white aura spread to Kaida. From above, Hanabi could see how some of Hagane's nature energy was being passed to his twin sister, and the two of them started to make hand seals.

"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

"Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"

Kaida's cheeks puffed, before releasing a massive stream upwards, while a tornado came from Hagane's hands. Hinata was a bit surprised to see one of Naruto's most used Wind jutsu being used by somebody else, but she quickly came to the conclusion that it was her boyfriend himself who taught it to him. The two attacks merged into a massive, spiralling water vortex, that engulfed and contained the explosions of Hanabi's jutsu, as it continued upwards, threatening to swallow the younger Hyuga.

Seeing no other options, Hanabi descended in order to avoid the twins' combined jutsu, which flew above her head, spraying everything below it.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Hanabi had been so preoccupied with avoiding the combined elemental blast that she hadn't noticed the white haired girl preparing her next move. Thick wooden vines emerged around her, and launched themselves at the young Hyuga.

"Haha, got you! Where's your Six Paths chakra now?" Kaida taunted.

A fiery aura surrounded Hanabi as she started to spin. "I don't need Six Paths chakra to avoid such an attack! Fire Release: Heavenly Firestorm!"

Hanabi turned into an spiraling column of flames that instantly burned all the emerging vines, while releasing several firebolts in every direction. When Hanabi stopped spinning, she was standing on top of a charred crater.

And the moment she stopped spinning was the moment the twins choose to attack her in close combat. While it was Hanabi's specialty, she was completely wide open due still spinning. And while in the past the fight would have ended here and there, Hanabi now had one last ace in the hole.

Quickly spreading her arms, Hanabi cast a kinetic shockwave that pushed both white haired Chunin backwards with incredible force, until a tree painfully stopped their momentum.

"Ha! Not even the two of you are even close to-"

But Hanabi's boast was interrupted by a couple of hands coming from underground grabbing her ankles, and pulling her down with incredible force, leaving her buried to the waist.

"What the hell?" she shouted, as she tried to use her kinetic powers to pull herself out. That's it, until a kunai touching her neck forced her to stop.

"I think victory is ours," Hagane, who was holding the Kunai to her neck, stated.

Kaida emerged from behind, and high fived her brother, before the two of them helped Hanabi out of the ground. The match now over, Yamato and Hinata walked towards them.

"If there's a lesson to be learned here is that powers matters little if you lack the skill to use it," Yamato stated. "Hanabi, while your Tenseigan gave you a massive boost, and I'm sure one day you'll become of Konoha's most powerful kunoichi, that day is still pretty far."

"Well, it was two versus one," Hanabi scoffed, as she crossed her eyes, and turned sideways. "Plus it's not that they're a couple weaklings."

"Hanabi-chan, the reason you lost was because you lost sight of your opponents. With your Tenseigan you should have seen that Kaida had created Wood Clones to distract you while she went underground," Hinata stated, sounding chastising, but not demeaning. "You need to take care of those kind of details now that you're a Chunin."

"Listen to your sister, Hanabi. Do not let an unique and strong power blind you as to neglect proper fighting skill," Yamato added, before looking at the twins. "That goes for you two, you know."

"Hey, I'm not relying on Wood Release that much," Kaida protested.

Hagane, however, took the criticism in stride. "Yamato-sensei isn't lecturing us to make us feel bad. Listening to our teachers is the best way to improve."

"Sensei's pet," Both Hanabi and Kaida seethed.

"Okay, okay, I don't want any bad blood here. Let's take a rest before resuming the training, understood?" Yamato suggested.

"Alright!" the three Chunin said in unison.

…

 _Hokage Tower_

"Come in," Jiraiya said after hearing somebody knocking the door.

The door opened, revealing a lizard-masked ANBU.

"Hokage-sama, here's Kakashi's latest report regarding the Takigakure resistance," the ANBU sotically said as he handed the white haired Sannin a scroll.

Jiraiya nodded, took and unfurled the scroll before reading its contents. His lips formed a smile of satisfaction, furling the scroll again once he had read everything on it.

"Alright, it seems that all the Taki ninjas outside of the village at the time of the invasion had been finally gathered, and they stand ready to retake their home. They're waiting for our reinforcements," Jiraiya stated. "Which we will be sending immediately."

"Understood, Hokage-sama," the ANBU said, as he was ready to leave.

"Before you leave, find my son and his teammates," Jiraiya stated. "I want them to spearhead the attack."

"Very well, Hokage-sama," the ANBU replied, making a quick bow before leaving the office.

Satisfied, Jiraiya stood up, and walked towards the window behind his desk.

"Alright, Akatsuki, you thought you can do whatever you want with no one able to stop you," Jiraiya said to no one, as his gaze drifted to the village before his eyes. "We're about to prove you wrong."

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, following where we left it the last chapter, Fu continues to adapt to her new life in Konoha. This time, some jinchuriki bonding with Naruto, as well as some training to help her control her Tailed Beast. Speaking of which, I had a lot of fun writing Chomei's scenes, especially the ones in which she's with Kurama.**

 **And Fu isn't the only one who trains. She herself continues to train Hinata and Hanabi in the art of flying, while they also learn more about the power of the Tenseigan. Some little foreshadowing there *wink wink* ;)**

 **Some reviewers were sad they couldn't see Hagane, Kaida and Hanabi fighting in the Chunin Exams, so I decided to throw a spar between the three of them to show a bit more their powers and fighting style. Hope you liked it.**

 **Thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, the action will resume next chapter as the good guys try to take Takigakure back from Akatsuki! Meanwhile, leave a review with your thoughts on this chapter! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	62. The Battle for Taki

**Author's Note: Hmmm, the number of reviews the last chapter got was one of the lowest as of date, though the reviews themselves didn't point out if there was something wrong. Oh well, let's hope this chapter fares better. Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 62:**

The Battle for Taki

 _or_

 _You Catch more Fu with Honey than Vinegar_

"It's a pity we have to abandon this village," Hidan said, sounding a little saddened. "I couldn't even get started on the construction of the Jashin Temple."

"I thought there was already a Jashin Temple in the Land of Springs. Wasn't there where you were trained?" Kakuzu asked.

"Well, yes, but the temple was in in the middle of fucking nowhere. Jashin-sama would be mostly pleased if I build a temple to him in the heart of a ninja village. Oh well, guess that another slaughter will have to do," Hidan said, with his usual sadistic glee.

"Do as you wish," Kakuzu apathetically replied, as from their vantage point, they watched the activity going on in the village below them.

A messenger had arrived with the news that the Taki resistance, alongside reinforcements from Konoha and Suna, were heading towards the village. Kakuzu and Hidan, pretending they cared about keeping the village, had ordered everybody to put a defense and repel the invaders, even if they did know that the village was already lost and those poor idiots would die for nothing.

Well, not for nothing. Maybe if they managed to kill some enemy ninjas before going down, their lives would weaken Akatsuki's enemies even if just a little.

Even if he would never admit it, Kakuzu felt it was a pity he couldn't keep the village for longer. It was a place that he hated like no other, and having it under his control would have been his ultimate revenge.

"Anyway, I'll better get everything ready. You stay here and keep them busy. Try to kill some of them if you can," Kakuzu told him as he turned around, and walked away.

"How are you so sure the jinchuriki will come to us?" Hidan asked.

"I know how she thinks," Kakuzu confidently said, before Body Flickering away.

"'I know how she thinks'" Hidan mockingly repeated. "'I'm Kakuzu and I'm a fucking smartass that knows everything, yet doesn't worship Jashin-sama'. Oh well, at least he gave me the fun part of the mission..."

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, said group of ninjas, about five hundred strong, were leaping from one tree branch to another, getting closer to Takigakure. The Konoha and Suna ninja would expect traps or an ambush the more they got closer, but the Taki ninjas told them that the Akatsuki wouldn't bother with that. The secret entrances to Takigakure were pretty much bottlenecks, and the defenders would use that to their advantage.

That's why they decided to send their strongest asset to deal with such situation first: Naruto Uzumaki.

The blond jinchuriki would infiltrate Takigakure on his own, create some ruckus with his clones and summons, and thus allowing the bulk of their forces to enter the village unimpeded. Right now, he was being led by a Takigakure Jonin, a blond haired man he remembered from the Chunin exams as one of Fu's teammates. Kegon was his name.

They stopped when they reached a small waterfall that fed into a lagoon.

"Here we are," Kegon announced.

"So...where's this secret entrance? Behind that waterfall?" Naruto guessed.

"It is," the Taki Jonin confirmed.

"That's kind of cliché," Naruto pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's not a direct way into the village," Kegon replied, a little annoyed. "Behind this waterfall there's a grotto. Said grotto is pretty much a maze where you will get lost unless you know where to go," the blond Taki man handed Naruto a small scroll. "Follow the indications on this scroll, and you'll be able to reach an entrance at the edge of the lake."

Naruto nodded as he took the scroll. "Understood!" he replied, as he gave Kegon a thumbs up.

"Make sure you're quick, because the moment I return to the others and tell them you're inside, we'll wait only ten minutes to attack. Will you be able to clear a zone big enough for our forces to enter unimpeded in such little time?"

Naruto smirked confidently. "I'll only need five minutes."

"For the sake of our village, hope you can back those words up," Kegon replied. "Anyway, now you'll be on your own. Good luck."

And with that, Kegon leaped away, leaving Naruto to his mission. Despite his initial impression, he had to admit that the secret entrance wasn't as lame as he thought. Without the scroll telling him where to go, he would have gotten lost in no time.

 _"Or maybe I could summon an army of clones and have them move around until one of them found the exit,"_ Naruto thought, pleased with his idea.

The blond jinchuriki exited from a small hole in the ground that was hidden by several strategically placed bushes. From that point, he could see the village of Takigakure. Most of it was in the island in the middle of the lake, built around the roots of the Great Tree, with a single bridge connecting it to the mainland. There were also several clusters of houses built at the edge of the lake as well.

"Okay, those houses at the edge of the lake look like they're from civilians, so I shouldn't worry too much about them. Now, the best way to call their attention would be to attack the bridge. But how? This requires a clever, intricate plan like any other..." Naruto said, as he started to think for a couple minutes.

After doing some thinking, the blond Konoha ninja grinned, and made his trademark hand seal. One hundred Naruto clones appeared besides him in an instant.

"Everybody, charge! Seek the enemies, and kick their asses!" the original Naruto shouted.

His command was met with a chorus of "yeah!", "let's go!", "Let's show them our strength!" and, oddly enough, a couple of "I'm hungry!".

The Takigakure defenders, composed by mercenaries, cultists, and a few Taki ninjas that decided to defect to Kakuzu's side, were soon swarmed by a tsunami of orange and black.

"We're under attack!" a thug cried.

"The hell? Why do these guys look the same?" another one asked.

"They're clones, you idiot!" a cultist told them.

"Impossible! Nobody should be able to produce so many clones!" the first thug angrily fired back, as he destroyed a clone of Naruto.

"We can!" several Naruto clones replied in unison, almost indignant at the mere thought of casting doubt on their boss' abilities.

The flash attack of the Naruto army quickly pushed the defenders of the bridge back into the main village, with the clones following suit. Sadly, by that point, most of the ninjas guarding the village had been alerted of the invasion, and quickly run to face the army of orange clad clones, which quickly began to dwindle in number as kunai, shuriken and destructive elemental ninjutsu flied at them.

"Well, so much for the clones," Naruto said, as he leaped into the air, landing in the surface of the lake. He bit his thumb, and made several hand seals. "Guess I'll need to bring the heavy hitters. Summoning Jutsu!"

Naruto slammed his palm on the water, creating a giant cloud of smoke, as well as producing some waves due the water that has been displaced. When the smoke dispelled, everybody could see a gigantic toad, his rusty red skin covered in multiple warts. He was wearing a blue vest, had a short –to him– blade attached to his belt, and his lips were holding on a still smoking pipe.

The giant toad took a few moments to contemplate his surroundings.

"Naruto?" the giant toad asked, noticing the blonde standing on his head. "Is this the village you told me about!"

"Yup!" Naruto enthusiastically nodded. "Are you ready for the action, Bunta?"

Gamabunta, or Bunta, as he was sometimes called, unsheathed his blade to state his answer.

"I just hope it won't be just the two of us," Gamabunta stated, as he prepared to attack a group of mercenaries and Jashin cultists.

"Nah, we're just clearing the way for the rest to join us," Naruto reassured him.

"Good, because otherwise this would be kind of boring," Gamabunta said, as he leaped to the edge of the island in the center of the lake, creating a quake and producing more waves on the lake. "Come on, come at me, ants!" Gamabunta taunted, as he swung his blade at a group of enemies, some which avoided the swipe, others not so fortunate.

…

"Boy, you can heard the sound of the battle even from here."

The ten minutes long gone, the Takigakure resistance and their Konoha and Suna allies decided to move and attack. They were split in three groups, one for each secret entrance the village had. They would attack from three different sides in a pincer maneuver, and meet in the middle.

"I can believe that Naruto went on his own like that, the madman," Kiba continued, shaking his head. "The cocky bastard must think he can take on a village on his own."

Kakashi's Animal Squad was also taking part in the battle. Though rather than direct combatants, they have been appointed as Fu's bodyguards due their close friendship with the female jinchūriki , as well as their tracking skills just in case Fu disappeared, either on her own, or if she was abducted by the enemy. They were jumping from one branch to another like the rest of their group, while Fu flew above them.

"Naruto knows he isn't doing that. All he's doing is draw attention to him so we have a bigger window of opportunity to strike," Kakashi reminded him.

"Alright then, what secret entry are we going to use?" Tamaki asked.

"No one," Fu interjected before Kakashi could answer. "We'll attack from the air."

"Um...Fu? Maybe you can do that, but no one else here can fly," Tamaki uneasily asked.

Fu shot a smirk at the cat kunoichi, which sent chills down her spine. Then, without any kind of warning, Fu dived and, in one fell swoop, grabbed Shino, Kiba and Tamaki in a two-armed hug.

"Kakashi-san, grab onto me, I can't carry anymore people in my arms!" Fu told the silver haired ninja.

"Fu! Just...what are you doing?" the surprised Jonin asked in shock.

"The secret entrances take too much time. I prefer if we take a more direct route. And yes, I know that you guys are my escorts and I'm not going to leave you behind. But I will if you don't make up your mind!" Fu protested.

Seeing that the Taki jinchuriki was gaining altitude, Kakashi jumped and latched onto one of her legs. The additional weight added to the already heavy load didn't seem to hinder Fu in the slightest, as they continued to gain altitude. Kakashi silently thanked that this girl wasn't one of his students.

Fu continued flying as easily as if she wasn't carrying anybody, her eyes locked into the thick forest on a plateau that hid Takigakure. While those orange eyes usually shone with the glint of youth and happiness, now they reflected her determination and steel hard resolve to take back her home.

"Fu, I know this battle means a lot to you but..." Kakashi began. "Shouldn't we attack alongside the rest of the group? If we arrive too early, we will find ourselves outnumbered and away from backup."

"Naruto should have taken care of that," Fu replied, as she pierced the forest that surrounded Taki, skillfully avoiding all the thick and lush branches without having to slow down. "Plus, we aren't going to take part in the main battle."

"We aren't?" Kiba and Tamaki asked in unison.

"Fu, you can't-" Kakashi was going to say before being interrupted.

"Our mission will be to find and rescue Shibuki," Fu firmly stated. "You're a tracking squad, you will be able to track him, right? And taking advantage of the chaos of the battle, we'll take him to safety while the rest of our forces take back the city. Genius plan!"

Kakashi didn't share Fu's optimism.

"Fu, there's the chance that Akatsuki might be counting on you trying to rescue Shibuki, and thus making you leave the security of the bulk of the army," Shino pointed out.

"I already thought of that. But that's why you're also here, silly! You're also my escorts, right? So as long as you guys keep close to me, nothing will go wrong!" Fu excitedly said, as her lips curved into an innocent smile.

…

The bulk of the Taki Resistance and their allies took very little time to arrive at the village and join the battle, Thanks to Naruto drawing all the attention to him, the rest of the ninja could get into the village with little problem, and engage the enemies.

"Come on everybody! For Takigakure! Let's kick these invaders out of our home!" a Taki ninja shouted, with his comrades cheering back.

"Alright then, I think I can fight normally now. Gamabunta, cover us while we liberate the village!" Naruto said, as he jumped off of the giant toad, as he pulled out and activated his Wind Blade.

"You got it, brat!" Gamabunta replied.

Naruto landed in the water, and rushed towards the central island, eyeing the ongoing battles and wondering which one he should join.

"Naruto-kun!"

The voice of his girlfriend coming from above snapping him from his thoughts. Looking upwards, Naruto saw Hinata flying down at him. Haku was with her and, oddly enough, he was flying as well.

"Hinata-hime! Haku!" Naruto cheered, waving at them. "Good to see you're here! Now we can fight the three of us together!"

"Indeed. Let's end this battle as quick as possible so the loses for Taki and our forces are kept to a minimum," Haku agreed, as he landed near Naruto. Hinata remained floating above them.

"Um, Haku? Were you flying?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

The Ice Ninja shook his head. "No. Hinata-san has become proficient in her abilities to share her flight with somebody else."

"So far I can only carry one person with me, but I'm working to expand that limit," Hinata chimed in. "That way, the Assault Squad can be a flying unit!"

"Neat idea, hime! Though for the time being, we won't need it," Naruto said, as he directed his eyes to the battle in front of them. "There doesn't seem to be any trace of the Akatsuki, and the ones defending the village are made of rabble. Thugs, mercenaries, and screaming cultists that look scary but aren't that though."

"Okay then. Let's clear the battlefield by the time the Akatsuki show up," Hinata agreed.

Suddenly, an ear piercing scream echoed through the village. The battle stopped for a few seconds, as everybody directed their eyes to the canopy of the Great Tree, where the scream had come from. Then, a mass of black creatures emerged from the canopy of the tree, and rushed to the battlefield, some of them running, those who had wings flying.

"What...what are those abominations?" Hinata asked in horror. With her Tensiegan, she could see them close. Ugly, nightmarish creatures with inky black skin, long, bony limbs, several maws full of razor sharp long teeth, multiple eyes across their uneven bodies, or no eyes at all.

"I don't know, but I have the feeling that they aren't on our side," Haku uneasily said, as his hand grabbed a handful of senbon from his ninja tool pouch.

"Oh no! Not those monsters again!" a Taki ninja cried in despair, taking a step back.

"You know those things?" Naruto asked the Taki ninja.

The fearful Taki man nodded. "The cultist summoned them when they first attacked us...but there weren't so many of them before!"

"Of course, it would be naïve on our part to think that this would be easy and that Akatsuki wouldn't have a nasty surprise in stock for us," Naruto said, sounding a bit annoyed, but he quickly lightened up. "But if there's no challenge, there's no fun! Hinata, Haku, let's focus on those creatures while the rest of our forces deal with the human opponents!"

"Alright!" the two of them chorused in unison, as they followed Naruto towards the incoming charge of demonic creatures.

…

Meanwhile, not far away from there, but far enough from the main battle, Fu and Kakashi's animal Squad had located the Akatsuki, and were heading towards their alleged location, with Shino leading the group. Given the threat Kakuzu made, Fu guessed that Shibuki wouldn't be far away from them.

"How do you know where they are?" Kakashi asked his quiet student.

"During our brief confrontation, I had a kikai beetle latched onto the Akatsuki that was chasing Fu. Said beetle is now releasing a pheromone only my hive of kikai can smell," Shino explained.

"Good one, Shino! I'll have to give you a really big reward for being so efficient!" Fu cheerfully said, winking at her boyfriend.

Shino blushed for a few seconds. "Err...that's very nice of you, but let's leave the celebrations for the moment the Akatsuki is defeated and Taki is again free of its grasp."

Akamaru then barked.

"Guys, Akamaru can smell him as well!" Kiba stated. "He says that he remembers the foul scent of his chakra. Wherever they go, they won't evade our senses."

"Alright then, everybody, prepare for an imminent fight! And Fu, stay close to us! I know what you must be feeling right now, but don't stray away, that's what Akatsuki wants!" Kakashi sternly stated, looking at Fu with his one visible eye.

"Don't worry, I won't let those bastards capture me so easily," Fu replied.

"We're heading out of the village," Tamaki mentioned.

And indeed, the others noticed that they were heading towards the forests west of Taki.

"I think they're moving," Kiba added. "My guess is that they know we're coming, and are taking us to a trap."

"Or they just simply want to isolate us from the rest of our allies," Kakashi stated. "Probably both."

All of them tensed up the moment they left the village and entered the forest. Now, they would be alone. Whatever Akatsuki had prepared, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Fu, do you know if there's something around here? Something the Akatsuki could use against us?" Tamaki asked the green haired girl.

Fu placed a finger under her lips, as she started to think if there is anything special about the forest, but nothing came to mind. She shook her head.

"As far as I know, there are nothing but trees. Kilometers and kilometers of trees," Fu replied.

"Remember that Kakuzu used to be a Takigakure ninja. It's probable that he knows secrets about the village and its surroundings many of the younger Taki ninjas such as yourself might ignore," Shino pointed out.

"If you say so," Fu replied, shrugging again. "Though I won't let my guard down."

"Too bad we didn't take Hinata with us. With those eyes of her, she could be able to see any potential trap in advance," Kiba said.

"Maybe in another life. But now, we'll have to do without an Hyuga to help us," Shino replied.

They continued leaping from one branch to another, until Akamaru started to bark.

"Kiba?" Tamaki asked.

"Akamaru said that they've stopped. I think they're ready to fight," Kiba explained the others.

"And so are we!" Fu firmly shouted, punching her palm.

They arrived to a clearing in the forest. In the middle of the clearing, lying on his side, with his arms and legs restrained by ropes, laid Fubuki, the former –hopefully not for long– leader of Takigakure. Fu couldn't help but gasp in shock upon seeing her leader and big brother-like figure.

"Shibuki!" she cried, while repressing her urges to speed towards him. Even she knew they were using him as the bait for a trap.

"Let's help Shibuki, but stay close to each other, and watch for any trap or ambush. It's not a matter of if, but of when," Kakashi instructed, as he uncovered his Sharingan.

The four members of the Animal Squad landed around Shibuki, each one of them facing to a different cardinal point, while Fu landed besides Shibuki, and quickly dropped on her knees, untied him, and checked if he was okay.

"Shibuki! Are you okay? Did those mean guys hurt you? Do you need something?" Fu hurriedly asked as she untied her leader. "Oh my Kami, you look awful! Shino, I need you to heal him a little!"

"Fu, you have to leave! They used me to lure you out of the village! The Akatsuki are here!" a panicked Shibuki stammered.

"We're already aware of that, Shibuki-san," Kakashi told him, without dropping his fighting stance. "By the way, do you think you can fight? We're going to need all the possible help."

As Fu helped him to sit up, Shibuki shook his head. "On top of the daily beatings I got from the guards, those bastards barely fed me. I can barely stand on my feet."

"Shino, go and heal Shibuki, I believe you have a spare soldier pill, right? Give one to Shibuki," Kakashi ordered. "With that, you should be able to provide us some assistance."

"Assistance that, in the end, will fail to make a difference," a new, raspy voice grumbled.

Everybody saw how Kakuzu and Hidan landed in front of them. They immediately turned towards their direction, but without leaving their backs uncovered. Who knows how many allies the Akatsuki still had.

"Hehe, you were right. Those retards fell right into our trap, despite being so fucking obvious what it was!" Hidan laughed.

"What is your trap, may I ask?" Shino asked. "You lured us to this clearing, but you didn't even ambushed us. You blew the element of surprise by announcing your arrival. If this is a trap, it's a very poor one."

"Didn't your sensei teach you that a ninja must learn to see through deception, or, as more commonly said, appearances can be deceiving?" Kakuzu asked in a somewhat mocking tone, as his hands formed hand seals, before slapping Hidan's bare chest. "Five Purple Ray Barrier!"

Suddenly, Hidan started to glow with a purple light, and a purple colored beam of chakra fired from his body into the sky. Four other beams fired from different parts around their position. The four periferic rays started to curve towards the central one, until the five rays converged, creating a dome-shaped purple chakra barrier around the area.

"And now, the trap is complete," Kakuzu continued. "The Five Purple Ray Barrier is a secret jutsu of Takigakure they used back in my day to protect the village, but not anymore since I stole it. It's a powerful barrier that uses a human being as focal point and it slowly feeds into their life force. Once the focal point dies, the barrier will go down."

"Why are you telling us this?" Tamaki demanded. She was getting some really bad vibes from Kakuzu's overconfidence.

"Because I'm immortal, you dumb bitch! There's no way that barrier will go down until Kakuzu or myself decides to take it down!" Hidan shouted, laughing maniacally.

"Meaning that you're now trapped here with us, with no reinforcements, and no chance to escape. And if by some miracle you're able to kill Hidan..." Kakuzu said, as he briefly eyed his partner. "...you will have my eternal gratitude."

"Yeah!" Hidan cheered, before Kakuzu's words registered in his brain, and shoot his partner an indignant look. "...wait, what?"

"Enough chit chat, we have a job to do," Kakuzu said, as he started to make hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!

A giant dragon head made of mud formed in front of Kakuzu. It opened its jaws, and fired a volley of mud bullets at the group of six, which jumped away in different directions (while Fu deployed her wings and took off to the sky).

"Let the slaughter begin!" Hidan hollered, as he leaped towards Tamaki, ready to strike her down with his scythe.

"Shit!" Tamaki cursed as she parried the powerful blow with her bladed gauntlets.

Still, Hidan was undeterred, and in his mad frenzy continued to deliver a flurry of furious swipes at the cat kunoichi, who could do nothing but defend while the demented cultist pushed her back with each swipe.

"Come on, little girl, put on a better show! Make your death worth something!" Hidan cackled as he continued to attack.

Suddenly, he heard a loud buzz, and looked upwards as a shadow was cast over the two of them. Much to his surprise, he saw a massive swarm of beetles angrily buzzing and flying at him.

"What the fuck!? Bugs? Like, fucking seriously?" the pissed Akatsuki shouted, as the swarm of insects forced him to disengage Tamaki and jump back.

"Fang Passing Fang!"

Suddenly, Hidan saw two drilling tornadoes flying towards him. The cultist was barely able to dodge them, shredding part of his Akatsuki cloak. When the tornadoes stopped spinning, they revealed to be Kiba and Akamaru, who landed between Tamaki and Shino.

"One with bugs, the other with a dog...just what kind of ninjas are you?" Hidan asked, almost indignant.

"The ones who are going to kick your sorry ass!" Tamaki replied, as her hands flew through hand seals. "Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"

Tamaki breathed a stream of fire, which quickly took the shape of a giant cat, rushing on all fours towards Hidan.

"And I guess that you use cats, right? Fucking flea ridden pests..." Hidan said, making no effort in dodging the attack. The fire cat crashed against him, and he was soon engulfed by a fiery torrent of flames.

"Yes! Direct hit! Well done, Tamaki!" Kiba congratulated his teammate, who smiled proudly in return.

However, when the fires dispelled, Hidan was still there, completely unscathed.

"So, that was all?" Hidan mockingly asked.

Tamaki and Kiba stared at the Akarsuki in shock, their mouths wide agape.

"It seems he may be an immortal after all..." Shino observed.

Meanwhile, a few meters from the clash against Hidan, Kakashi, Fu and Shibuki engaged Kakuzu. Fu was engaging him in hand to hand combat, while Kakashi and Shibuki supported her from afar.

"You didn't learn anything from our previous duel, did you?" Kakuzu asked, as he and Fu traded blows. Whenever their fists clashed, a small shockwave was produced.

Fu gritted her teeth in irritation. "Things are different now! I have my friends backing me up!"

"And I do have my partner as well, for all what it's worth," Kakuzu nonchalantly replied, as he blocked a lateral kick with both arms. "But even if I was alone, the result would be the same. You only saw a smidge of my power."

"Show me your full power, then!" Fu challenged him.

Before Kakuzu could answer, the sound of a thousand birds chirping could be heard. The Taki Akatsuki disengaged Fu and jumped upwards, barely avoiding Kakashi's Lightning Blade coming from the side, before the Copy Ninja could skewer him.

"Word of advice, Kakashi Hatake," Kakuzu stated as his feet touched the ground again. "Assassination jutsu tend to work better when they don't make a noise so loud it can be heard in the entire continent."

Kakashi remained silent as the blue electricity coating his hand flickered away, and merely glared at the masked Akatsuki with anger filled eyes. Kakuzu ignored Kakashi and directed his stare back at Fu.

"If you want to skip the warm up and go directly into the heat of the battle, I'm more than happy to comply," Kakuzu replied, in an oddly satisfied tone. "Hidan!"

The scythe-wielding Akatsuki was busy fighting the three Chunin of the Animal Squad.

"The fuck you want, Kakuzu? Don't you see I'm busy murdering some brats?" Hidan hollered at him.

"The jinchuriki asked us to go all out on her," Kakuzu said, as he removed his cloak, and tossed it away, revealing a body full of stitches scars. "I'm going to do it."

Hidan's anger instantly evaporated, and a sadistic grin appeared in his face. The Jashin cultist disengaged the three Chunin, and jumped towards Kakuzu.

"Why didn't you say it before? I love when we go all out!" Hidan said in glee.

The three Chunin took advantage of the brief pause, and rejoined their sensei and the two Takigakure ninja.

"Hey, what the hell is going on?" Kiba asked.

"I'm not sure, but whatever they plan to do, we won't like it," Kakashi said.

Kakuzu then bent over, and everybody could see that there were four different masks sewn to his back. The masks then started to tremble, as if they tried to break from Kakuzu's body, which they did after struggling for some seconds. Turns out those masks were attached to four inky black beings made my a mass of pulsating threads. Upon escaping Kakuzu, they placed themselves in front of the two Akatsuki. More threads emerge from the huge gap that was now on Kakuzu's back, and started to stitch the skin together.

"I think I'm going to throw up..." Tamaki moaned, green to the gills.

"I remember Hinata saying that Kakuzu's body was nothing like she saw before. I guess this is what she meant," Shino deduced, remaining as impossible as ever.

"The number of enemies now matches our group. And we don't even know what those monsters even do," Shibuki observed, as he eyed the newcomers.

"Oh, you're going to find out really soon," Kakuzu said as he made three hand seals. The monster with the red lipped mask, which looked like a tiger, opened its mouth. "Fire Release: Searing Migraine!"

The thread monster exhaled a massive breath of fire that scorched the earth and burned any nearby plant or tree as it advanced. The Konoha ninjas jumped away, but the Taki duo decided to counter the attack.

"Fu!" Shibuki called, as he made several hand seals.

"I know!" the green haired girl replied, mimicking his actions.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Fu and Shibuki expelled two cones of water each at the incoming firestorm, Fu's packing more power than Shibuki's. A cloud of steam flooded the battlefield when the two elemental forces met, and Kakuzu's attack was nullified.

"Guys, are you okay?" Fu called.

"Yes! That was close, good one, Fu," Tamaki said from above, perched on a tree branch.

"I thought that man was an Earth Release user. An attack of such scale would have only been possible if the Akatsuki had a fire affinity," Shino noted.

"Double affinity then? Remember Sakura," Kiba pointed out.

"Your conjectures couldn't be any wronger," Kakuzu said, as he made the Ram seal. The monster with the bird faced mask opened its beak. "Wind Release: Pressure Damage!"

"Wind too? He can't have three affinities!" Tamaki protested.

The bird-masked monster released a monstrously powerful gale, that instantly dispelled the steam, teared apart tree branches and small plants, and naturally, blew away all the opposing ninjas, Fu included. With with just those two attacks, Kakuzu had already doubled the expanse of the forest clearing.

"Ugh..." Kiba groaned, as he removed several branches from his body, as he tiredly stood up. "Just what's with this-"

"KIBA, LOOK OUT!" Tamaki screamed.

"DIE, YOU INFIDEL!"

Before he had time to react, Kiba saw Hidan leaping towards him, ready to cut him open with that three bladed scythe. Kiba managed to pull two kunai from his ninja tool pouch, and parried the hit. Like with Tamaki before, Hidan continued to deliver vicious swings. Kiba managed to defend himself, but Hidan's blows carried a lot of power, and his weapon had a greater range.

"Akamaru!" Kiba shouted.

Akamaru rushed towards his master with a loud bark, and leaped at Hidan. The startled Akatsuki disengaged Kiba and raised his scythe defensively towards the incoming dog. Akamaru clenched his jaws across the scythe's handle, trying to wrestle it away from Hidan.

"How you dare to touch the High Priest's Sacred Scythe, you flea ridden bitch!" Hidan hollered, as he tried to wrestle the scythe from the snarling dog.

"Keep him like that, Akamaru!" Kiba said, as he dashed towards them. However, much to his horror, he realized the fire monster was aiming another of those fire attacks towards them. "Oh shit!"

"Oh no, you won't!" Tamaki's voice said, as the cat kunoichi delivered a flying double kick to the monster's side, making it to release the fire attack into the sky. "You owe me one!"

Hidan, meanwhile, managed to retrieve his scythe from Akamaru's grasp, but as he did, he was unable to dodge Kiba lunging at him, ready to slash him with his elongated nails. His face and exposed part of his chest felt the pain of Kiba's slashed.

"God Dammit! What the fuck you think you-"

"Lightning Blade!"

Despite the initial sound, Kakashi's trademark jutsu hit its mark, and pierced the Jashin cultist's heart from behind, running him his arm through, his still electrified hand bursting from his chest. Hidan, however, looked more angry rather than in pain.

"You don't seem to understand what 'immortality' means, do you, you retard?" Hidan asked, as he grabbed Kakashi's hand, keeping him stuck.

"I had to test it to see if it was true," was Kakashi's answer. "After all, I'm not going to take the enemy's word for granted."

"Whatever, dude. Kakuzu!" Hidan hollered.

Another one of Kakuzu's monsters, this time one with a mask that looked like a horned demon, leaped towards them. Its body started to crackle with electricity as Kakuzu made the Snake seal. "Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

The demon masked monster opened its mouth, releasing a stream of lightning bolts at the startled Kakashi.

 _"This is bad!"_ the copy ninja distressingly though, trying in vain to pull his right hand from Hidan's chest. Before the lightning could strike, he used his left arm and, without the aid of seals, tried to use his signature jutsu once again. "Lightning Blade!"

With his electrified hand, Kakashi managed to swat away the lightning attack. Then, he felt that Hidan was no longer grabbing him, and pulled his hand from the hole he had made. However, Hidan spun over his feet, ready to deliver an horizontal spinning slash with his scythe. Kakashi jumped back, but wasn't fast enough, and the scythe slashed his chest, piercing his flak jacket, and drawing some blood.

"Yes! Hahaha...hahahaha...HAHAHAHA! You'll make a fine sacrifice to Jashin-sama, copy ninja!" Hidan said, as he licked Kakashi's blood.

While Team Kakashi dealt with Hidan and some of Kakuzu's monsters, Fu hadn't lost sight of her initial goal, and flew to face Kakuzu once again. The masked Akatsuki didn't fail to notice the enraged jinchuriki.

"It's rare to see a prey seeking their predator with such energy," Kakuzu deadpanned as he engaged into another brutal hand to hand duel with the green haired jinchuriki. "Are you that foolish to believe that you have a chance against me?"

"I have more than a chance!" Fu yelled, as a tornado started to form in her fist. "Hurricane Punch!"

Fu's punch produced a powerful wind in every direction strong enough to push Kakuzu back. Before he could have time to react, Fu jumped and tried to deliver a roundhouse kick to the head. But Kakuzu's reflexes were sharper than she thought, and expertly grabbed her by the ankle. In a display of monumental force, Kakuzu then slammed Fu against the ground multiple times.

"Leave her alone!" Shibuku shouted, as he leaped at Kakuzu with a blade made of water in his hands.

Kakuzu merely chucked Fu at Shibuki, who crashed against her, before they dropped to the ground with a loud thud.

"Not being able to kill you is rather irritating. But let's hope that can keep you two down enough time so we can get rid of the rest," Kakuzu grumbled.

Before Kakuzu could decide which enemy he should take out next, that decision was made for him when he was covered head to toe by an angry swarm of beetles.

"What the...?" Kakuzu asked, trying to swat the bugs away.

"You won't lay a finger on Fu while I'm here and I can fight," Shino said in cold anger, as with a hand motion, commanded his swarm to drain Kakuzu dry of chakra.

However, the swarm of beetles had the unintended effect of hiding Kakuzu while he made a hand seal. One of the thread monsters, the one with the turtle mask, leaped at them.

"Water Release: Roaring Waterfall!"

The turtle masked monster opened its jaws, expelling a massive cone of water wide enough to hit both Kakuzu and Shino with immense force. Shino jumped, as he recalled the swarm attacking Kakuzu, who made no effort to move and was engulfed by the incoming torrent.

"He didn't care about hitting himself with his own jutsu in order to get rid of my Kikai swarm..." Shino noted, as his brain tried to formulate a strategy. "Elemental blasts of such scale will wipe my swarm away in an instant...I didn't think I'd have to resort to this jutsu so soon, but guess that the quality of the enemy demands it..."

"You are an Aburame, aren't you? Very few clans use insects to attack enemies," Kakuzu noted. "If you were five years older, I could cash a nice bounty for your head. Such a pity, but I can't let you live. Please don't make it harder than it should be. I'm sure you already noticed that your set of skills will be of little use against me, so let's not drag this out. Time is gold, as they usually say."

"Trust me, the feeling is mutual," Shino coldly replied, as he made a singler hand seal. "Aburame Secret Art: Giant Beetle Growth!"

Several bursts of smoke exploded around Shino, creating eight beetles as large as Akamaru. Kakuzu, however, was unimpressed.

"That changes nothing. No matter what you do, you won't be able to land a hit on me," Kakuzu confidently said.

"Maybe," with a hand motion, Shino directed the enlarged beetles at the Akatsuki adopted a fighting stance. Then, much to his surprise, the beatles deviated their trajectory in the last second, flying to the sides. "But I'm sure she can."

Kakuzu noticed a shadow looming over him. Looking up, he saw an enraged Fu descending upon him, her fist ready to crush him into pulp. While her body was battered and had numerous bruises, she didn't look as she was unable to keep fighting.

 _"How did she recover so soon?"_ Kakuzu thought in frustration, as he instinctively raised his arms to protect himself. _"Too late to dodge, I need to harden my skin!"_

"TAKE THIS!" Fu screamed, as her fist hit Kakuzu's crossed arms, unleashing all her anger into that blow.

Fu felt like her fist was hitting solid rock rather than soft flesh, but she didn't mind. If Kakuzu turned into stone, she'll shatter him to bits. The force of the impact caused a powerful shockwave, while it also sank Kakuzu to his knees into the ground, cracks in the ground spreading from the penetration point. Fu the continued punching Kakuzu both arms, sinking him a little more with each hit.

Sensing its master cornered, one of the monsters quickly rushed to his aid. The bird, masked creature opened is beak as it charged a devastating Wind Release against the jinchuriki...

"No, you won't," Shino said cooly.

...if it weren't for the group of giant beetles slamming against the monster, latching onto him, and devouring its chakra as well. The monster didn't scream –it seemed it was unable to– but tried to struggle against its predators by wildly shooting wind bullets in random directions, failing to hit any of the enlarged insects, who wisely positioned themselves to avoid being hit.

"What!?" Kakuzu asked in shock.

The first creature failing its task, and being already defeated, it was the turtle masked monster who attacked Fu with a powerful stream of water, forcing the mint haired girl to fly away, and allowing Kakuzu to get out of the hole Fu had sunken him into.

 _"Inconceivable. How did I lose one of my hearts so soon, to these children!?"_ Kakuzu thought in frustration. _"My greater experience should give me enough advantage to deal with these kids easily."_

"Fu, Shibuki-san, are you okay?" Shino asked, as both he and Fu converged with Shibuki.

"I'm fine, but Shibuki doesn't look that hot," Fu said, before turning towards Kakuzu, and raising her fists in front of her face. "I'll keep the Akatsuki busy while you heal Shibuki, okay?"

"You need healing too," Shino protested.

"Not as much as Shibuki. Now heal him already!" Fu ordered.

Shino decided not to oppose his girlfriend anymore, as he started to heal Shibuki while Fu went back to engage Kakuzu.

…

 _Takigakure_

"Lightning Release: Thunder Arrows!"

Flying above the battle that was taking place in the village, Hinata fired several arrow-shaped lightning bolts with her chakra bow at some of the Sons of Jashin –that's how the cultists called those horrible creatures– that entered her range. The arrows exploded in a splash of electricity, hitting every enemy in a small radius. Had she used her Lightning Release jutsu from such distance she could had hit her allies, who were fighting very close to the enemies.

 _"But with this weapon, I can shot accurate attacks at the enemy without being afraid of hitting my allies,"_ Hinata thought, as she floated over the battlefield. "Haku-kun, two coming from behind!" Hinata warned him.

Haku wordlessly nodded, and made several hand seals, before slamming his foot on the ground. Ice started to grow on the ground around him, suddenly generating multiple ice spikes that impaled the Sons of Jashin that tried to ambush him.

"Thank you, Hinata," Haku replied, as he weaved hand signs to pelt with ice blades a group of mercenaries and Jashin cultists in front of him.

"Hey, do you guys know where is Fu?" Naruto asked, as he sliced more Sons of Jashin with his Wind Blade. "I can't see him anywhere. Hinata-hime?"

Hinata nodded, and extended the range of her Tenseigan to cover the whole village. Still, she was unable to find her physical body nor her chakra signature. A worried expression crept on her face.

"I can't find her!" she said in horror.

"What? No, she has to be here! What are Kakashi-sensei and the other doing!?" Naruto shouted in frustration. "There's no way Akatsuki could have get their hands on her so quick!"

"Hinata-san, can you scan the area surrounding the village? She might still be around here," Haku suggested.

Hinata nodded, and did as she was told. As she inspected the surrounding forests, her desperation grew when no signs of human activity were found. That's it, until she saw some flickers of chakra coming from the west. Focusing her sight in that direction, she finally saw it.

"There's a domed chakra barrier in the forest to the west!" Hinata pointed out. "I can't see what's inside, but I have the feeling that both Fu, Team Kakashi and the Akatsuki might be there."

"In that case, we should go and help them. I believe the situation here is under control," Naruto said.

"Indeed, those horrible creatures are retreating!" Hinata pointed out.

And just like she said, the Sons of Jashin disengaging the Taki, Konoha or Suna ninjas fighting them, and run back to the Great Tree. However, they didn't look as if they were abandoning the fight, but more like regrouping to plan a counterattack –could those beasts think complex strategies?–. She was taken aback by what they did next.

"What...?" Hinata asked.

"Hinata-hime, what's going on?" Naruto asked

"They're merging! It seems that, since they have the same chakra signature, they can combine themselves and-"

Hinata's explanation was interrupted when Naruto, Haku and their allies saw a massive black mass rise above them. The mass took a vaguely humanoid form, with a massive top body, large, thick arms, short but stocky legs, and a featureless tiny stump in place of a head. The giant creature had multiple eyes of varying sizes across his body, as well as many mouths full of sharp teeth. Several small tentacles protruded from several parts of his body, constantly wiggling as if they had life on his own.

"What...what the hell is THAT!?" Naruto screamed upon seeing the abomination.

"Our secret weapon! Behold the power of our dark master, you unclean infidels!" a Jashin cultist said in joy. "The Wrath of Jashin! A colossal avatar of our God's will, that will purge this place of the unbelievers!"

The massive creature took a step forward, crushing a house under one his feet, and several ninja of both sides. This caused all the Taki, Konoha and Suna ninja to flee from that monsters' vicinity.

"We need to take that thing out of the village!" Hinata said.

"I know!" Naruto replied, as he leaped onto Gamabunta's head. "Boss, you think you can take that creature away from here?"

"I'll try, but I won't promise anything!" Gamabunta replied, as he went to engage the giant creature. "Try to get everybody else out of my way!"

Gamabunta leaped out of the water, landing in front of the Wrath of Jashin with a loud rumble that make the earth shake. The abomination set all its eyes on the gigantic toad, identifying it as the main threat. Moving one giant arm, the monster tried to slam Gamabunta, but giant toad proved to be more nimble than his size let on, feinted, and latched onto the creature.

"Hinata-hime, Haku, come on, we need to help the boss deal with this guy! Let's try to finish it as soon as we can so we can move to hep Fu and the others!" Naruto cried.

Naruto's teammates nodded and jumped –or descended in Hinata's case– onto Gamanunta's head.

"Let's take this somewhere more private, shall we?" Gamabunta said, before leaping high into the air, with the Wrath of Jashin in tow. They cruised the skies at high speed, before falling down a kilometer or so away from Taki. The abrupt landing caused an earthquake and blasted a multitude of trees away, creating a clearing.

"Alright then, now I don't need to hold back anymore!" Gamabunta said with a glee.

"Neither do we," Naruto added, as he prepared his Wind Blade.

…

 _Back inside the Chakra Dome_

Holding his bleeding, slashed stomach with one hand, Kakashi watched in confusion as Hidan licked the blood from his scythe, and changed. His skin turned pitch black with white motifs that somehow resembled human bones.

"The condition has been met. Not, let us begin," Hidan cryptically said as he pulled out a ritual dagger from within his cloak, and stabbed it on his palm. He used the resulting gush of blood to draw a circle with a triangle inside it around him.

 _"I don't know what the hell is he doing, but my instincts are screaming not to let him finish!"_ Kakashi thought, as he lunged at Hidan with one hand still holding his stomach, and the other firmly grabbing a kunai.

However, he was forced to cancel the attack when his Sharingan noticed the lightning monster coming at him, ready to fire an electric blast at the copy ninja, who jumped away to avoid it. Still, the monster persisted in his onslaught, and fired more electric botls, forcing the silver haired Jonin to continue jumping.

Kiba and Tamaki had noticed what had happened, and decided to stop Hidan before he could finish whatever he was doing.

"Come on, Akamaru!" Kiba said, riding his large dog, as they charged at Hidan.

"He needs to stay still to finish whatever jutsu he's planning to do! We can't waste this chance to finish him off!" Tamaki said, leaping besides him.

Unfortunately for them, Kakuzu still had one more monster left, the one with the tiger mask that spewed fire. And fire did spew, a massive torrent of flames, forcing Kiba, Tamaki and Akamaru away from Hidan.

"...and done!" Hidan cried triumphantly, as he started to laugh. "Hahahaha, yes! Now, Jashin-sama, accept this measly sacrifice from this unworthy servant of yours!" Hidan said, almost chanted, as he raised the ritual dagger over his head.

 _"I need to stop him! He changed when he drank my blood, that means he created some sort of connection between us, and plans to use it in some way to cause me harm!"_ Kakashi distressingly thought as he tried to avoid the demon masked monster while rushing towards Hidan.

Kakashi's hand crackled with electricity, as he jumped over the demon masked monster. The pain in his stomach became greater the more he moved, made it even worse by all the blood he was losing. He only had a chance to top it. He forced his Sharingan to his limits in order to have a clear shot at the Akatsuki cultist.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Beast Tracking Fang!"

But he was too late.

"Now...SUFFER!"

Hidan brought down his dagger, piercing his flesh, causing him a great pain that flooded him with a perverse sense of joy and pleasure. And the silver haired Jonin felt that very same pain in his own flesh.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" Tamaki cried in horror.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Yeah, another cliffhanger that teases a death of a major character. I know, I suck a lot and you hope I die in a fire.**

 **So! The battle for Takigakure's freedom has begun! But we all know that in the end, that battle means very little and the Taki ninjas will take back their home. The real question, though, it's if Akatsuki will be able to capture Fu, or the greeen haired girl and the Animal Squad (and Shibuki) will be able to survive against the Zombie Team, at least until help arrives.**

 **And while the Assault Squad knows about their predicament, not only are they busy dealing with the Wrath of Jashin, but there's that pesy barrier they have to deal with.**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed all the action on this chapter. Tune in two weeks for the resolution. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	63. The Immortal Team, Part I

**Author's Note: Well, this arc don't seem to be doing that good in terms of reviews, since we're reaching historical lows. I'm really hoping I'm not losing my touch, or that this story is becoming repeptitive or stale. Anyway, let's hope that this chapter fares a little better. Enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 63**

The Immortal Team, Part I

 _or_

 _You Can't Kill What's Dead on the Inside_

"So... any of you guys have any experience fighting giant monster... thingies with lots of eyes, mouths and tentacles, all in places that shouldn't have any of those?" Naruto asked as he eyed the Wrath of Jashin, whom had recovered from the shock of the landing.

"The answer may surprise you, but no," Haku deadpanned.

The Wrath of Jashin let out a thundering roar from all its mouths at the same time, as it charged at Gamabunta while raising one of its massive arms.

"Fortunately, that thing telegraphs its attacks way in advance," Hinata noticed.

The arm came down, and Gamabunta managed to catch it with his webby hands. However, it packed so much force, the giant toad was pushed backwards, crushing a few trees under him.

"His attacks might be easy to predict, but that doesn't make them any less painful!" Gamabunta loudly wheezed. "Come on, do something!"

"First of all," Naruto said, making his favorite hand seal, as he created two Shadow Clones. "Go collect some nature energy!" Obediently, the clones leaped away, and disappeared between the lush trees below. "So, anybody has an idea of how should we tackle something so big?"

"Let's go for the eyes, I think they may be its weak spots," Hinata suggested, as she readied her chakra bow. Haku did the same.

"Very well then! Let's go!" Naruto agreed, as he and his teammates leaped from Gamabunta towards the Wrath of Jashin. Naruto landed on its right shoulder, Haku on its left forearm, while Hinata stayed floating in front of its chest.

The tentacles that randomly wiggled weren't there for no reason. The moment Naruto and Haku touched the monster, nearby tentacles lunged at them, wrapping around their bodies.

"Oh no, you don't!" Naruto shouted, as he pulled his Wind Blade, and with a well directed swipe, cut the tentacle clean, releasing him at once. More tentacles flew at him, but they ended up sharing the same fate.

Haku, meanwhile, opted to make several hand seals. "Ice Release: Walking Winter!"

The Ice Ninja generated a powerful icy aura that quickly froze the tentacle restraining him. The tentacle frozen, Haku shattered it by slamming his chakra bow against it, breaking free from the appendage.

"Come on, before it has the chance to get us again, attack at once!" Naruto commanded. The others nodded.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Arrow!"

"Ice Release: Freezing Arrow!"

Arrows of lightning an ice impacted against two of the creature's many eyes. Naruto, meanwhile, stabbed his Wind Blade on a large nearby eyeball. The Wrath of Jashin let out a loud, thundering roar, as it trashed wildly, trying to get rid of its comparatively tiny but painful attackers.

"Gamabunta, attack now!" Naruto shouted.

"You got it, brat!" the giant toad shouted, as he leaped into the air, unsheathed his katana, and delivered a vertical swipe. "TAKE THIS!"

Gamabunta's blade vertically bisected the monster from the stump where its head should be, right to the chest, but the blade didn't do down any further. Oddly enough, rather than blood or organs, Sons of Jashin started to pour from the cut, some of the falling to the ground, others trying to crawl back into the wound and repair it, and others remained on the monster's skin, not knowing what to do.

"The creature is gathering chakra! Watch out, it prepares to attack!" Hinata warned.

And just as the Hyuga Clan Head said, the Wrath of Jashin opened all its mouths at once, releasing streams of blue fire. As if it had life on its own, the fire flew in arcs towards the Konoha ninja and the giant Toad, who pulled his giant blade out of the monster.

"Ouch! Hot! Hot! Hot!" Gamabunta shouted, as the flames made him jump back. "My skin is not made to withstand fire!"

Naruto, Hinata and Haku tried to dodge it as best as they could. They noticed that, even if the flames they dodged crashed against the monster, its skin wasn't burnt, and the creature didn't appear to feel any pain.

"Goddamit, is this creature fireproof?" Naruto complained.

"I believe this is not normal fire," Haku conjectured, as he made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Wall!"

Haku expelled a stream of water from his mouth to an incoming blaze of blue fire, which did nothing to stop it other than slow it down a little. Haku was forced to dodge once again.

"Indeed. The chakra of the flames doesn't look like normal fire chakra should. It is shaped like fire, but it's not fire," Hinata observed.

"But it still burns like fire!" Gamabunta loudly complained.

"Maybe the skin is fire resistant, but maybe the eyes are not! Let's try to direct the flames there!" Naruto suggested.

Haku and Hinata nodded, and the moment the next homing streams of blue fire came, they tricked them into hitting their eyes.

 **"GRAAAAAAAARGH!"**

And Naruto was right, much to his satisfaction. The creature's many mouths let out multiple high pitched growls of pain, as it trashed wildly in order to futilely fight the pain and those who were causing it.

"It worked!" Naruto cheered.

"I can see that. However, even if we destroy all the creature's eyes, I doubt we'll be able to kill it," Hinata pointed out.

"I know, but at least it won't use that attack anymore. Plus I have a plan," Naruto said. "I'll keep this guy distracted. Can you immobilize it?"

"Leave that to me," Haku volunteered, as he started to descend from the monster to the ground level. "Though I believe this may take some time!"

"We'll buy you that time, then!" Hinata exclaimed, as she and Naruto faced the Wrath of Jashin again.

…

Electricity from Kakashi's arm flickered away, as it was replaced by an intense feeling of pain. Blood started to soak the sleeve of his dark blue shirt, pouring from a gash that hadn't been there a second before.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Tamaki screamed.

"Just...what did that guy do?" a confused Kiba asked.

Using his ritual dagger, Hidan had stabbed his right arm, a deranged smile appearing on his face as he did so. He let out a soft, but demented laugh.

"Hahaha...the pain...it feels so good!" Hidan moaned, sounding like somebody who was experiencing the greatest of the pleasures. He pulled the dagger from his bloodied arm. "Shall we do it again?"

 _"Just like I expected, using my blood, he used a jutsu to create a link between us. Whenever he suffers an injury, the same happens to me. But since he's immortal, he can wound himself all what he wants without running into any risks. In fact, he looks as if he already did this plenty of times..."_ Kakashi thought, as he held his arm in pain. _"But the question is...what can I do to stop him?"_

"You know what, Kakashi? My jutsu allows me to shut down my pain receptors if I wish. But I don't want to," Hidan began. "Do you know why? Because I want to know what my victims feel as I slowly erode their lives away. And the pain...oh, the pain! Is there a more wonderful sensation?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Kiba shouted, as he an Akamaru rushed to attack Hidan.

"No, stop! Hidan linked our chakra in some way! If you cause him any harm, said harm will go to me as well!" Kakashi warned his student.

"Heh, not bad. Most people only realize what's going on when they're about to die," Hidan praised the Copy Ninja. "Not that it's going to be of any help here either!"

"We'll see about that!" Kakashi shouted. Soldiering through the pain, Kakashi grabbed a kunai with his unwounded arm, and dashed towards the Jashin cultist. "Okay, I think I know how can I incapacitate him without causing lethal harm. I only need to-"

"Nuh-uh!" Hidan said in a chastising manner, as he drove his dagger into his right leg.

The silver haired Jonin felt an intense pain on his right leg, lost, balance, and fell to the ground facefirst.

"You may not know it already, Kakashi, but you're already dead. I'm merely toying with you, milking you for all the delicious pain in your body, until I have no more use for you, and I send your soul to Jashin-sama," Hidan gleefully said.

Kakashi tried to fight desperation and keep a cool head, something that was becoming increasingly difficult to do, due not only knowing that Hidan could kill him whenever he wanted to, but because the increasing number of bleeding wounds was making such task progressively harder.

 _"No jutsu is perfect, all of them have a weakness and ways to be countered, and this can't be an exception! Come on, Kakashi, think!"_ the silver haired Jonin desperately thought, as he tried to scan Hidan with his Sharingan. But, unfortunately, from his position, he could only see his legs, and that strange symbol he made with his own blood at the beginning.

A symbol he was standing over...could it be?

"Kiba, Tamaki, that Akatsuki is standing on a symbol he drew with his own blood! Push him away from it! Use shuriken with ninja wire!" the masked man commanded.

Hidan's expression when from sadistic smugness to utter shock in less than a second. And it was all what Kakashi needed to prove his theory right.

"The fuck!? How did you guess that!?" an indignant Hidan exclaimed. "You know what? Fuck it! You might have discovered how my jutsu works, but it was for naught, since I'm going to end this NOW!" Hidan said, as he prepared to stab himself in the heart.

"Not so fast!" Tamaki shouted.

Two shuriken with ninja wire attached flew at Hidan. Using the wire to maneuver it, the shuriken wrapped the wire around Hidan's arms, before Kiba and Tamaki pulled in opposite directions, immobilizing him. Kakashi suppressed a groan as he also felt like an invisible force was trying to rip his arms apart. His students noticed this, and hesitated for a second.

"Don't waver! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine! Focus on bringing Hidan out of that circle!" Kakashi insisted.

Kiba and Tamaki nodded, as they continued pulling Hidan back. The Akatsuki, however, despite offering no small amount of resistance, was being pulled back, slowly but surely.

"Goddamit!" Hidan shouted, as he was forced to take a step back, but wasn't fully out of the symbol. "Kakuzu! Lend me a fucking hand, you asshole!"

Meanwhile, at the other side of the clearing, Shino, Fu and Shibuki were fighting Kakuzu. Or more specifically, Fu was engaging Kakuzu in a brutal hand to hand duel while the men fought against the three remaining elemental creatures made of threads. Hidan's screams momentarily interrupted the fight, dragging their attention to the other battlefield.

"It seems that Hidan can't even finish the job himself," Kakuzu grumbled, as he caught a punch from Fu. "Why do I always have to babysit that moron?"

"Kakashi-sensei seems to be grievously wounded. If I don't help him, he might perish," Shino stated.

"Then go! Fu and I will keep Kakuzu busy!" Shibuki told him, as he made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

Shibuki expelled a stream of water from his mouth, to counter the turtle masked monster's own water jutsu, giving Shino a chance to escape.

Wordlessly, Kakuzu disengaged Fu, and rushed to intercept Shino, but the green haired girl wouldn't let him.

"I am your opponent!" Fu shouted, as she appeared in front of the rogue Taki ninja, blocking his way. "Don't even dare to ignore me!"

Realizing that he had no way to go past the jinchuriki, Kakuzu commanded his masked monsters to aid Hidan in any way they could. While the help arrived, Hidan continued to struggle against the two Konoha Chunin.

"You fucking brats! You won't interrupt the Jashin's scared sacrifice!" Hidan protested, as he struggled to remain within the symbol of blood.

"Akamaru, now!" Kiba commanded.

With a bark of agreement, the large white dog dashed at Hidan, and bashed him in the chest with his head. Added to the force pulling him back, the immortal Akatsuki fumbled out of the symbol, before he finally fell on his back.

"Alright then, just to be sure, let's check if my theory is correct!" Kakashi said, as he pulled out a single shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed it at the downed Hidan. The shuriken stabbed on his chest. No such wound appeared on Kakashi's. "Theory confirmed. Now, to make sure you can't continue that ritual..." This time, Kakashi pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it, and tossed it to the blood symbol.

"NO!" Hidan screamed.

Kiba, Tamaki and Akamaru jumped away in time before Kakashi detonated the explosive note, destroying the blood symbol, and leaving a crater in its place.

At that moment, Shino landed besides Kakashi, and started to heal all his wounds.

"I hope the time of my arrival wasn't too late," Shino stated.

"You couldn't have arrived in a better moment," a thankful Kakashi said. Then, his eyes grew wide upon seeing what was coming. "Guys, watch out! The other Akatsuki sent reinforcements!"

Kiba and Tamaki saw the three remaining masked monsters flying at them. While the two Chunin could deal with them without troubles, Kakashi and Shino would be like sitting ducks for them.

"Kiba, we need to protect Kakashi-sensei and Shino from those things, as well as the Akatsuki!" Tamaki urged, as she adopted a fighting stance.

"Agreed. I think that this is a good moment to use the new jutsu I've been working on for the past weeks. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Kiba said, and a clone appeared besides him.

Tamaki was unimpressed. "A shadow clone? That's your new jutsu?"

"That's just the first part! Akamaru!" Kiba called his dog, who rushed to his side. Both Kiba and his clone rode on Akamaru's back –the additional weight was apparent on the dog's struggling expression–, before making the Tiger Seal. "Inuzuka Secret Art: Human Beast Mixture Transformation Three-Headed Wolf!"

Kiba, his clone and Akamaru disappeared in a cloud of smoke, revealing a large, white furried, three-headed wolf in its place. The three heads let out each a bark in unison.

Tamaki was still unimpressed. "So, your giant wolf transformation has three heads instead of two. Eh, guess that's an improvement," she said, shrugging a little.

The three heads shot her an annoyed stare.

"Okay, here they come!" Tamaki said, as the masked monsters hovered over them, readying their attacks.

…

Meanwhile, back to the forests surrounding Takigakure, the battle against the Wrath of Jashin continued. Haku had descended all the way down to the ground, and from his point of view, he could now truly appreciate how massive the colossal aberration was.

The Ice Ninja rummaged through his ninja tool pouch, until he found a soldier pill, and popped it into his mouth.

"Even with the pill, I might not have enough chakra to completely immobilize it...but I have to try it nevertheless..." Haku wondered aloud, as his hands flew through hand seals. "Here goes nothing...Ice Release: Encompassing Mantle of the Yuki-Onne!"

The temperature abruptly dropped to subzero levels, as the green grass and brown soil of the ground started to crystalize, soon becoming white and light blue ice. The ice quickly spread all around Haku, the trees, the rocks, and most importantly, the Wrath of Jashin's legs. Though Haku was directing all his chakra towards the latter point.

The giant monster seemingly realized what was going on, and tried to move one of its legs to crush Haku. However, he was too late, and both legs were frozen solid. But the monster didn't give up, and using his massive strength, tried to free its lower limbs. The ice started to crack.

"Oh no, you don't!" Haku said, making a hand seal, intensifying the cold of his jutsu, which repaired the cracks in the ice.

"Naruto-kun! Hinata-san! I'll try to hold it down as much as possible, but whatever you plan to do it, do it already!" Haku yelled from below.

Many meters above, Naruto was already in position, firmly on the handle of Gamabunta's weapon. His eyes were now yellow with orange eyeshadow, signaling that Sage Mode was now active.

"Okay Bunta, now, before it attacks! Hack it to pieces!" Naruto said. "Haku, get out of the way!"

"You got it!" Gamabunta replied, as he began to wind his sword back.

"The monster is gathering chakra again! Watch out!" Hinata warned.

Pieces of flesh from the Wrath of Jashin's chest started to slip back, revealing a massive orange eye below. The eye started to glow with a crimson light for a few seconds, before it fired a chakra blast of the same color at Naruto and Gamabunta.

"Oh shit!" Naruto cursed.

However, Hinata got in the way between the crimson missile and its target, and using her telekinetic powers. It held it in place, slowing it down as much as she could.

"Naruto-kun...I'm trying to..." Hinata said, as she poured every ounce of her power into stopping that attack.

"Got it, no time to waste! Gamabunta, let's do it now!" Naruto called.

"Alright!" Gamabunta agreed, as he jumped in the air, and readied his sword for a downwards slice.

"Here it goes!" Naruto said, as he started channeling all his chakra into the giant toad's katana. The blade started to glow with a blue and white fire that swirled around it. "Sage Art: Majestic Destroyer Sword!"

This time, Gamabunta's katana sliced through the monster as easily as if it was made of butter. With two precise blows, the monster was split into three parts, which fell apart instantly, while at the same time releasing multiple Sons of Jashin, that tried to reform again.

"Naruto-kun, the monster will reform in a few minutes! Please tell me that your plan didn't end there!" Hinata pleaded.

"Of course it didn't!" Naruto shouted, as he jumped from Gamabunta's sword, and landed on the toad's head, and started making hand seals.. "I'm gonna need some oil!"

"Alright!" Gamabunta replied, as his dewlap swelled up, before releasing a stream of oil, covering the reforming monster under the sticky substance.

"Fire Release: Flame Toad Bullet!"

Naruto breathed a single fireball into the oil, igniting it, which instantly produced a massive blaze that consumed not only the Wrath of Jashin and all the smaller demons that formed it, but many trees around the area as well.

"Its chakra it's receding. I think that attack destroyed it completely," Hinata informed, as he scanned the creature with her Tenseigan.

"Alright then. Tell me when it's completely dead, and Gamabunta will put that fire out before it goes out of control," Naruto stated. "While Fu and the others might need our help, we can't leave this place with a forest fire waiting to happen."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

…

"These wounds are very deep," Shino noticed, as he healed Kakashi's gash on his right arm.

"Meaning that you will take some time to mend them, I know," Kakashi replied.

"No, I mean you're lucky to be alive. If the Akatsuki decided to forego toying with you and went for a vital spot...there would be nothing neither me not any medic could have done to save you," Shino pointed out.

"Guess we must be thankful Hidan is so unhinged. His partner doesn't seem to be the kind of fooling around," Kakashi commented, before his eyes opened wide. "SHINO GET OUT OF HERE!"

Shino turned around, and saw one of the masked monsters looming above them. It opened its maws, and started to charge a fireball. However, before it could fire and turn Kakashi and Shino to ashes, the three headed wolf Kiba and Akamaru fused into blasted it with a sonic roar, making it to shoot the fireball in another direction where, thankfully, nobody was standing. The wolf them placed himself in front of Shino and Kakashi as if to protect them from further attacks, and gnarled menacingly.

The fire monster got back on its feet, and insisted on its attack. Opening its maws, it released a massive wave of fire at the same spot. The wolf took a deep breath, and countered it with a continuous sonic roar. The soundwaves and the fire pushed back and forth, with none of them gaining ground over the other.

Not far away from there, Tamaki was engaging Hidan, while Shibuki dealt with the Lightning and Water monsters. Though in Tamaki's case, she was mostly trying to dodge Hidan's scythe swings.

"Stop moving, you dumb bitch!" Hidan shouted, as he tried to skewer Tamaki.

"Fat chance. I know what happens if you manage to get a drop of my blood," Tamaki replied.

"It's going to happen sooner or later! I'm immortal, you're not! I can fight for as long as I want, while you will get tired, and when you do, you'll become my sacrifice! And then that silver haired bastard of a sensei of yours will go next!" Hidan screamed, before delivering a vertical slash.

Tamaki nimbly dodged it with a backflip, and the three blades stuck themselves into the ground. Hidan pulled, but the scythe didn't come out.

"Come on, this has to be a fucking joke!" Hidan loudly complained, as he struggled to pull the scythe from the ground.

"This is my chance!" Tamaki jumped backwards, retracted her claws, and made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"

The cat kunoichi breathed a massive wave of fire, which took the shape of a large cat, and dashed towards the Akatsuki.

"Eh?" Hidan said, noticing the incoming fire cat, before chuckling. "You really have a hard time understanding what 'immortal' means, don't you?" Hidan laughed, before letting go of the scythe, and spreading his arms. "Your jutsu won't have any effect!"

The fire cat clashed against Hidan, exploding into a torrent of flames. And while such jutsu would have cooked any normal being alive, once the flames receded, Hidan could see that he didn't have a single burn in his body.

"Ha! What did I told you?" Hidan gloated, before realizing that Tamaki was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Where did you go, you cat bitch?"

Meanwhile, Kiba and Akamaru were still trying to hold the fire monster off, but his continued sonic roar was starting to strain the three headed wolf, and the fire was slowly pushing the soundwaves back.

"Shino, leave me. I don't think Kiba will be able to hold that thing for much longer," Kakashi warned his student.

"Not until I'm able to heal you," Shino insisted.

"Shino, this is no time for-"

"DRILL CLAW"

Suddenly, a human tornado appeared out of nowhere, descending from above towards the masked monster still breathing a wave of fire. Noticing the threat too late, the fire monster was unable to move away, and the human tornado shredded the strange creature to black thread strings, and, oddly enough, blood and gore. And in the middle of all that mess, Tamaki stood, covered in some thread and blood. She smiled confidently.

"Another one down," she said with a satisfied grin. "And you guys are welcome."

The three headed wolf grinned in return as well. Kakashi sighed in relief. Shino didn't say anything, and continued healing the copy ninja.

Of course, the destruction of a second masked monster didn't go unnoticed to Kakuzu, who was still engaging Fu.

 _"What? Another one of my hearts down? Just how some brats offer such an incredible resistance?"_ the old Akatsuki thought, as he gave his two remaining monsters a mental command.

The creatures, who were targeting Shibuki, immediately left him, and dashed towards Fu, as they charged an elemental attack each.

"Fu, watch out!" Shibuki warned her.

Thankfully, Fu heard the warning, and her hatred of Kakuzu didn't trump her common sense. She disengaged the masked ninja, deployed her wings, and flew high into the air – albeit not too high, since the chakra dome didn't allow her to – before the elemental barrage of water and lightning could hit her.

The monsters placed themselves at Kakuzu's flanks, as if they were his bodyguards. Hidan, noticing what Kakuzu was doing, also fell back and jumped towards him in order to regroup. The Konoha and Taki ninjas did the same.

"Kakashi-san, are you okay?" Shibuki asked, as he went to check the silver haired Jonin, whom, Shino had finished healing.

"Yes, I'm fine. Not at one hundred percent, but I still can carry my part of the weight," the copy ninja said, as he was helped by Shino and Tamaki back on his feet. "Plus the Akatsuki didn't come out unscathed either. Good job destroying two of those things."

"But even if by doing so we've weakened the enemy, I'm sure they'd now fight with more caution, if not fiercity," Shino noted. "A cornered animal is at its most dangerous."

"Don't worry Shino. I will put those rabid beasts out of their misery," Fu stated, as she punched the palm of her hand.

At the same time, the Akatsuki were discussing the course of the battle, and what would be their next move.

"Just what the hell, man? How are you letting a bunch of kids kick your ass?" Hidan asked Kakuzu.

"The same could be said about you. You had the Jonin's life in your hands, yet you botched it instead of finishing the job," Kakuzu fired back.

"Hey, you fucker, what does-"

"There's no time to argue who's more at fault. The fact is, this fight is not going our way, and we must do something about it," Kakuzu stated.

"Okay then. What's your brilliant idea?" Hidan asked. Wordlessly, Kakuzu pulled out something from his ninja tool pouch. It was a small vial with a blue liquid inside. "You're so fucking weak. Are we going to resort to that already?"

"If you have a better solution, I'm all ears," Kakuzu replied in cold anger. "If not, shut up and drink your part."

"Fine. Whatever," Hidan lazily conceded, as he pulled out an identical vial from a hidden pocket within his cloak, as both he and Kakuzu downed their contents in one go.

Shibuki and Fu immediately recognized the liquid the Akatsuki had ingested.

…

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Hinata to confirm that the Wrath of Jashin had been completely destroyed. After that, Gamabunta put out the fires with a powerful water jutsu, before bidding Naruto farewell. After that, the members of the Assault Squad headed towards the chakra dome as fast as they could.

Right now, it was only a matter of destroying the only barrier that prevented them from helping their friends.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

Hinata released a myriad of lightning bolts from her fingers, and crashed against the bright purple barrier. Multiple small blasts were produced when the electric attack clashed against the barrier. But when the smoke dispelled, the barrier was still there.

"No damage," Hinata pointed out.

"Maybe we can dig a tunnel that goes under the barrier?" Naruto suggested.

Hinata shook her head. "The barrier goes all the way underground, forming a perfect sphere. This is no normal chakra barrier. Whoever did this, they made a very good job."

"I could generate a Demonic Ice Mirror to the other side of the forcefield, but I'm afraid I have no way or letting you pass," Haku pointed out. The Ice Ninja then looked at Naruto. "Naruto-kun, do you think you could use a seal to dispel the barrier?"

"Hmmm..." Naruto grunted, placing a hand under his chin, as he started to think of all the seals he knew, which one could be of help. "Sadly, I don't think there is a seal specifically created to destroy a barrier, but..." the blond then pulled out a small book –that according to its cover, was about fuinjutsu– and started to furiously flip through the pages, as if looking for something.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.

"This!" Naruto replied, showing a certain page of the book to both his teammates.

"A...chakra dampening seal?" Haku asked, reading the headline of the page.

"Yes. The seal is used to reduce, or even suppress completely, the amount of chakra a ninja can mold and release. It's normally used on cuffs to stop criminals from using chakra," Naruto explained.

"And how is that going to help?" Haku asked.

"I'll create a sealing tag with this seal, and use it on the barrier. The amount of chakra will consume it immediately, but it will significantly weaken the area I place the seal on, which would make said area vulnerable to our attacks. Though it will only last a few seconds before the barrier reforms, so we must be quick," Naruto told them.

"That won't be a problem. How long do you think you'll take in making that sealing tag?" Haku asked.

"Five minutes, give or take," Naruto said, as he pulled out from a sealing scroll a brush, ink, and a blank sealing tag. He then made a hand seal, and created other two clones, as well as replicas of his sealing tools. "I'll make other two at the same time, in case the first one fails."

"Very well then. Be quick, Naruto-kun. Our friends are counting on us," Hinata told her boyfriend.

…

"Shibuki, is that...?" Fu asked.

"The Hero Water, yes. Of course, I should have expected that Kakuzu would get his hands on it, with the village under his control," Shibuki replied..

"Hero water? Is the same elixir Fu drank during the fight with Gaara, right?" Kakashi asked, vaguely remembering said event.

"Yes. It provides a temporary power boost. Due the backlash it causes to the body once the effects wear off, we usually drink it in small doses, and only in dire situations," Shibuki explained.

"But since one Akatsuki is immortal and the other has multiple hearts and a modified anatomy, they don't have to worry about such effects," Shino said, being more a statement rather than a question.

"I'm afraid so," Shibuki uneasily replied.

Once they drank their contents, they lazily tossed the vials to the ground, the soft glass shattering in pieces. The effect was immediate, and Hidan and Kakuzu were surrounded by a fiery blue aura.

"Oh yes! This is some good shit!" Hidan hollered, as he gripped his scythe with both hands. "Let's go!"

Suddenly, Hidan vanished and reappeared in front of a stunned Tamaki, ready to slice her in two with his scythe. The cat kunoichi was unable to react in time when the weapon came down, but thankfully, Kakashi, just as quick, parried the blow with a kunai. However, the blow packed so much strength, the silver haired Jonin was hurled backwards.

"The Hero Water made him really fast. If it wasn't for my Sharingan, I don't think I could have seen him move at such speed," Kakashi thought, as he managed to land on his feet on a large tree branch. "And the swipe was so powerful, the force pushed me back."

Then, in an instant, Hidan was leaping towards Kakashi, his scythe winded back. The Akatsuki had a demented grin on his face.

"Don't think I forgot about you! Your soul belongs to Jashin-sama!" Hidan screamed, as he delivered a horizontal chop.

Despite slashing thin air, the blow projected a crescent-shaped chakra blast at Kakashi, which bisected him horizontally, before slashing the canopies of several trees in its path. Hidan smirked upon seeing Kakashi's body sliced in two...

POOF!

...and his smile disappeared when, after a cloud of smoke, Kakashi was replaced by two halves of a sliced log.

"Godammit!" Hidan hollered, as he childishly stomped on the ground. "You won't be able to evade death forever, you fucking heathen!"

Turning around, he saw the real Kakashi regrouped with his students.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you okay?" Tamaki asked.

"Yes. Thank goodness I got that Body Replacement prepared in advance," Kakashi replied. "The Hero Water has increased Hidan's power exponentially. With his newfound speed and strength, I believe he won't even need that ritual to kill any of us. Don't face him, only I can match him now."

"Are you confident you'll be able to beat him in your current state? Even if I healed your wounds, you lost a lot of blood," Shino pointed out.

"Truth be told no, I'm not sure. But I'm our best bet. You did a good job destroying Kakuzu's monsters, try to get rid of the remaining two," Kakashi instructed.

"Yes, Kakashi-sensei," Tamaki said, as he watched her sensei facing the incoming Hidan. "Kiba, Shino, Akamaru, you ready?"

"I believe I am," Shino replied.

"WOOF!" the three headed wolf barked in agreement.

Meanwhile, Fu continued her one on one duel with Kakuzu. However, the effect of the Hero Water in the Akatsuki soon became evident, since the old Takigakure missing-nin moved much faster, and even if Fu was able to block his punches, they left her sore due the additional strength. Soon, her exposed skin was covered in bruises. And on top of that, Fu was barely attacking, and her fighting was limited to just blocking or dodging Kakuzu's attacks.

"I need to put some distance!" the jinchuriki said, as she deployed her wings, and flew high into the air.

Wordlessly, Kakuzu raised his arm, and shoot his forearm like a missile at Fu, which remained attached to the rest of the arm through multiple threads. Fu felt how a hand caught her leg in a strong grip, before being brutally yanked downwards. But not happy with that, Kakuzu raised and slammed her against the ground multiple times, before tossing her against a tree with such force, the tree was toppled.

"Did you have enough, jinchuriki?" Kakuzu asked, as he walked towards the downed green haired girl. "You're lucky I need you alive, or else you should would been dead already."

Groaning, Fu pushed the tree branches away, as she tried to shook off the pain and got back on her feet.

"Dammit...this doesn't look so good..." Fu lamented.

 **"Hey Fu, I think it's time to use my power, don't you think?"** the Nanabi asked.

 _"I think there's no other choice. But I don't want you to try anything funny, okay? The situation is serious!"_ Fu chastised her Tailed Beast.

 **"You have my word I won't try anything,"** the Seven Tails agreed. Fu suddenly felt a rush of power flooding her body. **"Now go and kick his ass!"**

A reddish-orange aura enveloped Fu's body. She slowly felt the pain being washed away, as the bruises on her skin started to heal. Her muscles swelled up a bit, as the sheer energy she was releasing produced gusts of wind. A single tail of chakra formed behind her. Fu smirked. With this kind of power under her control, she could tip the balance back into her favor.

Wordlessly, the jinchuriki charged at Kakuzu, who resumed the fistfight. The strength of both combatants was so great, every punch produced a loud booming noise accompanied by a shockwave, and the two of them moved so fast, it was almost impossible to follow their movements. An expectator would only see a pair of blurs moving across the clearing, followed by booming shockwaves.

As they traded blows, their fists slammed into each other, producing a deafening boom, and a shockwave so powerful, it created a crater big enough to encompass the two fighters, before said shockwave pushed them backwards.

"According to our intelligence, you weren't supposed to be able to use your Tailed Beast power," Kakuzu pointed out.

"Your intelligence isn't very intelligent then," Fu mockingly replied. "So, you didn't plan for this, do you?"

"I admit I don't. But in the world of ninjas, plans rarely unfold as intended, and thus you need to develop a sharp mind in order to rethink your strategies as you go by. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lived as long as I did," Kakuzu calmly replied. "Trust me, girl, your power may match mine, but your experience is a drop of water while mine is an ocean, and that will end the battle in my favor."

"We'll see then!" Fu yelled before vanishing.

Kakuzu vanished as well, and their brutal duel continued.

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Kakashi continued his clash against Hidan, who pushed the copy ninja into the defensive, barely avoiding the onslaught of lightning fast attacks the Hidan cultist was putting the copy ninja through.

"Ha, you think that you can beat me being only on the defensive?" Hidan taunted as he delivered a flurry of slashes.

The silver haired jonin dodged them with an aerial backflip, landing on top of a large tree branch. Undeterred, Hidan leaped at him.

 _"He's right, I can't just defend. Even if he's immortal, I'm sure I can incapacitate him in some way,"_ Kakashi said as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Through his mask, Kakashi breathed a massive fireball, flying in the same direction Hidan was coming. The cultist didn't even bother to dodge the Uchiha Clan's signature jutsu, and plowed through the fiery projectile.

"Weak!" Hidan laughed, as he prepared to cleave Kakashi. "...uh?"

The sound of a thousand birds filled the air as the Akatsuki saw Kakashi lunging at him, his right hand coated in electricity, ready to impale him. Even if he knew the attack wouldn't kill him, it would be the first step to incapacitate him.

"From this distance, and with such momentum, dodging is impossible," Kakashi confidently stated. "Lightning Blade!"

Or it would have been, if it wasn't for what Hidan did next. In the blink of an eye, Hidan stabbed his scythe in the ground, and used it to stop his momentum and spin around, safely dodging Kakashi, and leaving him wide open. Hidan quickly retrieved his scythe, and prepared to cut him in two.

"Nobody escapes Jashin's judgement, infidel, nobody!" Hidan screamed, as the scythe came down. "NOW DIE!"

"Vacuum Palm!"

A vacuum shell appeared out of nowhere, and blasted Hidan's scythe out of his hands. The scythe was send flying into the air, before it fell to the ground, a few meters behind the Akatsuki. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Kakashi turned around, and tried to thrust his Lightning Blade at him once again, but Hidan proved to be too fast, and jumped backwards, avoiding the attack, and landing besides his weapon.

"The fuck!? What the hell happened?" Hidan angrily hollered.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Much to his immense relief, the copy ninja saw the teen members of Kurenai's Assault Squad landing besides him. The copy ninja allowed himself to relax, and the tension and stress of the recent fight all washed over him.

"Thank goodness you arrived. I don't know about the others, but I don't think I would have lasted much longer against this guy," Kakashi said, panting a little.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" Hidan screamed. "How the hell did you dipshits bypassed the barrier? It's still standing, I can feel it!"

"Your barrier was impressive, yes. But no barrier is impenetrable, keep that in mind," Naruto boasted, without giving any more details. Naruto then turned to the silver haired Jonin. "What about Fu and the others?"

"They're fighting Kakuzu to the west, not far away from here," Kakashi replied.

Hinata focused her Tenseigan on the direction Kakashi mentioned, and she quickly found the other members of the Animal Squad, Fu, and a man she didn't recognize, fighting against Kakuzu and two weird creatures.

"Found them! All of them seem to be okay, but they're struggling against the other Akatsuki," Hinata explained.

"Kakashi-sensei, what can you tell us about the Akatsuki?" Haku asked.

"This one is called Hidan, and his main power is immortality," Kakashi noticed the dubious looks the three teens were shooting at him. "Yeah, I thought the same, but he repeatedly survived multiple fatal hits without any kind of consequence. Don't let him draw your blood. If he drinks it, he can use it to create a link with you making you suffer all the wounds he does. He almost killed me that way."

"Don't let him get our blood, got it," Naruto nodded.

"The other...well, it's a bit hard to explain. His body is like nothing I've seen before. He seems to be made of threads that move on their own and keep his whole body together. He also commands four creatures that can use an element each. Though my students managed to kill two of them," Kakashi told him.

"This Akatsuki's chakra flares with such intensity, it's almost like looking directly into the sun," Hinata noticed after directing her eyes at Hidan.

"That's because both him and his partner drank vials of Takigakure's Hero Water. Said water can give your body and chakra a massive boost, but the backlash it causes after the effect disappears can be crippling, even fatal," Kakashi explained.

"But since one of them is immortal and the other has a bizarre anatomy, they can bypass that backlash," Naruto concluded. "Smart bastards."

"Alright then, what are we going to do?" Hinata asked.

"I believe Naruto and Haku should stay here and help me deal with his man," Kakashi suggested. "Naruto can safely fight him without the risk of drawing blood, while Haku has the necessary skills to put him down permanently, even if we won't be able to kill him. Your skills will do more good against the other Akatsuki."

"Understood. I better not waste anymore time. Good luck!" Hinata said, as she flew away towards the other battlefield.

"Alright, Kakashi-sensei, I guess you're in charge now. What do we do?" Naruto asked.

"Listen to me closely, because I don't think we'll have more than one chance to pull this off," Kakashi looked at Haku. "Haku, you will be key to ensure our victory."

The Ice Ninja nodded.

"Hey, stop whispering among yourselves! Whatever clever plan you might come up with, it won't work!" Hidan said, as he adopted a fighting stance. "Hey, the blond shit, aren't you a jinchuriki?"

"So what if I am?" Naruto defiantly replied.

"That means that I won't be able to kill you. Just my fucking luck. Oh well, guess that torturing you to the point of begging me to kill you will have to do then!" Hidan happily said, as he charged towards the trio.

…

Thanks to her ability to fly, it didn't take Hinata long to reach the other battlefield. A quick scan over the are, and she saw Fu fighting against Kakuzu, the two of them moving at an almost imperceptible speed, while Shino, Tamaki, Kiba and Akamaru (fused into a giant, three headed wolf) and a young Taki ninja she was unable to identify, were holding against two of Kakuzu's monsters.

Hinata focused her sight on the masked creatures. They were mostly made of some kind of weird thread, but they also had organs and blood vessels, even if arranged in a way that had nothing to do with the human body. And of course, they had chakra. Though she didn't need the Tenseigan to realize of that when one of the creatures opened its mouth, and released a torrent of water towards the Konoha and Taki ninjas, which were forced to jump backwards in order to dodge.

 _"Should I help Fu-san, or Kakashi-sensei's students?"_ Hinata internally wondered. _"Those monsters seem to be connected to him in some way. Meaning that if the Akatsuki is defeated, they'll go down with him."_

After all, it was a similar situation that the battle against Sasori. Kill the mastermind, and the minions won't be a threat. Even if pained her not to be able to help her fellow Konoha comrades, the Hyuga Clan Head flew straight for the brawl between Fu and Kakuzu. Her hands flew through several hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"

The moment Kakuzu showed an opening, Hinata shoot several lightning bolts at him from her fingertips. However, the Akatsuki's reflexes and movements were far greater than the Hyuga had anticipated, and quickly jumped backwards before her jutsu could hit him.

 _"He's fast! I thought I had a clear shot,"_ Hinata thought.

"Uh? Oh, it's you! One of my Sky Sisters!" Fu cheered upon seeing Hinata.

"Hello, Fu-san. I hope you don't mind if I join you in your fight against this horrible man," Hinata said, as she hovered near her.

"Not in the slightest! But I should warn you, this guy drank the Hero Water, a treasure from my village, and now he's much stronger than usual, so be careful. I can take his hits fine, but I'm not sure about you," Fu explained, sounding a bit apologetic.

"That explains why his chakra burns with such potency," Hinata replied, then she smiled at Fu, before taking a fighting stance. "And don't worry. I won't be able to take hits as well as you do, but I'm very good at dodging them."

Fu grinned in return, and mimicked the Hyuga.

"Those eyes...so, you must be the new Hyuga Clan Head. The one who evolved the Byakugan to a higher level. The...Tenseigan, I think it's called, am I right?" Kakuzu guessed.

Hinata was taken aback by the Akatsuki's words. "How...how do you know that?"

"I have my sources. I knew those eyes were special the moment I saw them," Kakuzu guessed. "So far, you don't have much of a reputation to have a bounty on your head yet, but I'm positive I can get quite an obscene amount of money from those eyes in the black market."

"Many were those seduced by greed or power who wanted to get their hands on my eyes. And as you can tell, none of them were successful. You won't be any different," Hinata stated.

"I bet none of them had my vast experience. While I admit that the two of you are powerful, deep down you're nothing but children that only play to be ninja, and have no idea what life is like," Kakuzu said as his hands rushed to form hand seals.

"Earth Release: Crushing Avalanche!"

Several shadows loomed over the two kunoichi. Looking up, they saw in horror massive boulders falling towards them, prompting them to jump out of the way. But while they were doing so, Kakuzu fired his hands, which latched onto the girls' throats. The hands' skin blackened as they hardened into a stone-like substance, before the Akatsuki pulled his hands back, slowly dragging them through the ground.

However, before Kakuzu could bring them closer, Hinata's body crackled with electricity, before her body released a powerful electric discharge, shocking both Kakuzu and Fu, but forcing the former to release both of them.

"Sorry for that, Fu-san," Hinata said, coughing a bit, as she started healing her neck.

Fu said nothing, but gave her a thumbs up to indicate that it was okay, as she rubbed her sore throat.

"A lightning release user. Without my other hearts, that gives you something of an advantage over me," Kakuzu noted, but didn't sound overly worried. "Oh well, guess I'll have to fight a bit more carefully. This should be enough."

Suddenly, a multitude of threads started to burst from the scars of Kakuzu's body, wiggling as if they had life on their own. Kakuzu's hands once again flew through hand seals.

"Earth Release: Earth Clone Jutsu!"

Six moulds of earth formed around Kakuzu, growing and eventually taking the shape of perfect replicas of the Akatsuki. Without any word from the original, the clones charged forward.

"You'll need something better than that to defeat us!" Fu shouted, as she launched herself against the incoming attackers.

"Fu-san, wait! Don't rush in!" Hinata called her. "This is not good. It seems like the Tailed Beast's chakra is affecting her mind, albeit in a subtle way that doesn't make her realize of it. I better stick close to her."

Something that would become hard to do since half of the clones chose her as their target, and surrounded her, ready to attack. Hinata frowned, and after quickly making two hand seals, her hands started to crackle with electricity.

"None of these clones should withstand an lightning-enhanced palm strike," Hinata mused aloud, as one of the clones lunged at her. Moving aside to dodge the incoming punch, Hinata delivered a palm strike to the clone's chest, opening a hole in it, causing it to crumble into small rocks. "Just as I expected!"

The other two clones launched themselves at Hinata since she was now wide open, but the Hyuga proved to be faster than they anticipated, and with a backflip she dodged them as well. However, while she was doing so, she noticed something she hadn't seen before: chakra lines traveling underground towards both Fu and her. Following those lines, he realized they came from Kakuzu. Much to her horror, she realized the clones were nothing but a distraction. And Fu wasn't aware of this, as she happily fought against the clones.

"FU-SAN, WATCH OUT!" Hinata screamed.

"Huh?" Fu dumbly asked.

But it was too late. While Hinata was able to jump in time to avoid the mass of threads that came from underground, Fu wasn't so fast, and they tightly wrapped against her limbs. Kakuzu pulled the arm those threads came from upwards, tossing the green haired girl into the air. He then motioned down, violently slamming Fu against the ground.

"Fu-san!" Hinata shouted, as she dashed to help her friend. However, the clones that were fighting Fu, plus those Hinata didn't destroy got in her way. "Get out of my way!"

Pushing even more chakra into her hands, Hinata delivered a palm strike to a Kakuzu earth clone that not only shattered it on impact, but created a shockwave imbued with lightning that also destroyed a clone that was behind it. The Hyuga repeated the process with a nearby clone, but the others didn't fall to the trap this time around, and dodged the ensuing shockwave. They kept the distance, but made no move to attack.

 _"They want to keep me busy so I don't help Fu-san...I have to get rid of them as fast as possible!"_ Hinata thought, as panic started to crawl her spine. "Fortunately, I don't need to fight you!"

Hinata started to elevate into the air, as she flew above the Kakuzu clones. However, much to her shock, one of the clones pushed the other into the air, and dived at her feet first, ready to deliver a flying kick. With a quick hand motion, Hinata stopped the clone on his tracks with a telekinetic blast. However, while she was doing so, the other clone leaped from the ground, and rounhoused her in the face, making her fall to the ground.

As she stood up, she glanced at Fu for an instant. Much to her horror, she saw Kakuzu now lunging Fu against a tree with such a tremendous force, the tree was toppled down. He then slowly pulled the threads, dragging Fu closer to him. The Tailed beast aura had already vanished.

"Jinchuriki are prey hard to capture, but eventually all of them fall to Akatsuki," Kakuzu said to one in particular, as he was about to grab Fu.

"No! You won't get your hands on her!" Hinata said as she got up, but the clone's incoming punch forced her to jump backwards. Her hand crackling with electricity once more, she thrust her palm forward. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

The vacuum wave combined with electricity shattered the last clone into dust, as Hinata rushed past him in order to reach Kakuzu and Fu before it was too late.

However, something unexpected happened. The ground beneath Kakuzu's feet started to shake, and before he had any time to react, a black mass of beetles emerged from below, engulfing the Akatsuki completely.

"What the hell is this!?" Kakuzu shouted, as he futilely tried to swat the insects away.

And from within the swarm, Shino emerged, carrying Fu in his arms – and struggling with her upon realizing that her height and muscle mass mean she weighted quite more than he expected –rushing towards Hinata.

"Nice save, Shino-kun," Hinata praised he bug user.

"How is she?" Shino asked, as he placed the half conscious jinchuriki in the ground.

"Despite the beating she got, her wounds aren't that grave," Hinata stated, as she scanned her. "The Tailed Beast chakra is already starting to heal her."

"I'll speed up the process then. Try to cover us," Shino asked, as he started to heal the green haired girl.

Hinata nodded, as she placed herself between the two and Kakuzu, adopting a fighting stance.

"You won't get your hands on her again," Hinata firmly stated.

"I fought against ninja way stronger and more experienced than the likes of you," Kakuzu boasted. "While I admit that you're far stronger than I had anticipated, you're still below my level. This time, I'm going to fight without holding back."

Suddenly, the masked creatures fighting the rest of Shino's teammates and Shibuki disengaged them, and leaped towards Kakuzu. The monsters were re-absorbed into his body, but rather than keep them hidden like he did before, the Akatsuki merged with them, turning into a monstrous mass of thick black threads that appeared to be wearing a human body. Two masses of threads sprouted from Kakuzu's back, as if they were grotesque wings. The two masks appeared on each one of the 'wings'.

"Let's see how well you do against THIS!" Kakuzu said.

* * *

 **Author's Note: As many of you guessed, Kakashi didn't die, at least not until I solve the ongoing subplot with Obito and Rin. After that...well, anything is possible.  
**

 **With the Wrath of Jashin and the battle of Takigakure mostly over (there are no named characters fighting in Taki, so I don't think it¡s that vital to show what's going on there) we can now fully focus on the fight against the Immortal Team. Naruto, Hinata and Haku were able to penetrate the chakra barrier, but again, like many of you guessed, Akatsuki revealed their hidden trumo card, the stolen Hero Water.**

 **Thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **Next time, the conclusion of the Fu/Hidan and Kakuzu arc! Will Fu join the ranks of Yagura and Han, or will she survive? In the meantime, leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	64. The Immortal Team, Part II

**Author's Note: So, due the fact that "True Potential", a fellow and admittedly better and more popular NH fanfic, is also doing an arc about Hidan and Kakuzu invading Taki in order to capture Fu, I've been asked if I'm copying TP or using it as an inspiration. I can assure you that, despite how similar both arcs are, it's nothing but a coincidence. I had this arc planned for months, and written for for weeks (in fact, the next two arcs are already fully written), even if I know some of you won't believe me.**

 **Though I'm going to admit that True Potential as a whole, among other stories, was an inspiration for this fanfic. And its author's plea about featuring the jinchuriki more made me give them a more prominent role in the story.**

 **Anyway, I'm pleased to say that the previous chapter got a higher number of reviews. Though I hope it wasn't because of me complaining about the lower number of reviews in the AN at the beginning. In hindsight, it was kind of lame for me to do so, and won't be doing that again.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling, enjoy the Takigakure Arc's conclusion.**

* * *

 **Chapter 64:**

The Immortal Team, Part II

 _or_

 _Trees are a girl's best friends_

Shibuki, Tamaki, and the three headed wolf all landed near Hinata, Fu and Shino, facing Kakuzu's new form. The Akatsuki looked at the Konoha and Taki ninjas, and shot them an unnerving grin. Fortunately, Shino had already healed Fu, since they would need the green haired jinchuriki's power if they hoped to beat Kakuzu in this new form.

"Well...who wants to go first?" Kakuzu asked.

"Eww...just when you think that old man couldn't be anymore gross, he proves you wrong," Tamaki stated, as she made a grimace.

"His external appearance is irrelevant, is the power he possesses now what we should worry about," Shino interceded. "Why? Because if Kakuzu and his creatures were formidable opponents when fighting on their own, their power became even greater by joining forces."

"That's right, kid. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. There are moments in which a numerical advantage is necessary, but given that you have destroyed two of my hearts...this form is the best approach," Kakuzu agreed.

"Not just that. He still is under the effect of the Hero Water, which now also extends to the creatures he merged with," Shibuki pointed out.

"You're correct once again. Now, let's see the extent of my new power," Kakuzu said, as he made a series of hand seals. The two masks at his sides opened their jaws at the same time.

"Oh shit..." Fu said, as she and everybody else tensed up. "Guys, prepare to run..."

As expected, the masks fired from their mouth a massive torrent of water and a barrage of lightning bolts. Everybody jumped aside in different directions, lest them be obliterated by the empowered elemental attack, which not only wasstronger, but had a longer reach and wider radius of effect, doubling as a good means of defense.

"Fu! Let's go into the air! He won't be able to attack both us and the others in the ground!" Hinata suggested.

Fu nodded, deployed her wings, and joined Hinata several meters above the ground.

"You think yourself so smart, don't you?" Kakuzu mockingly asked, as he directed the stream of water and barrage of lightning towards the flying kunoichi.

 _"He must think we're the biggest threat, and thus wants to take us out first,"_ Hinata realized, as she thrust her palm forward, releasing a telekinetic pulse forward.

Fu, meanwhile, formed seals at great speed. "Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

Fu blew a gust of wind from her mouth that, combined with Hinata's telekinetic blast, was able to stop Kakuzu's water and lightning attack, locking into a stalemate as both attacks pushed back and forth.

"Now that they're keeping him busy, let's strike!" Tamaki shouted, as she, Kiba and Akamaru, and Shibuki charged forward.

"Your naivety is almost adorable," Kakuzu stated.

Suddenly, dozens of black threads emerged from underground, as they tried to wrap the charging ninja, which were forced to jump back.

"Let's try ranged attacks!" Shibuki suggested, as he and Tamaki started making hand seals. "Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"

"Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"

Shibuki expelled a stream of water from his mouth –much smaller than those used by Kakuzu– while Tamaki breathed a wave of fire that took the shape of a cat which rushed at Kakuzu, leaving a trail of embers behind. The three headed wolf that was Kiba and Akamaru merged took a deep breath, and let out a powerful sonic roar.

This time, Kakuzu couldn't afford to treat the ground ninja as mere inconveniences, and was forced to redirect the stream of water towards their incoming attacks in order to cancel them out. However, that left only the lightning bolts to deal with Fu's wind and Hinata's telekinesis, which was unable to hold them back on its own, and was pushed back. Much to his annoyance, Kakuzu was forced to jump back in order to dodge.

"Well done guys! If we attack all at once from different directions, one of us will end up nailing him!" Fu cheered from above.

Kakuzu, however, frowned at the muscular girl's confidence.

"Let me show you how little that strategy is going to help," Kakuzu snarled.

Displaying frightening speed, Kakuzu dashed towards a startled Shibuki, who generated a water sword to defend himself. Tamaki and the three headed wolf charged from the flank.

"You're wide open!" the cat kunoichi said, as she was about to sink her metal claws into the Akatsuki's flesh.

"Am I?" Kakuzu mockingly asked.

The masks at his sides turned at Tamaki and the three headed wolf, and blasted the former with lighting and the latter with a powerful stream of water, pushing both of them backwards several meters.

"Kiba! Tamaki-chan!" Fu screamed, as she dived at Kakuzu while making hand seals.

"Fu, wait! That's what he wants!" Hinata said, trying to reach Fu, but she wasn't fast enough.

"So predictable," Kakuzu said in the same mocking tone, as several tendrils of threads shoot at Fu.

"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"

Once again, Fu expelled a gust of wind from her mouth, but her target wasn't Kakuzu, but the ground. Using the wind jutsu to alter her trajectory, Fu moved above the Akatsuki in an arc, safely dodging the tendrils, before winding her fist back, which started to swirl with chakra.

"Take this! Hurricane Punch!"

Fu slammed her right fist into Kakuzu's head which such force, not only sinking the Akatsuki into a crater, but producing a shockwave and a gust of wind that expanded outwards. Kakuzu's mass of threads that sprouted from his back started to wiggle.

"Foolish," he said.

The mass of threads shaped into several tentacles that quickly coiled themselves around the jinchuriki. However, before he could catch his prey, Fu was yanked backwards by an unseen force, and the thread tentacles only grasped thin air. The green haired girl found herself at Hinata's side once again.

"Whew, nice catch! That was pretty close," Fu told Hinata, chuckling a little.

"His chakra seems to fluctuate before using those strange threads," Hinata explained. "It may be the key to read his movements."

"If we can do that a few more times, I'll only need a few more hits to put him down for good," Fu confidently stated.

"While that may work, I believe we'll need a more effective strategy. His power is too great for a drawn out battle, we'll need to end this in one hit," Hinata told her.

"One hit, hmmm?" Fu said, as her face adopted a thoughtful expression. "Guess my punches alone won't do it. We'll need everybody here to strike at once."

"Indeed. Let's join up with the others and listen, this is what we're going to do."

…

Not far away from there, at the same time, Naruto and Haku assisted Kakashi with his fight against the crazed Jashin cultist. While the copy ninja engaged him in hand to hand combat and Haku aided the white haired Jonin from afar, Naruto made his favorite hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones popped alongside Naruto. Without saying a word, both clones dashed in opposite directions, disappearing among the trees.

"Ha! You must be a pretty shitty ninja even if your clones run away from you, haha!" Hidan laughed, as he delivered a flurry of swipes at Kakashi, who dodged them as fast as he could.

Haku, meanwhile, made several hand seals.

"Ice Release: Ice Dragon Crystal Blast!"

Putting his hands together and casting them forwards, Haku generated a serpentine dragon made of ice that flew at Hidan while letting out a distorted roar, leaving a trail of frost above the ground he passed by. Hidan, however, wasn't impressed by Haku's jutsu. Grinning, he reared his scythe backwards, before delivering an horizontal swipe at the dragon.

"Take this, you piece of shit!" Hidan hollered.

The swing generated a crescent shaped chakra blast that not only shattered the ice dragon, it had enough power and momentum to force through it and reach Haku. The Ice ninja dropped to the ground, and the wave of chakra harmlessly passed above him. He saw how it cleanly cut a couple trees behind me.

"Such destructive power..." Haku mumbled in awe.

"Did you like that? Well, that's NOTHING compared to what I can do now!" Hidan laughed. "Get a load of this!"

Hidan dashed at Haku at an insane speed, brandishing his blue glowing scythe above his head. Haku had barely time to generate an ice sword on both hands, and used them to parry the blow, which predictably shattered his makeshift weapons, but stopped his momentum in order to give him time to jump back.

Naruto, meanwhile, took advantage of Hidan focusing on Haku to attack the Akatsuki from behind. He formed a Rasengan in his right hand.

"Now is my chance! Rase-"

But before Naruto could strike, Hidan vanished, and reappeared in front of him, scythe ready to skewer the blond to pieces.

 _"How can be so fast...?"_ the blond wondered as the scythe, glowing with chakra came down on him.

But before he could be hit, the chirp of a thousand birds filled the air, and the scythe was parried by an electrified hand. It took Naruto and Hidan a moment to notice that Kakashi had appeared between them.

"No matter how fast you are, I can anticipate your movements as long as my Sharingan can see them!" Kakashi boasted, as his other hand crackled with electricity and thrust it at the Akatsuki, who jumped back in order to avoid it.

"Thanks for the tip, idiot! Then I'll make sure to gouge your eyes out!" Hidan shouted.

"Ice Release: Crystal Blade Field!"

A crinkling sound warned Hidan of Haku's attacks, and jumped backwards once again before a row of large ice spikes could skewer him.

"So, that's your tactic, you pieces of shit? One of them attacks from the front, while the others try to catch me off guard? Or wait until I'm attacking you?" Hidan asked in rapid fire, before smirking. "Well, let's see if you can find an opening to attack now! DEMON CUTTER!"

Hidan dashed towards Kakashi with his scythe extended to the side, as he started to spin, becoming a razor tornado. Kakashi dodged the attack, but Hidan charged at him once again from the opposite direction.

"Ice Release: Ice Barrier!"

Haku slammed his palms into the ground, using it as a conduct to send chakra towards Kakashi's position. A wall of ice formed between Kakashi and the Akatsuki, but the latter managed to shatter it as if it was thin glass.

 _"My Ice Jutsu barely faze him..."_ Haku thought in resignation. He then perked up. _"Thankfully, my Bloodline Limit is far from the only skill I possess...!"_

While Hidan sometimes attacked Naruto and Haku, it was obvious Kakashi was his main target.

 _"This man seems to be determined to finish what he started with that ritual from before..."_ Kakashi thought. _"Normally an enemy like this wouldn't be much of a problem, but with the Hero Water boosting his strength and speed, I don't know if we'll be able to hold out until the effects wear off..."_

Hidan charged at him as expected, but much to the Copy Ninja's confusion, he removed his cloak, and tossed it at Kakashi. The silver haired man reacted by cutting it in half with a low powered Lightning Blade, but after doing it, he realized that Hidan wasn't there anymore.

"So if I understood correctly, all I need is to blind you for a second you can't read my movements, right?" Hidan mocked from behind, as the scythe came down on Kakashi. "This time, you won't escape!"

But Hidan was unable to stab Kakashi, as an orange blur shot out of nowhere, delivering a brutal flying kick to his face, hurling the Akatsuki backwards until he crashed against a tree.

"What the fuck...?" the Jashin cultist groaned, as he pulled himself together. Even if he was immortal, the pain of that attack was very real.

"Sage Mode completed," Naruto stated, as he placed himself in front of Kakashi. "Leave this to me, Kakashi-sensei. My Sage Mode will tip the balance back in our favor."

"Sage Mode...?" Hidan asked, and noticed that Naruto's eyes were yellow with orange pigmentation around them. "Oh, so that's the Sage Mode that made that wimp Deidara to run away like the little bitch he is! Well, you'll find out that I'm nowhere near as cowardly!"

"Don't mistake common sense with cowardice. Soon you're going to realize why your friend decided to flee when he saw me," Naruto boasted.

"Hey, that fucker and I aren't friends, we're just co-workers!" Hidan protested." And didn't you hear that I'm immortal? No matter how much power you get, you won't be able to kill me!"

"We'll see about that!" Naruto said, making a hand seal. A clone popped into existence. Naruto started to form a Rasengan, while the clone infused it with wind chakra. A whirring sound could be heard, faint at first, but growing progressively louder as the jutsu started to take form.

"Even then, I'm not stupid enough as to take the brunt of your attack," Hidan said, as he prepared to move, but much to his shock, his body didn't move. "What the fuck?"

Hidan started to feel very cold. Suddenly, ice started to grow all over his body, and in a few seconds, his entire body minus the head was encased in a block of ice.

"Thanks for lowering your guard," Haku said, as he kept his hands forming a hand seal.

"Ha! You think this little ice can stop me? I only need to break it with the force my my chakra!" Hidan boasted, as he started to release chakra in hopes of breaking the ice. "What the hell!?"

"You remind me of somebody who tried the same tactic against that, and predictably, it didn't work," Haku replied. He then turned at his teammate. "Naruto, go ahead. He won't move."

"The jutsu is ready!" Naruto said, as he reared the arm holding the wind shuriken back.

"What the hell is going on? How can this ice be so hard!" Hidan said as he futilely tried to overpower the ice with his chakra, but it felt like pushing into nothing. "Wait, if this is ninjutsu, how is that I can't feel the chakra in the ice? Oh shit, don't tell me this is a genj-"

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"

Naruto threw his most powerful jutsu just as Hidan realized that the ice wasn't really there, and the Ice ninja was just playing with his mind. He send a controlled burst of chakra through his body, and the ice disappeared, but he had no time to avoid the incoming chakra shuriken.

"Shi-"

The Akatsuki's curse was cut short by a massive explosion that created a dome of powerful, razor sharp winds that would have shredded the body of a normal man to little bits. Even then, the pain was excruciating. And Hidan only enjoyed the pain when it was caused by his demonic ritual.

"So, Naruto completed Minato-sensei's jutsu..." Kakashi said in awe. He had heard from others beforehand of such thing, but this was the first time he saw it in action. It truly made the vanilla Rasengan look like an Academy grade jutsu. "Even if I failed to do it in the past, now that Naruto opened the door, I might be able to get it this time around..."

When the dome of razor winds dispelled, Hidan was lying on the middle of a large crater, but his body was unharmed. Slowly and trembling, he got up.

"S-See? It hurt like a bazillion fucking hells, but I'm not worse for the wear!" Hidan boasted, his voice stuttering a little from the massive onslaught. He spread his arms to show his lack of visible injuries. "Nothing that you can throw at me can harm me!"

"The purpose of that jutsu wasn't to harm you, but to distract you," Naruto pointed out.

"Distract me? From what-" Hidan was interrupted mid question as ice started to crept all over his body, slowly encasing him in an ice block. "Oh, I see. Another fucking genjutsu. How retarded do you think I am to fall for the same trick twice?" Hidan asked in a mocking tone, as he made a hand seal, and send a burst of chakra through his body. But much to his surprise, the genjutsu didn't disappear. He tried again, but the result was the same. "What the fuck?"

In no time, Hidan was completely encased inside a block of ice. A realization dawned upon him.

 _"This is not a genjutsu, this is a real Ice jutsu! Dammit, I need to break free!"_ Hidan distressingly thought as he began to release his chakra from his whole body in explosive bursts.

Cracks started to appear in the block of ice, but Haku made a hand seal, and those cracks disappeared. "Naruto-kun, Kakashi-sensei, now's the chance! Go before he breaks free!"

Naruto and Kakashi nodded, rushed at the frozen Akatsuki, and started to slap several sealing tags across the block of ice. Once they judged they had placed enough, they jumped back as they made the same hand seal at the same time.

"Sealing Trap: Activate!"

The seals started to glow, and chains of symbols appeared from the paper tags, spreading around the block of ice, forming a net. The seals, combined with the ice, put Hidan in a state of stasis.

"And done!" Naruto cheered.

"Did we incapacitate him?" Kakashi asked, a bit unsure. "He was still under the effect of the Hero Water, so it's possible that the sealing didn't take."

"He's no longer trying to break the ice," Haku helpfully added. "So I'd said we've won this round."

Naruto walked towards the frozen Akatsuki, and sneered. "What about that? Just because you're immortal doesn't mean that you're invincible!"

"Naruto, he can't hear you, you know," Kakashi pointed out.

"Don't take away my right to boast after a well earned victory, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto grumbled at the silver haired Jonin, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Suddenly, despite none of them being sensors, the trio felt a massive chakra disturbance. Looking up, they saw the purple colored chakra dome that covered that part of the forest slowly breaking apart and vanishing.

"Hey, look at that, it seems that he was the one keeping that chakra dome active," Naruto pointed out.

"Unexpected. I never imagined this deranged Akatsuki would be skilled in barrier jutsu so complex and powerful," Haku pointed out.

"Skilled or not, that doesn't matter anymore. Naruto, leave a few clones here to watch over the Akatsuki, then let's go help my students," Kakashi asked.

Naruto nodded, and did as he was asked. He and Haku then followed Kakashi to where the other battle was taking place, hoping that they could reach in time to help their friends.

…

Shortly before Hidan's defeat, Fu, Hinata and Kakashi's students were still fighting against his partner. Kakuzu was still on the offensive, since doing otherwise would be a waste of the boost provided by the Hero Water, but his moves were more calculated than before, in order to stop his enemies from getting anymore hits and ending the fight as soon as possible.

"Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

Kakuzu's demon looking mask released a barrage of thunderbolts at the ground of Konoha and Taki ninja. Hinata stepped forward in order to take the brunt of the attack.

"Lightning Release: Thunder Palm!" Hinata's hands started to crackle with electricity, before she started to move quickly them forward in a pushing manner. "Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!"

As Hinata's arms became blurs due the speed she was moving them, she was able to deflect Kakuzu's electric attack, giving the others a chance to counterattack.

"Come on everybody, let's go!" Kiba called, as he and Akamaru dashed forward, ahead of everybody else.

"Suicidal fool," Kakuzu growled.

Suddenly, multiple tentacles and tendrils made of threads burst from underground around Kiba and Akamaru, and moved to trap them.

"Tamaki!" Kiba called.

"Cat Claw Dash!"

A red and brown blur appeared out of nowhere, and slashed the emerging threads before they had the chance to tangle their prey, giving Kiba a chance to continue forward.

"Thank you!" Kiba said, not looking back, with Tamaki following him.

Kakuzu decided to intercept them mid charge, and dashed towards them as well. But when Kiba and Tamaki prepared to attack, Kakuzu nimbly jumped above them, avoiding their onslaught, and dashing towards a mildly stupefied Shino.

"Shit, Shino isn't that good in hand to hand combat!" Kiba angrily thought as he and Tamaki spun over their heels to pursue the Akatsuki.

Noticing what was happening, Shino jumped back several times to stop the gap between himself and the Akatsuki from getting any wider. He bit his thumb as he made several hand seals as quickly as his hands allowed him, before slamming his hands into the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Kakuzu stopped in his tracks –moving aside to also dodge Kiba and Tamaki coming from behind– as he waited expectantly to see what kind of creature the Aburame had summoned. And when the initial cloud of smoke dispelled after a few seconds, revealing...

...nothing.

Kakuzu snorted. "You Konoha ninjas grow more incompetent with reach generation," he mocked, before making a hand seal. "Now die!"

Kakuzu shot multiple tendrils made of threads in every direction, trying to either catch or skewer the Konoha Chunin around him. They tried to jump away, but they were too close to him when he launched the attack, and the mass of threads penetrated their bodies, before they were pinned to the ground.

"You cost me two of my hearts already," Kakuzu menacingly said as he dug his threads deeper into their bodies. "So it's only fair that I take your hearts to replace them, don't you think so?"

"NO!" Fu screamed.

"Guys...attack now!" Kiba shouted, after coughing a bit, as he tried to stop the threads invading his body from ripping his heart out.

At that moment, Hinata, Fu and Shibuki lunged at Kakuzu from different directions. Kakuzu smirked under his mask.

"So, acting as decoys in order to force me to stay still. You must be so proud of such basic strategy," Kakuzu deadpanned. He then made a couple of hand seals. A neck made of threads formed under the masks, and moved away from Kakuzu. The two masks intertwined their necks several times, almost like forming a ribbon. "Take this! Double Elemental Release: Lightning Maelstrom!" Kakuzu shouted.

The masks then untangled at the same time they released bolts of lightning and a stream of water, forming a spiraling barrier of electrified water that stopped the other three ninjas in their tracks, and hurled them backwards.

"Like I said before, even if you have power and potential, your experience is pitiable compared to mine. Once I'm done with you three, catching the jinchuriki will be considerably easier," Kakuzu said in delight.

"You might have much more experience than us, but that also makes you underestimate your opponents," Shino asked, while he grabbed on the tendrils of threads and tried to pull them out of his body.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake, a little at first, but much stronger later. Then, without any warning, a gigantic rhinoceros beetle emerged from underground, hurling Kakuzu high into the air, while snapping the threads that connected him to the three Konoha Chunin.

"Now I believe it's your time to attack," Shino told the others.

Shibuki made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Shuriken!"

The young Takigakure leader created several water stars which flew at the Akatsuki. Hinata, meanwhile, unfolded her collapsible chakra bow, and fired several electric arrows at the flying Akatsuki.

Being unable to maneuver while he was mid air, Kakuzu could only wrap the mass of threads around himself in order to form an improvised protective cocoon to shield himself from the incoming projectiles, before finally falling to the ground with a loud thud. When he undid the makeshift cocoon, he saw that Hinata had somehow crossed the distance that separated them, and slipped into a fighting stance.

"You're within my field of divination. Eight Trigrams: Sixty Four Palms!" Before the Akatsuki could react, Hinata moved to deliver Kakuzu a series of soft put painful finger strikes. "Even with all his body modifications, he still has a chakra network, and thus he still has tenketsu. They might be arranged in a different way than a normal human, but as long as I can see them, it doesn't matter."

Kakuzu, meanwhile, tried to defend himself from the Hyuga's onslaught, but was finding to control both his chakra and the threads that made up most of his body increasingly difficult. He tried to move in order to block the hits, but Hinata's fierce attacks disrupted his motor coordination, and was unable to.

 _"This is bad! If she seals all my tenketsu, I won't be able to-"_

"...sixty four palms!" Hinata shouted, as she finished her combo with a palm strike to the chest, pushing Kakuzu backwards several meters.

Breathing heavily, Kakuzu tried to stand on his feet. The effect of the Hero Water had vanished, unable to resist Hinata's onslaught. He tried to gather some chakra, but was unable to. Panic started to set as he realized he was defenseless against the Konoha and Taki ninjas.

 _"I need to reopen my tenketsu,"_ Kakuzu realized, as he focused on a few of his sealed chakra points and tried to force them open. _"If I can gather some chakra-"_

"Quickly, attack now!" Hinata commanded.

Before Kakuzu realized, two human tornadoes flew at him from opposite directions. Instinctively, he aimed his masks at each of them, ready to blast them with water and electricity. But when the masks opened their mouths, nothing came out of them, realizing a second too late that he had no chakra, and a second too late to change course of action and dodge.

"Passing Fang!"

"Drill Claw!"

The two human tornadoes known as Kiba and Tamaki slammed against the masks flanking Kakuzu, shattering them, as well as shredding the external shell of interlocked threads, destroying vital organs, and a heart each. And before the Akatsuki could time to reflect on losing two hearts at once, a shadow loomed over him. Forcing himself to look up, he saw Shino riding the giant beetle he had summoned earlier, diving at him.

The Akatsuki was able to react in time and grabbed the beetle's horn before it could skewer him alive, but the force of the charge pushed him backwards several meters. Shino then commanded his beetle to go back into the sky. Kakuzu thought that he was getting ready for another charge, but what saw next told him otherwise.

The green haired jinchuriki was charging at him, holding a rather large tree –one of those toppled during the fight– with both arms, resting against her shoulder as if it was normal weapon. It was easy to guess what she planned to do with it.

"I'd say something witty now, but I'm way too angry for that, so just die already!" Fu shouted as he swung the tree as if it was a mere club against Kakuzu. The Akatsuki was hit with such force, it was launched high into the air, until it slammed against the forcefield he and his friend had erected either. The gravity did the rest, and Kakuzu's barely alive body fell to the ground.

A moment of silence happened as everybody gathered around Kakuzu –but kept their distance for obvious reasons– and stared at his fallen form.

"Is he dead? Did we win?" Kiba asked.

Hinata shook her head. "I can still see his chakra. But I'm afraid he won't live for much longer," Hinata helpfully said.

"Should we try to keep him alive and take him to Konoha? To have a live Akatsuki prisoner would be invaluable," Shino suggested.

Hinata shook her head. "In any other cases, I'd agree with the idea. But this man has proved himself to be too dangerous."

"Yeah, you saw what he can do. I doubt any of our cells in Konoha would be able to contain him for long," Tamaki agreed with Hinata.

"We kill him them," Kiba concluded. "Anybody willing to deliver the finishing blow?"

Fu grabbed the fallen tree again, and slowly dragged it towards Kakuzu. Despite the lack of words, the message was clear.

"H-how..." Kakuzu began, his voice sounding more like a croak. A pool of blood started to form around his broken body. "How ninjas...so young...could have beat...me..."

"It isn't obvious? You just forgot to take your pills, old man," Fu said with a dark scowl, before it wa suddenly replaced by a sunny, bright smile. "Oh, I did it, a witty one liner! They do come better when you're calm. And here's another one: enjoy this 'natural remedy'!"

Displaying once again her monstrous natural strength, Fu raised the large tree above her head, before slamming it against Kakuzu's body with such force, it created a small shockwave, followed by a land tremor.

"I can't see his chakra anymore. He's dead now," Hinata confirmed..

"No shit, I could have reached that conclusion myself without needing to see his chakra," Kiba deadpanned, as he crossed his arms.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise coming from above. All of them instinctively looked up, and saw that the barrier that kept them trapped was breaking apart and dissolving.

"The barrier is gone! That means that Kakashi-sensei must have defeated the Akatsuki with the scythe!" Tamaki cheered.

"At the same time as we defeated this one. How convenient," Kiba observed.

"Now is not time for sarcasm. We should meet with Kakashi-sensei. I presume that Naruto-san and Haku-san aided him in the fight," Shino guessed, confirmed by a nod from Hinata. "They might be wounded and in need of medical assistance."

"Fu and I will stay here watching over the Akatsuki's body until somebody takes it away. Though I doubt he'll go anywhere," Shibuki told them.

…

A few minutes later, the two groups met with each other at the side of Kakuzu's defeat. They were all happy to see that they were okay and had defeated the other Akatsuki. It was quite a surprise when several Naruto clones appeared carrying a block of ice covered in seals with Hidan frozen inside.

"By the way, do you know how was the battle in Taki going before the Akatsuki lured you here?" Shibuki asked.

"I believe we were winning," Shino replied. "Though it's likely that without the Akatsuki leading and supporting them, the forces they gathered wouldn't be of much help against the combined might of several ninja villages."

"Yeah, not even summoning that giant monster was enough to stop us!" Naruto cheered.

"What giant monster?" Tamaki asked.

"There was a giant monster!?" Fu excitedly asked. "Come on, let's go back! If we hurry, I might be able to see it!"

"The monster no longer exists. Naruto-kun, Haku-kun and I destroyed it," Hinata told her.

Fu's face fell, as she slumped forward. "Damn..." she weakly cursed, as she kicked a pebble away, before Hinata patted her back sympathetically.

Kakashi then walked towards the group, holding a storage scroll.

"Alright, I already stored Kakuzu's corpse –or what was left of it– inside this scroll," Kakashi raised the scroll for everybody to see." And with his partner on ice, I believe we're already done here. Let's return to Takigakure and see how things are going there."

"Yes sir!" everybody chorused in unison.

As they began to walk away, Kiba noticed that Fu went back, and grabbed the uprooted tree she had used to smash Kakuzu, and rested it over her shoulder.

"Fu...what are you doing?" Kiba asked.

"I'm taking it home. It was very useful. I think I found my weapon of choice!" Fu happily said, patting the tree with her free hand.

"Your weapon of choice. You plan to fight with a tree?" Kiba incredulously asked.

Fu scowled at him, as she slammed the tree down for added emphasis. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?"

Kiba wasn't going to argue with a girl who could lift and swing a large oak as it was a mere club.

…

Half an hour later, the group arrived at Takigakure. Much to their relief, the battle had already ended, with Akatsuki's forces defeated. The Konoha, Suna and Taki joint forces had occupied the village, and were now putting out the fires that had been caused by the battle, taking the wounded to the makeshift infirmaries, and rounding up all the thugs, mercenaries and cultists that didn't die and were unable to run away once it was obvious that the battle was lost.

However, even if they had won, Shibuki and Fu couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness upon seeing how their once beautiful village was so ravaged, with damaged or completely destroyed buildings everywhere, craters and burn marks splashing the streets, and dust and debris everywhere.

"Our village...is ruined..." Shibuki moaned, as tear fell down his cheek.

"Yes, but it's nothing that can't be fixed," Naruto interjected. "Look, it seems that most of the Taki population survived. That's the most important thing."

"Even then, what are we going to do now?" Shibuki asked.

"It isn't obvious? Start rebuilding," Kakashi pointed out. "Listen, we in Konoha are no foreigners to the concept of our village getting trashed. During the past decade and a half, we were attacked by the Nine Tails, had to put down an Uchiha upheaval, and fend off an invasion by Otogakure. But we always remained strong, rebuild and moved forward."

"Yeah! If we can do that, then so can you!" Kiba cheered.

"It's not that easy. Konoha is a Great Village, Taki is not. We don't have that many resources. We were never that strong even at our most powerful," Shibuki insisted.

"So? We will help you. That's why we're allies," Naruto stated with a smile.

"Hey, look, Shibuki-sama is back!" a Taki ninja noticed.

"Yes, it's Shibuki-sama!" another added.

"Not just him! Fu is also back!" a civilian man said.

"They finally defeated those horrible Akatsuki!" a civilian woman said.

Soon, a large crowd formed around the newcomers, that cheered Shibuki and Fu's names in unison. The young leader was amazed at how the gloomy post battle mood suddenly shifted in the opposite direction the moment they returned. Especially since, even if he helped taking down Kakuzu, it's not that his assistance was decisive.

"Shibuki," Fu said, managing to be heard among the cheers. She held both his hands, and looked at him into the eyes. "Even if we won and our home is ours once again, our job here isn't done. Like our Konoha friends said, we need to rebuild. And the people of Taki need a leader. We need you, more than ever. And if you think our village is weak, then work to make us stronger. And if you think your leadership isn't up to the challenge, then work to be better leader."

"Wow..." Shibuki said in awe, before chuckling. "When did you become so smart?"

Fu shot him a playful scowl. "What do you mean? I've always been smart!"

"Anyway, now that the battle is over, we should send a message to Hokage-sama so he can decide what to do next," Kakashi said.

…

 _Amegakure_

Sitting alone on the edge of the top of tower, Pain, the Akatsuki leader, looked the industrial-looking ninja village below. It was his favorite pastime. He didn't know why, but looking over the village from such height was something enthralling to him. Maybe because there was a time in which said village made him feel small. And now, said village was under his control.

Much to his annoyance, Pain wasn't alone for long. And it wasn't his faithful companion Konan who disturbed his peace, but a spiralling vortex, from which a certain Uchiha emerged from.

"Pain," Obito stated, being one of the few people that didn't address him with the'-sama' honorific. In private, at least.

"Obito," Pain replied, as he stood back on his feet. "What do I owe this visit?"

"I came here to tell you several news. The first one is that Kakuzu and Hidan have been defeated, and Taki has been liberated," Obito stated. "Kakuzu has been reported dead, while Hidan has been neutralized and captured. He's being taken to Konoha as we speak."

Pain's stoicism didn't falter as Obito gave him the bad news. Two more members lost after Sasori's death was troubling indeed.

"I see. Anything else?" Pain asked.

"Yes. I'm planning to capture a jinchuriki myself," Obito stated. "Given the recent developments, I believe we shouldn't take this so slowly."

"Which one?" Pain asked.

"One from Kumo. I have a plan that will make at least one of them leave their hideout and go into the light, where they can be captured," Obito explained. "And I think it's about time we put our newest asset to use."

"Do you think it's a good idea? Doing so would draw even more attention to Akatsuki," Pain replied.

"More than it already has? Everybody knows we have three Tailed Beasts under our control. We kidnapped and nearly killed the Kazekage's son, and Hidan and Kakuzu took over a minor village. I believe the time for subtlety has long passed. We should try to capture the remaining jinchuriki as soon as possible, before the ninja villages decide to join forces against us," Obito explained.

"I find that unlikely," Pain stoically replied. "The Great Villages are too unwilling to let go of their grudges, and too willing to use them to restart wars. Even the current alliances are tenuous at best."

"Except it already happened. The reason behind Hidan and Kakuzu's defeat and Takigakure's loss was Konoha and Suna joining forces to liberate it," Obito replied. "And from what my informants told me, Kiri would have joined the battle as well if it wasn't for logistical problems."

"To have all villages united against a single enemy...would that be a way to peace better than the one we're walking?" Pain pondered, unclear if he was being rethroic or of it was a geniune question.

Obito shook his head. "The peace will last as long as there's a common enemy. The moment the threat goes away, old hatreds will resurface. That's the way it has always been."

"Thought so. Fortunately, this cycle of hatred has its days numbered," Pain agreed. "Though you'll have to excuse my skepticism in your ability to capture a jinchuuriki. All your efforts to get the Nine Tails ended up in failure."

"I know. My repeated attempts at capturing it made Konoha aware of our intentions, and increased their protective measures. That's why I'm going after a jinchuriki nobody has ever dared to touch," Obito explained. "I will be taking Kisame with me as well, just to be sure."

"Very well then. May you be successful in your endeavor," Pain told him.

"What about you? Don't you plan to capture any jinchuriki yourself? I know you're needed running the organization, but soon we will need the power of the Rinnegan," Obito reminded him.

"What you say is true, but it should be unwise to reveal all our cards yet," Pain replied. "Let the villages think that they can handle us before they realize how outmatched they are."

"Very well then. But try not to stay idle too long. The sooner we finish this, the less risks there will be," Obito replied. "I'll go and make the preparations for my trip."

And with that, Obito disappeared into a spiraling vortex, leaving Pain once again alone with his thoughts.

…

 _Three Days Later_

As Jiraiya promised, Konoha, Suna and Kiri would lend their help in order to rebuild Takigakure. It would take a lot of time to leave the village in a state similar to the one it was before the Akatsuki arrived, but the morale overall was high. In fact, the Hokage himself went to see the village, and organize the rebuilding efforts.

"So, are you sure you want to stay?" Jiraiya asked Naruto. "The reconstruction could last quite some time."

"I've talked with Hinata-hime and Haku, and they both agree with me. We want to help Taki," Naruto confirmed.

"As you wish. I thought you'd prefer to something less long term in case Akatsuki shows up again," Jiraiya told him.

"Hey, with my Shadow Clones, we'll speed up the reconstruction efforts a lot! The village will be good as new before they realize of it!" Naruto cheerfully said.

As father and son were talking, they realized they were approached by Shibuki and Fu. They both had a solemn look in their faces, almost as if they were going to give Jiraiya and Naruto some sort of bad news. Upon getting closer, Shibuki was the first one to speak.

"Hokage-sama, let me tell you how grateful I am for the hlp you and the other villakes are providing to Takigakure," Shibuki said, making a slight bow.

"No need to thank me. We're allies, and allies help each other," Jiraiya said with a hearty chuckle.

"I know...that's why it pains me to do this," Shibuki said, averting his gaze. "To ask for more after all what you gave..."

"Come on, I'm sure it won't be that bad," Jiraiya reassured. "What do you need?"

"It will take time before Taki recovers some of its former strength. But even when before this invasion, we were unable to stop Akatsuki. If it wasn't for Konoha's timely intervention, Fu would be dead right now, and the Seven Tails in the Akatsuki's hands," Shibuki began.

Jiraiya and to a lesser extent, Naruto, started to see where this was going.

"What I want to ask you is...would you mind letting Fu stay in Konoha until this crisis passes? I'm afraid that she won't be safe here anymore," Shibuki asked, almost in a pleading tone. "Yes, I know I'm asking you a lot. You already have a jinchuriki, and another one would be like placing an even bigger target on your village. But honestly, I don't know what to do, and you're the only ones I can trust with this."

"I don't think there would be any problem. Keeping jinchuriki safe is of everyone's interest," Jiraiya admitted. "What about you, Fu? Are you okay with leaving your home?"

Fu nodded, though Jiraiya could see there was some regret in her body language. "It's not an idea I like, but given what Akatsuki did to my home when they looked for me..." Fu stated, as she rubbed one arm. "Though I can't help but feel guilty if something happened to Konoha because of me..."

"Akatsuki already has Konoha in its sights because of me to begin with, so there's nothing you should feel guilty about," Naruto stated, patting her on the shoulder.

Fu forced herself to smile, and nodded. "If you say so," she replied. "Albeit I'm not going to go immediately. I want to stay here and help with the reconstruction effort. I'm really good at lifting heavy stuff!" she happily added, as she flexed her biceps.

Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Yeah, Hinata-hime told me how you defeated Kakuzu..."

"And while I'm in Konoha, I can continue my jinchuriki training with you and Hokage-sama so when the Akatsuki send another pair of goons to get me, I'll be even better prepared," Fu added.

"Good to see that you're eager to continue. Anyway, it seems the situation here doesn't require my presence anymore," Jiraiya concluded. "So I'll be going back to Konoha."

"We'll better get going back. The sooner we get to work, the sooner we'll be able to return to Konoha," Naruto said.

Fu nodded, and the two jinchuriki left and joined their friends, already working hard on the reconstruction efforts, and enjoy their peaceful time together while it lasted.

And it wouldn't last for too long.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So Fu is safe, and she will be joining Konoha for the time being. Yay! Just like True Potential did in its latest chapter which was updated fucking YESTERDAY, yay!  
**

 **You know, I had originally planned a different end. Shibuki would have died in the battle against the Akatsuki, and Fu would eventually become the new leader of Taki, with Shibuki returning later as an Edo Tensei zombie. However, that would keep her way too busy and I wouldn't be able to use her as much as I can, so instead I decided to have her move to Konoha (which, as explained in the last dialogue, makes more sense). However, that means I needed Shibuki alive in order to continue being Taki's leader and to officialy "hand" Fu to Konoha. Not to mention that my plan to have him return as a zombie would have no kind of payoff, due reasons I won't say since they're spoilers.  
**

 **Boy, now it looks like I'm even copying True Potential's author's notes as well, given that DryBonesKing had a similar thought regarding Shibuki.**

 **Though in all seriousness, if you haven't read True Potential, you totally should. It's an awesome fanfic worth of all the reviews and fame it has.**

 **And yes, I'll say it again: unlike canon, Pain knows about Obito's true identity. A future arc will reveal the why of this change. Also, said scene should be a pretty big hint on what the next arc is going to be ;) (though there's going to be a breather chapter in between)**

 **Once again, thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **So, now that it's over, how did you like my take on the Hidan and Kakuzu arc? Tell me your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	65. Wedding Bells Among the Chaos

**Author's Note: I'm glad that, even if it was to a slow start, the latter half of the Hidan and Kakuzu arc got a better reception. Now, before we move onto the next arc, I decided that another breather was in order. Still, this chapter has some plot and character developments that I'm sure you'll find interesting. Anyway, enjoy:**

* * *

 **Chapter 65**

Wedding Bells Among the Chaos

 _or_

 _Here comes the bride momentarily_

 _A Month Later_

There was a large gathering in the Sarutobi Clan's private training ground. However, training wasn't the reason all these people were meeting there, despite most of them being ninjas. In fact, rather than their usual attires, said ninjas were wearing more elegant clothes, the men wearing suits and the women wearing kimonos.

Yes, the kind of clothes one would wear to a formal, important event, like a wedding. More specifically, the wedding between Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi. After the latter revealed her pregnancy, the two of them decided to marry as soon as possible. In other circumstances, they might have taken more time to plan things out, but given the looming threat of the Akatsuki in the horizon, they wanted to jump right in.

Attending the ceremony were, as expected, the entire Sarutobi clan, Asuma and Kurenai's students, their ninja friends, and their respective students if they have them like Kakashi or Gai. There was also Jiraiya, Tsunade and their children.

The ceremony took place without any incident, but there were some whispers –that were quickly shushed– about Kurenai's rather noticeable belly.

When the priest declared them husband and wife, Asuma and Kurenai kissed for the first time as married couple, and the guests erupted in a chorus of cheers, whistles and applauses.

…

After the ceremony, they moved to the reception, which also took place in the Sarutobi Training Ground, inside several large sunshade tents that the clan had rented for the occasion.

At that moment, Kurenai was having a talk with her three students. Neither of their drinks were alcoholic, the former because of her pregnancy, and the latter three because of their age.

"I'm glad you guys managed to come," Kurenai told them. "I was afraid that, with how busy you've been in Taki, you might miss it."

"Never!" Naruto energetically stated. "How could you think such a thing?"

"Yes. Regardless of the current state of our team, you will always be our sensei, and we will always be there for you," Hinata added.

"Speaking of which, now that I have the chance to ask...how are you doing without me?" Kurenai asked.

"We manage," Haku laconically replied. "We might not be in the need for a replacement, but I'm sure things will be easier once you come back to us."

"Because...you plan to come back, right? You aren't going to retire?" Naruto asked, a bit of worry dripping from his voice.

Kurenai laughed in return. "Of course not. I'm just thirty. Ninjas only retire at that age when they suffer crippling injuries. Once the baby is born and I get back in shape, I'll be with you. I mean, Shizune had two kids already, and she still a kunoichi."

"Speaking of which, have you think in any name for the baby?" Hinata asked.

Kurenai smiled at Hinata. "No, not yet. Why, do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, if he's a boy, call him Naruto jr.!" Naruto chimed in.

Kurenai laughed again. "I don't think I'll be able to survive with two Narutos in my life. Plus I don't want to give my future son such a burden by naming him after an amazing ninja like you."

"Bummer. But you have a point," Naruto admitted, then he chuckled. "I mean, Sasuke's parents named him after the Old Man Hokage's dad, which was one of the Warring States Period's most feared ninjas, and look what it did to him! All ego and no talent!"

"Better than be named after a piece of food!" Sasuke replied from the other side of the tent, sounding rather annoyed.

"Learn to take a joke!" Naruto shouted back. "Maybe he should have been named after somebody with a sense of humor."

"Then again, there's still a lot of time before we have to decide a name," Kurenai said, bringing the conversation back to the topic.

"Whatever name you end up choosing, at least try to be more original than Shizune and Shisui," Naruto pointed out. "And don't name the kid something like Kurasuma or Asurenai or something like that."

Kurenai laughed again. "Don't worry, above all things, I plan to give my kid a name with personality."

"What about the honeymoon? Do you know where you want to go?" Hinata asked.

"I'd always liked to visit the Land of the Moon. I heard is a really beautiful place ideal for such things," Kurenai said, before her face fell a little. "Sadly, with the current situation, we can't afford going that far away, so in the end we decided to go to the Land of the Hot Springs. Not as exotic, but it has a very nice resort, and it's close to the Land of Fire."

"My parents also went there for their honeymoon. They said it was a pretty nice place, so I'm sure both you and Asuma-sensei will have a nice time," Naruto said with a smile.

…

Not far away from there, the groom, now husband, was having a chat with his students just like her wife was doing. Well, the male ones at least, since Ino was somewhere else.

"Man, who would have guessed that the day we met, Ino was right about you, Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru pointed out.

"Yeah, why did you even deny being in love with her? It's not like Kurenai-sensei is somebody to be ashamed of," Choji added, as he put more and more appetizers on a trail he was carrying.

"If you want an answer...well, we both like to keep our personal and professional lives apart. And we don't like people asking about the former," Asuma replied.

"Let me guess: in your case, it was because being the son of the Third Hokage brought you unwanted attention?" Shikamaru asked.

"You could said that," Asuma agreed with a shrug.

"Hey there!" a new female voice chimed in. "What are you talking about?"

The men of the Tactical Squad turned around to see their only female member walking towards them, smiling happily. She had her arm wrapped around the arm of a pale, black haired boy in a suit with an uncannily neutral expression. On the other hand, the boy was holding a folder.

"Oh, hey, Ino. I had lost sight of you for a moment. I thought you left already," Asuma pointed out.

"Please, like I would ever leave a wedding so soon, especially the one from somebody so close to me," Ino replied with a hand wave. "Anyway, do you guys remember Sai?"

As if on cue, the pale boy smiled. "Hello there. Nice to meet you, Ino has told me a lot about you."

"Ah, yes, you've been hanging out with this guy a lot recently," Shikamaru noticed.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Choji directly asked.

"Eh, I think it's a bit too soon for that. So far, I tasked upon myself to make him a little more social. You know, being inducted into ANBU from such a young age can't be healthy," Ino said as she shook her head.

"How did you meet him, by the way?" Shikamaru asked.

"Sai went with us to the mission to liberate Kiri," Ino stated.

"Oh, I remember now!" Choji said in realization. "You're the guy Sakura punched out of the ship, aren't you?"

"Choji! Why did you have to bring that up!" Ino angrily chastised her rotund teammate.

"Sorry, but it was the only thing I remember from him," Choji said, shrugging.

"It's okay, I already put it past me. Ino told me that Sakura can have quite the temper, and my way with words wasn't as good back then," Sai softly said, widening his smile at the end. "Oh, by the way, I came here to bring you my wedding gift, since Ino told me is a custom to give a gift to the newlyweds. I don't have much money, so I decided to do something myself."

Sai then handed the folder to Asuma. The bearded Jonin opened it, and much to his surprise, he saw a picture of both him and Kurenai the moment they were saying the "I do" during the wedding. Despite being only a pencil sketch, it was amazingly realistic and life-like, almost looking like a black and white photograph.

"It looks really impressive, boy. Thanks a lot," Asuma praised, as he closed the folder and placed it under his arm. "But, if it's a picture of the wedding...when did you do it?"

"During the wedding. It was the only time I could have been able to capture the moment," Sai explained. "I had to miss part of the ceremony to do it, but sometimes you have to sacrifice something in order to obtain the better results."

"It's okay, kid. Your gift was really thoughtful and tasteful," Asuma praised.

"Thanks, but part of the credit goes to Ino. She was the one who suggested it," Sai stated.

"And with a good reason! If I didn't say anything, you would have bought him that booklet about how to cope when you stop smoking!" Ino said, mildly angry.

"What? You said that your sensei was going to stop smoking, so something like that would have been useful," Sai replied. "Or it's something that's just functional not a proper wedding gift?"

"See? I still have a lot of work to do with this guy," Ino said, shaking her head. She then smiled brightly again, and turned at Asuma. "But I'm so proud that you finally decided to drop such an ugly and unhealthy habit! Especially now that you're going to be a dad."

Asuma chuckled, as he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck. "Haha, yes. Kurenai said that I either stopped smoking, or that she wouldn't marry me. Guess that the choice was obvious."

"Like I said, before, you sometimes need to sacrifice something in order to obtain something even better," Sai added with a smile.

"The way you talk it seems like you're speaking from experience, kid," Asuma noted.

"All ninjas end up sacrificing something during their careers, sooner or later," Sai replied with his unwavering smile.

"Yeah, I know that too well," Asuma replied, as he briefly reflected on how Hiruzen being the Hokage strained their relationship.

"Come on Sai, this is a wedding, let's talk about something less depressing and a bit more fitting with the situation, okay?" Ino asked, as he nudged him a bit.

"Alright," Sai agreed. He then turned at Choji and Shikamaru. "I see that most people came with a date, but you two seem to be on your own. Do girls find your appearances too ugly or your personalities too disgusting for staying with you?"

Asuma raised an eyebrow, and repressed a chuckle. The sound of Ino's hand slapping her face echoed through the whole village.

"While I don't need to justify myself on such issue, I do have a girlfriend. She's just from Suna, and she isn't here," Shikamaru pointed out. "And yes, I know that's something a lot of single people say in order to boast, but in my case is true. Ask anybody here."

"And while I don't have a girlfriend, I've been in touch from a girl from Kumo I met during the Chunin Exams. Though sadly I don't get to see her as often as Shikamaru sees Temari," Choji replied.

"Which isn't that much," Shikamaru pointed out.

"You know what? I take back what I said. You're no longer ready to interact with other people on a casual level," Ino stated, as he grabbed Sai's arm and dragged him away.

"It was nice to meet you," Sai stated, as he was pulled away by the embarrassed blond.

…

While some people have been watching with some amusement how Sai embarrassed Ino in front of her teammates with his sheer lack of tact, certain two people have been paying more attention to the exchange than most others.

"Your friend certainly spends a lot of time with that guy, don't you think so?" Sasuke pointed out.

"Indeed. I don't know why. Ino surely can do much better than him," Sakura replied. "She said Sai's pretty nice deep down, but not even she herself seems to be sure of it."

"Are you worried about her?" Sasuke asked, noticing Sakura's tone.

The pinkette nodded. "There's something odd about that guy. Something I can't put my finger on. And that's not counting on how little we know about his past. I'm afraid he might be using Ino for whatever purpose. The idea alone makes me shiver, and that's not even getting into what he might do once he no longer needs her."

"Vapid as she can be, Ino isn't a stupid girl. She might have a reason for spending so much time with that guy," Sasuke pointed out. "If the guy tries something, I'm sure she will see it coming."

"You seem to have quite a lot of trust in Ino," Sakura pointed out.

"She's a ninja, just like you and me. I don't think the Hokage gave her the Chunin rank for her pretty face," Sasuke pointed out. "Plus she can read minds."

"Even then, I think it would be good if we kept an eye on them," Sakura stated.

"Though I think there may be another reason as for why you seem to dislike so much Ino getting close with that guy," Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura placed her hands on her hips, and frowned a little. "And that would be?"

Sasuke shot her an uncharacteristic smirk. "You're jealous that Ino is getting a boyfriend before you."

"What!?" an indignant Sakura replied, a little louder than she wanted. "Here I am worrying about her wellbeing, and you bring up such nonsense!"

"It wouldn't be that weird. Ino and you have always been rivals. You always competed in everything, romance included. It's only natural that you'll feel that way," Sasuke told her.

"Well, what about you and Naruto? You've always been rivals as well, and he got a girlfriend for way longer than you!" Sakura said in a mildly accusatory manner, which Sasuke found worth a chuckle.

"Naruto and I may compete, but not in such topics. Besides, if I really wanted a girlfriend just to rub him in, I could have asked you or Karin –at least before she started dating Neji– out, and I'm sure you would have said yes," Sasuke confidently said.

"You know, this is one of those times in which your confidence in yourself comes out as more obnoxious than charming," Sakura replied, crossing her arms.

"So, if I asked you to be my girlfriend, would you say no?" Sasuke asked.

Sakura grew increasingly uncomfortable. She averted her gaze, as her face reddened. "It's...it's not nice to use my feelings for you in such a way, Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke grabbed her by the shoulder, and forced her to look at him. "Why the bashful attitude? You never were afraid to let me know what you felt for me."

"Things change, Sasuke-kun. I know that by pushing my feelings, I was only pestering you and making you dislike me more. That's why I decided that it was best to let you be, and if you really returned my feelings, you'd give me a sign," Sakura explained.

"Huh. Who would have guessed that that annoying girl from the Academy would mature so much," Sasuke stated.

Sakura just chuckled. She wiped a strand of hair from her face "Guess we all do, sooner or later. Being closer to you helped to understand you a bit better. I also understood that, if I didn't step up my game, I'd also be the weakest link of our team, and that wouldn't endear you to me much. Not to mention, that I'd put yours, Karin's and Shizune-sensei's life in danger by not pulling my share of the weight."

"Again, another thing I would have never guessed I would see when we first became a team, but guess that life has a knack for challenging expectations," Sasuke noted.

"You were my inspiration. I took a page from Hinata's book and decided that I should look at you the same way she used to look at Naruto. I mean, look at her. She used to be so shy and withdrawn, and not that strong of a ninja, and after graduating she because such a powerhouse...and that was before getting the Tenseigan," Sakura pointed out.

"And what will you do, once you catch up to me? I won't be a good source of inspiration anymore," Sasuke asked.

Sakura let out a mirthless chuckle. "Catching up to you, heh. Who would have guessed you can crack jokes."

"With that attitude, you probably wouldn't," Sasuke said, sounding mildly chastising.

"You can't seriously believe that. I mean, with all the stuff you can do with the Sharingan..." Sakura began.

"Yeah, my clan has a Blood Limit. So what? Look at Tsunade and Jiraiya. They were born without Blood Limits, yet they became two of the most powerful ninjas who ever lived," Sasuke countered.

"Well, you have a point..." Sakura conceded, as she rubbed her arm.

"But what?" Sasuke asked. "You can always push yourself a little harder every day. Limits can always be surpassed. New heights can be achieved. That's what you've been doing so far, why you should stop now?"

"Who said I did stop?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms.

"Your quitter attitude," Sasuke replied.

"Quitter? I'd like you to see training with Gai-sensei," Sakura said, rolling her eyes, before shivering a little at the memory of the beginning of such torture. "Which I still do, by the way."

"The problem here is that you see a big gap between our level of skill and power, and think that since there's no chance of catching up to me, why bother trying? You probably feel pretty comfortable with the level you achieved. But then you realize that such thing may not be enough," Sasuke said. "It's good that you see me as an inspiration, but you shouldn't mistake it for a goal."

"You sound like you talk from experience," Sakura noted.

"And I do. Remember that even before the clan's downfall, Itachi and Shisui were the two strongest Uchihas the clan ever produced. And I felt very frustrated when I was unable to catch up to them, no matter how hard I trained. And in my case, it was justified since unlike you and me, they didn't have anything I did not," Sasuke explained. "Until I realized that I was looking at it the wrong way. I still look at Itachi and Shisui for strength, but I want to improve for my own sake, regardless if I catch up with them or not. Try to surpass yourself with each passing day, and you'll see real progress. And before you realize it, the gap between our power and skill level will be much smaller than you realize."

"Wow, that was...really inspirational," Sakura said in awe.

Sasuke smirked. "To be completely honest, I'm only paraphrasing what Itachi and Shisui told me once."

"That's really good advice. You're lucky to have them," Sakura sincerely said.

"Lucky indeed. Even after losing most of my clan, I still feel grateful for having them. I don't know what I would have done if I lost them as well," Sasuke wondered.

Sakura blushed a little, as she started to rub her arm. "Well...I now it's not the same since I'm not part of your clan, but as long as I'm here, you'll never be alone."

"I know. But that doesn't mean it can change in the future," Sasuke said.

"Wait, what? What do you...?" Sakura's words died in her mouth as the realization hit her like an sledgehammer to the gut. Her eyes were open wide, as her blush intensified. "Sasuke-kun! Are you telling me-"

"Listen, I have a responsibility to the Uchiha Clan," Sasuke interrupted her. "A few years ago we used to be more than one hundred, now, even with Shisui's brats, our numbers are still in the single digits. I can't let Itachi and Shisui do everything; I have to get married and produce children as well. And I can't marry anybody; the mother of my children must be a strong kunoichi, somebody worthy of the Uchiha name. However, that's not the only thing I'm looking for. I want my future wife to be somebody I can love, somebody who makes my life whole. And somebody I can make happy as well in return."

"Sasuke-kun...that's..." Sakura was at loss for words upon hearing the Uchiha's speech.

"...and I think that you can be that woman," Sasuke finished. "I'm not asking you to marry me on the spot. But I want to see if I'm right and you're that special somebody." Sasuke then sighed. "Sorry, I think I'm being too theatrical. I'm not good at this. What I want to ask you is...do you want to become a couple, and see what fate has for us?"

A star flashed in each of Sakura's eyes, as her brain processed the words coming out of Sasuke's mouth.

"You...you mean it?" Sakura asked, coming close to him.

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't," Sasuke replied, rolling his eyes a little.

"Oh my god! Yes! Yes! A million time yes!" Sakura screamed, as she wrapped her arms around the Uchiha's neck.

Sasuke grew a bit uncomfortable as Sakura's over the top reaction drew the attention of quite a few people. Some muttered something to themselves while others snickered.

"You know, I think I made clear I wasn't asking you to marry me, just to go on a date and see if things work out between us," Sasuke stated, as he gently tried to push Sakura aside.

"Just let me dream, dammit!" Sakura said, still in the same elated tone, strangely enough.

…

Meanwhile, at another table, Kakashi was sharing a table with his students and Rin. However, his students got up to talk to other people, leaving the two members of Team Minato alone.

"Look at them, married already," Rin said with a chuckle. "I knew that there was something more than friendship between them back then, but seeing them married...it feels unreal."

"You can't help but still see them as they were, can you?" Kakashi asked. Despite the wording, he didn't mean to sound accusatory.

"I can't help it. When I heard your names, I picture how you looked before my death. Such disconnect is hard to reconcile," Rin stated.

"I know what you mean. When I think about Obito, I can't help but think in that annoying boy that wanted to become Hokage," Kakashi told her.

"And who had a crush on me. In hindsight, he wasn't exactly subtle," Rin said with a chuckle.

"He felt that since he was in the same team as you, his chances would be greater," Kakashi pointed out. "Which isn't that rare to happen, as Kurenai and Asuma were part of the same team as well."

"Maybe if things were different, Obito and I would have been an item, who knows," Rin said, before directing her eyes towards the newlywed couple, now happily engaged in a chat with Shizune and Shisui. "Still, I'm happy for them. They deserve each other. I can't wait to see how their baby looks like."

"Oh, that means that we have to make them a gift when he or she is born," Kakashi said, sounding a little annoyed. "Man, after it took so much thinking to find that perfect wedding gift, now I'll have spend more sleepless nights thinking in a proper gift."

"Kakashi, your wedding gift was a book on how to stop smoking, plus several boxes of nicotine patches," Rin deadpanned. "That's hardly an A-Class wedding gift."

"Hey, Asuma said Kurenai forced him to drop smoking, so I decided I could give him something practical," Kakashi replied, not sounding ashamed in the slightest. "Though a gift for a baby is going to be a little trickier."

"Oh, I already have an awesome idea," Rin proudly said.

"Oh? What is it?" Kakashi asked, interested.

"So you can take that idea for you? Sorry but no, Copy Ninja," Rin replied, emphasizing the last two words.

"Aw, you hurt me, Rin," Kakashi mockingly replied. "Come on, I promise I won't copy you."

"Very well then. It's a crib," Rin stated. "I know it's not something overly original, but I'm sure they'll appreciate."

"A crib, huh? A nice gift. Practical as well. Though some cribs can be a bit expensive," Kakashi warned her.

"Oh, I don't plan to buy a crib, Kakashi. I'll make one from scratch with my...special talents," Rin replied, smiling widely.

"So, you got a better hang of it?" Kakashi asked.

"Once we have some privacy, I'll show you how much I progressed since the last time you saw me fight," Rin proudly said, sounding almost like a boast.

"Um, excuse me, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" a new female voice asked.

Kakashi and Rin turned around to see Ino of all people standing in front of them.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but hear your conversation. You were talking about a gift for Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei's baby, right?"

"That, we were," Kakashi confirmed with a single nod. "Why? Do you want advice from us?"

"Yes. You see, I didn't have to think in a gift for the wedding since my clan provided all the flowers for the ceremony for free, but sadly I can't cheat like that again," Ino said, chuckling a little. "So I was wondering, do you mind I borrow Rin a little for some girl talk?"

"Uh, sure. Do you mind staying alone, Kakashi?" Rin asked.

Kakashi replied by pulling one of his many Icha Icha novels. "I know how to make the best of solitude, so don't worry about me."

"I can't believe he brought one of those smutty books to a wedding of all places," Ino disapprovingly said, shaking her head. "Anyway, come on Rin! I want to take a break from this multitude, plus the weather's great for a walk."

"Alright then. See you later, Kakashi," Rin said as she got up, and followed Ino outside of the large tent.

…

"You know, when I was a Genin, I asked myself, 'what kind of dumbass hires a team of ninja to babysit?' Shouldn't it be better just to hire some civilian teen to do the job?" Shisui began. "But now that I have kids myself, I see how easy and practical it is."

"Not to mention fast," Shizune chimed in. "It might be a bit more pricey than hiring a civilian babysitter, but the advantages are surely worth every additional ryo."

"It's kind of funny when you think about it. We can't take care of our kids because of our job as ninjas, so we hire lower ranked ninjas to do that job for us," Shisui said with a chuckle.

Kurenai and Asuma were now having a talk with Shizune and Shisui about their experiences with their kids. After that, they also had planned to ask Yugao and Hayate.

"So...I'm taking your life changed a lot since you got kids, right?" Asuma asked.

"Oh, absolutely. Though it's not as bad as it may seem at first sight. I mean, yeah, you don't have as much free time you used to have..." Shizune began.

"You need to spend much less money on yourself and more on the kids," Shisui continued.

"The sleepless nights when the kids feel like crying for no reason..."

"The constant battle of making them eat their food..."

"And 'battle' isn't an euphemism! Somedays our kitchen ends up in a state comparable to the battlefields of the Third War!"

"And pray they don't get sick! It's all of the above multiplied by ten, plus a stream of vomit!"

"Not that they need to be sick to throw up for some reason..."

Shisui noticed that color was starting to disappear from the newlywed couple's faces. "Uh, honey? I think we're scaring them."

Realizing Shisui was right, Shizune laughed awkwardly. "But don't worry! All of that stuff will be meaningless compared to how much a kid will brighten your life!"

"We hope so, hehe," Kurenai said, laughing a little. "We know that taking care of a kid is a serious endeavor, but for a moment you made it look as it was more an arduous chore than anything."

"Though, a kid also gives you perspective, you know what I mean?" Shizune asked. "I mean, we're ninjas. We risk our lives with each mission. I can say that all of us here are not afraid to die to complete a mission, or to save a comrade, or something like that. But when you have this little one at home depending on you, and wonder what's going to be of him or her if this time you don't return..."

"Yeah. I know I worried my father when I started my career as a kunoichi, but I believe this is worse. I mean, if I died, even if it would have been devastating, my dad could still take care of himself. But if it was him who died..." Kurenai said.

"Yes. That's why we agreed that I'd take a job that entails less risk and does not require me to leave the village for a long periods of time. If something happened to Shizune –pray it doesn't– our kids would still have me," Shisui explained.

"Plus at least one of us will be in the village if an emergency happens," Shizune continued. "We agreed it would be him since he mostly did solo missions or with temporary teammates. I'm the Jōnin-sensei of a team, so I wouldn't be able to do it without leaving them."

"Which makes me wonder, do you guys plan to do anything similar?" Shisui asked. "I'm bringing this up because, unlike us, the two of you are Jōnin-sensei. The two of you take risky missions that make you spend time away from the village."

"While I don't plan to retire, I think I may give Naruto command of the Assault Squad permanently. That way I won't be so bound to the team, and I'll be able to take some time if the situation calls for it."

"Well, you have it easier. Your students are either Jonin or Special Jōnin, and from what you told me, they all soon will be the former. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them took a team of their own," Asuma stated.

"Hinata has expressed interest in doing such a thing, but she herself admitted that, even if she got the rank shortly, she doesn't feel ready for the task, and think she could use some more experience," Kurenai told the others.

"Wait, isn't Hinata like, the new head of her clan?" Shisui asked, scratching his head. "I mean, clan heads are usually pretty busy. I don't know where is she going to find time to do both things."

"It can be managed," Asuma interjected. "My father was the Jonin-sensei of the Sannin while he was also head of the Sarutobi Clan and Hokage. How did he manage to do all that, I'll never know. But it sure as hell didn't leave him any time to spend with his family," the bearded Jonin said, some bitterness leaking from his voice.

"Asuma..." Kurenai said, as she squeezed his hand with her own.

The bearded Jonin breathed deeply as he forced himself to calm down. He eyed his father the former Hokage, chatting with his fellow clansmen and other guests.

"I know, I know," Asuma apologetically said. "I like to think I put all the bad blood between my father and I behind, but some things are hard to forget. If anything, I want to make sure my relationship with my kid is better than the one I had with father."

"You know I'm on the same boat. My father never approved of me being a kunoichi. He felt such career wasn't befitting of a woman," Kurenai said.

Shizune raised an eyebrow, her face becoming indignant. "Really? What a bunch of nonsense."

"Indeed it was. My father was a very traditional man," Kurenai stated.

"No, being traditional is following some outdated customs because they're part of your clan history or something like that. Women have been ninjas since the foundation of the Great Villages," Shizune stated.

During the Warring State Period, women were often barred from becoming ninjas. The reason was that due the absurdly high mortality rate of the era, all clans agreed that women should be away from danger, and produce and raise children. They were basically glorified baby factories. With the advent of the Village System, the mortality rate greatly decreased, and it became more acceptable for women to become ninjas or other high risk jobs.

Of course, not everybody was ready to embrace social progress enabled by this new era, and in some places, while not banned, women were discouraged from being ninjas.

"My relationship with my father wasn't the best either. I think that was one of the reasons Asuma and I clicked so easily. A bit said if you think about it," Kurenai sadly chuckled. "Sometimes I wish I had at least tried to make things up with him before he died during the Nine Tails attack."

"I know what you mean. It's not until you lose somebody that you realize that you could have been a bit more understanding to them," Shisui solemnly agreed. "Their memory...it's like a wound that will never heal."

There was a moment of silence following the usually cheerful and laid back Uchiha's unusually serious and deep statement.

Kurenai forced herself to smile as she pushed the bitter memory of the last time her father was alive away. "But enough of such gloom talk, okay? Today is a day of celebration. I want everybody in their best mood."

…

At another part of the large sunshade tent, Jiraiya, Tsunade and their two youngest children were also enjoying the reception.

"Enjoying the wedding, kids?" Jiraiya asked the twins.

"I dunno. I preferred Shizune-neechan's wedding. There were less people, and we knew most of the guests," Kaida complained with a shrug. "I don't even know who most of these people are."

"Because we were Shizune-neechan's family," Hagane pointed out. "And the groom's family were just two people at the time."

"Yes. A good chunk of the guests are the Sarutobi Clan and Kurenai's family, even if the latter is much smaller than the former," Tsunade pointed out. "Though you should have seen our wedding. It had even less people."

"Less? But you guys are like living legends! I'm sure lots of people would have loved to attend!" Kaida said, visibly surprised.

"And they wanted to attend, make no mistake. But weddings are special and meaningful events, and thus you want to share them with your loved ones, not a bunch of strangers. You see neither your mother nor I had any family left by the time we were married."

"I had Naruto," Tsunade pointed out.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes a little. "Yes, you have Uzumaki blood and all that, but your family ties aren't that close. Besides, Naruto wasn't even four at the time, so he hardly counts as a proper guest."

"And how many people did attend your wedding?" Hagane asked, putting the conversation back on track.

"Just Naruto, Shizune, Sensei, Itachi and Shisui," Tsunade replied. "Sensei was the one who conducted the ceremony. The reception was in our house, when we merely talked about various topics as we had some food with sake in the living room."

"I know I said I didn't like crowds, but that sound pretty boring for a wedding," Kaida said, crossing her arms.

"We like to think it was something intimate. Who cares if it wasn't something grand nor grandiose? It was a memorable day for us, and that's what counted," Jiraiya said.

"I can understand dad not having any family left since he was an orphan and all that, but mom is a Senju! Our clan founded Konoha! Where were the other Senjus?" Hagane asked. "I read a lot about our clan in history books, but they don't detail what happened to it."

"Yeah, I would want my wedding to have more people than you guys, Shizune-neechan and Naruto-niisan," Kaida deadpanned.

"Then you know what to do. Marry a guy with a pretty big family. Wanna know which are Konoha's biggest clans?" Jiraiya asked, chuckling.

"DAD!" Kaida protested, turning red. "I don't mean right now!"

"Kidding, kidding! I already knew that," the Hokage laughed, holding up his hands in defense. "Besides, after you were born, I passed a law to make illegal to date the Hokage's daughter until she's thirty, under penalty of death."

"Very funny, dad," Kaida said as she rolled her eyes.

"Funny, yeah..." Jiraiya laughed, as his eyes narrowed, sparkling with a dangerous glint.

"Hey, look at that, they're clearing the middle zone from tables and chairs," Tsunade pointed out.

"I guess it's time for the dance then," Jiraiya pointed out. Then, his face blanched as a realization dawned upon him. "Oh shit..."

Tsunade's face suddenly became sad. "We didn't have a dance in our wedding," she recalled, sounding melancholic.

"Oh god, here we go again," Jiraiya muttered to himself, before placing a hand on Tsunade's shoulder. "Well, like we just said, our wedding was pretty small, so there was no point it-"

"How the hell did we have a wedding without a dance!?" Tsunade asked, sounding far louder than she intended –but not caring at all–.

"Well, it's all in the past and-"

"No! We have to make up for it! Come on, let's dance until our feet start to bleed!" Tsunade insisted, as she dragged Jiraiya to the dance floor. "Then I'll heal them, then we'll continue dancing until they bleed again!"

Jiraiya couldn't repress a groan. The same thing happened in Shizune and Shisui's wedding, and he knew that "dance until their feet bleed" wasn't an hyperbole.

"Uh, hime, this is Asuma and Kurenai's wedding. Shouldn't they start dancing first?" Jiraiya uncomfortably asked.

Fortunately, that question stopped her in her tracks. She huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine. But then we get to dance more than anybody!"

…

As Jiraiya had said, Asuma and Kurenai opened the dance, everybody else watching as they moved, holding each other in their respective arms. After a few minutes of solo dancing, other couples started to join as well.

"Let's dance slow. I don't want to accidentally step on you."

Hinata laughed in return, as she and Naruto danced. "Come on, Naruto-kun, you're not doing it that bad."

"If you say so," Naruto replied with a chuckle.

"Though we can go slow if you want to," Hinata said, bringing herself closer to Naruto, and slowing her movements. "Albeit..."

"Albeit?" Naruto repeated.

"I also want to dance slowly. So I can enjoy the moment the longest. Just the two of us, dancing like this. No missions, no Akatsuki, no friends dying...just the two of us..." Hinata said.

"Well, we can dance like this whenever you want," Naruto replied.

"No, we can't," Hinata replied.

"Huh?" Naruto dumbly asked.

"Well, technically we can, but it's not the same, you know? It's not the same dancing just because you want, than dancing to celebrate a special event like this one. Plus, it's not just us. All our friends are enjoying the moment too," Hinata pointed out. "Plus we'll have to go back to Taki and continue helping with the reparation efforts."

"Ugh, don't remind me," Naruto said, as he continued to dance. "Too bad you don't get to undo Akatsuki's destruction by punching them. Otherwise this would be fun."

"Come on, we're almost finished with that. It can't take more than a week to finish what's left," Hinata said in an encouraging clone. "Besides, imagine how long we would have taken if you couldn't create so many clones."

"I think that's why I feel it's such a bother. With the clones' memories, it makes me feel as if I've been doing the job of a hundred people," Naruto said with a chuckle, which Hinata echoed.

As they continued to dance, they passed on another couple, Shino and Fu. The usually energetic girl had decided to dance slowly as well, something Shino would no doubt be thankful for. For the event, she had traded her usual scantily-clad appearance for an elegant red kimono with white floral patterns. The Kimono was loose enough that to hid her muscles, but it did little to hide her tall stature, especially compared to the much shorter Aburame. Some would say that they looked ridiculous, but those who knew them thought that they were adorable instead.

"Thank goodness we managed to save her," Naruto told Hinata. "A few seconds late..."

"But we did save her. Just like we did save Gaara. Try not to dwell on what could have been, It's not healthy," Hinata softly chastised.

"I know. But in both cases, we just barely did it. We need to be better prepared to face Akatsuki. We're bound to run out of luck sooner or later, and there are still four jinchuriki that need to be protected," Naruto insisted. "How's your Tenseigan training, by the way?"

"I'm progressing. Slowly but surely. I think I could go faster if I could be trained by somebody with a Tenseigan, rather than from old books and scrolls," Hinata told him.

"Not to put any pressure on you but...try a bit harder, okay?" Naruto said, trying not to sound imposing. "Look how much trouble Kakuzu and Hidan gave us, and I'm sure they aren't even among the better half of the Akatsuki. Not to mention the one with the Rinnegan."

"I know. I'll train even harder."

"Meanwhile, I'll see if I can get dad to train both me and Fu on using Tailed Beast chakra. That's the best weapon we have against an enemy of such power," Naruto stated.

"Naruto, shh," Hinata said, placing a finger on her lips. "You're getting carried away. Let's enjoy the moment, okay? There will be plenty of time for training and worrying about Akatsuki."

"Oh, right, sorry," Naruto stammered, as he and Hinata continued dancing.

"Now relax, and enjoy the moment," Hinata said, as she rested her head on his shoulder, before giggling. "And the company."

"Aw, the dance already started? I can't believe we missed it!" Ino's voice complained, as she and Rin entered the tent. "Where is Sai? There's no way I don't get to dance at a wedding."

"I think it's over there," Rin said, pointing to a corner of the tent.

"Ah, right! Thank you!" Ino said, as he headed towards the pale brunette, before turning at Rin one last time. "Oh, and keep in mind what we talked, alright?"

"I will, don't worry," Rin said, as she also went to find somebody to dance with.

"Huh. It seems that Ino and Rin became friends," Naruto noticed.

"Despite her somewhat blunt personality, Ino-san is a very outgoing and confident girl. Making new friends doesn't look like a challenge to her," Hinata pointed out.

"Hey, you have nothing to be jealous of. You also have lots of friends," Naruto pointed out.

"I know. I'm not the same super shy, stuttering girl from the Academy. But back then, I wish I could be as open as Ino-san was," Hinata said, before her eyes rested on Rin, trying to mingle with the crowd. "I think Rin has it worse than me, given the circumstances."

"I'm happy for Rin. Given what she went through, she needs a lot of friends to rely on," Naruto pointed out. "And together we will make her feel much better about her situation."

"Yes. Yes we will," Hinata agreed.

And the two of them, alongside the rest of the wedding guests, continued dancing and enjoying the night without any care.

…

 _Land of Lightning, Southern Border_

At the same time the wedding reached its end, something else happened hundreds of kilometers to the north.

Standing over a stone hill, Obito Uchiha overlooked the scenery before him. A mostly rocky expanse, with a river crossing it, and patches of vegetation here and there, mostly near the river. There was a small town at the edge of river, and a Kumogakure outpost built at the base of a nearby mountain.

"I think this place will do," Obito said, as he removed one of his gloves, bit his thumb, and made five hand seals. "Wherever you're hiding, jinchuriki, this will surely force you to come out. Summoning Jutsu!"

And Obito slammed his hand into the ground.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, Kurenai and Asuma finally married, yay!**

 **Despite the lack of action, I liked this chapter, since it allowed me to focus on manry characters that have been absent for quite some time, such as Kurenai herself (told you she would appear from time to time even if she is still pregnant) Team Asuma, Rin, or Sai. Speaking of the latter, I really enjoyed writing Sai much more than this around than in his previous appearances. Guess that he needed a good foil like Ino for his brand of insensitive comedy to work better.**

 **Something I'm not proud of, however, is Sasuke and Sakura's relationship upgrade. I rewrote the scene quite a few times, and honestly, this was the best I could do. I'd like to blame Sasuke beign a cold fish and not that good to work with romantic scenes, but then again, I did read quite a few fics in which Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is both interesting while keeping both characters truer to their core. Guess that, since SasuSaku is a couple that I'm mostly indifferent to, I simply didn't have the passion to give it more depth. Oh well, at least I took that out of my hair.**

 **So, anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter full of comedy and fluff, because as the last scene shows, the heroes are for a wild ride. I think you all know what's going to happen in Kumo now.**

 **Thanks a lot to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.**

 **The arc following Hidan and Kakuzu is the Itachi pursuit arc. But since neither Itachi is an Akatsuki nor Sasuke defected Konoha, what comes next is another original arc, but I'm confident that you guys will love it. In the meantime, don't forget to leave a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	66. Cats and Foxes, Part I

**Author's Note: I hope you all guys had a Merry Christmas. Enjoy the last chapter of 2018:**

* * *

 **Chapter 66:**

Cats and Foxes, Part I

 _or_

 _Old Quarrels, New Disputes_

…

It was a sunny morning in Konoha. Most people, both ninjas and civilians, were now flooding the streets as they headed towards their day jobs. Jiraiya, however, had been almost an hour in his office. Not working, mind you; working on his next novel. He used the clones for that.

Three days had passed since Kurenai and Asuma's wedding. The morning after the wedding, the newlywed couple left for their honeymoon to a resort in the Land of Hot Springs, the same one Jiraiya and Tsunade had gone for their own honeymoon many years ago. Going by Jiraiya's own experiences with the place, he knew Asuma and Kurenai would have a great time.

They weren't the only ones who left that morning. The Assault and Animal Squads, as well as Fu, returned to Takigakure to help finish the reconstruction efforts. According to the reports, they wouldn't take more than two weeks until they were done. Naruto had faith that nothing terrible would happen while he and his friends were away. And until that point, Jiraiya was sharing his adopted son's optimism.

Somebody knocked at the door.

"Oh come on, I wasn't supposed to have any meetings until ten!" Jiraiya groaned as he quickly hid the draft of his next novel. "Who's there?"

"It's me, Jiraiya. We have an urgent message from Kumo addressed to you," Jiraiya immediately recognized the voice of his sensei and predecessor.

That got Jiraiya's attention. Messages from Kumo were hardly good news. What would the Raikage want now? "Come in! Bring that message!"

Sarutobi entered the office and handed Jiraiya a scroll with Kumo's seal on it. Unfurling the scroll, the white haired Hokage read its contents, and the more he read, the more his face paled. He furled the scroll again and slammed it against the table.

"It is bad?" Hiruzen asked, with a bit of worry in his voice.

"ANBU!" Jiraiya yelled. Four ANBU wearing different animal masks suddenly appeared before him. "Bring Shizune's Medical Squad here, now!" he barked. "Bring me Rin Nohara as well!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the ANBU said, aware of the urgency of the situation, vanishing in an instant.

"I take it is bad," the Hokage-turned-advisor concluded. "Let's hope it's not a repeat of the Hyuga Affair..."

"Not exactly the same, but it can be even worse," Jiraiya said, and to prove his point, he handed the message to Hiruzen.

After reading it, the former Hokage echoed his student's reaction. "This isn't bad... but catastrophic..."

Jiraiya slumped into his chair, and let out a tired sigh. "Of all the times for Naruto not to be in the village..."

…

A few minutes later, Shizune and her three students stood in front of the Hokage and Sarutobi. According to the ANBU, they were at their usual training spot, ready to begin their morning routine.

 _"Thank goodness they were in the village, or else it would have been a catastrophe,"_ Jiraiya thought. Even if it would have preferred Naruto, the Medical Squad would work as well. Hell, it could work even better. "Good morning to you four. Sorry for calling you with such haste, but there's an emergency. Konoha has to undertake a mission that only you four can accomplish."

"What is it, Hokage-sama?" Shizune asked.

"You see, a few minutes ago we received a message from Kumogakure," Jiraiya said, as he handed the message to Shizune. As the young Jounin read it, Jiraiya continued talking. "The message says that a Kumo border outpost and a nearby village have been attacked and destroyed. The few survivors claim it was the Nine Tails who did it."

"What? That's stupid! The Nine Tails is sealed inside Naruto-niisan!" Karin protested. "And he doesn't know how to control his power to its fullest."

"And even if he was, Naruto has been in Takigakure for the past days! If that wasn't the case, Kakashi-sensei would have send a message," Sakura added.

"What you said is true. However, we're contemplating another possibility. Sensei, why don't you tell them?" Jiraiya said, as both his and everybody else's eyes rested on the old man.

Hiruzen cleared his throat before speaking. "You see, I was there when Minato sealed the Nine Tails inside his son. I was unable to help, or even see it closer due the barrier erected by Kushina prior their deaths. Something I and a few others saw, and what most people don't know, is that Minato only sealed half the Kyuubi inside his son."

There was a collective gasp. Those present opened their mouths to ask questions, but Jiraiya raised a hand, and wordlessly ordered them to remain silent and let Hiruzen finish his tale.

"You see, I presume he did it because Naruto was a newborn baby, and he wouldn't be able to contain the whole fox himself. So using the Reaper Death Seal, he sealed half of the Nine Tails' chakra within himself, before sealing the other half within Naruto," Hiruzen said.

"But... if that's true, then the Nine Tails' other half should be within the Reaper's stomach, right? If I remember correctly, that's how that jutsu works, right?" Sasuke asked.

Both Jiraiya and Hiruzen nodded.

"Then there's no way the other half of the beast should have been able to escape the Reaper," Shizune said.

"Again, that's true. But remember that almost three years ago, when Orochimaru attacked Konoha, he used Impure World Resurrection to bring Minato back to life as an undead puppet," Hiruzen replied. "Such thing wouldn't have been possible since his soul wouldn't be accessible. Yet he somehow managed to bypass that."

"And by doing so, he also rescued the other half of the Kyuubi's chakra, since it was bound to Minato's soul," Jiraiya continued.

"But you told me that you defeated the reanimated Minato, right?" Shizune asked.

"Yes. And by doing so, his soul returned to the afterlife, where it belongs," Jiraiya said.

"But...the Nine Tails, like every other Tailed Beast, it's immortal," Sakura said in realization. "And even if you manage to destroy one, they will simply be reborn again."

"Yes," Jiraiya confirmed.

"So, the Nine Tails' other half has been resurrected, and decided to attack the Land of Lightning?" Karin asked.

"Here's the thing. If it happened as you suggested, the ninjas in the border outpost would have seen the beast coming. But according to the few witnesses, the Nine Tails suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and attacked without warning," Jiraiya said.

"Which is exactly what happened when the Nine Tails attacked Konoha sixteen years ago," Hiruzen revealed. "This led us to believe that somebody had put the Nine Tails under their control and used it to destroy Konoha, which we later found was Obito Uchiha, believed to be dead back then."

"Wait, if Akatsuki got their hands on the Nine Tails, why did they use it to attack Kumo? Why don't they seal it with the others?" Shizune asked.

"We don't know. My guess is that they want to lure Naruto out into the open with it, so they can have both halves," Jiraiya said.

"If that was the case, why attack the Land of Lightning? Why not the Land of Fire?" Sakura asked.

"The Land of Lightning is hostile territory. We might not be at war, but we aren't friends nor allies either," Hiruzen pointed out.

"Clever bastards," Sasuke grumbled.

"Yes. We do suspect that this might a trap from either Akatsuki or Kumo –do not rule out such possibility– so Jiraiya and I decided not to recall Naruto for the time being," Hiruzen said.

"Still, given what we know, we can't afford to just hope it's a trap and that the Kyuubi's other half isn't roaming the world free. That's why I gathered your team. Sasuke, with your Mangekyou Sharingan, you'll be able to subdue the beast and put it under your control. Karin's Chakra Chains can be of help as well. Once you rendered it docile, Shizune will seal it. The best solution would be to bring the Fox to Konoha and seal it inside Naruto as well, but having a Tailed Beast released like that, even under Sasuke's mind control, would be too risky so you'll have to seal it immediately," Jiraiya explained, as his eyes rested on Karin.

The redhead was starting to feel uncomfortable. Not only Jiraiya, but Hiruzen also has his eyes fixed on her, looking at her with a mix of pity and fear. "Um...Hokage-sama? Sarutobi-sama? Why are you looking at me like that? You're not planning to-"

"Karin, the Nine Tails is a special kind of beast. Its chakra it's too intense, and the host needs to have a special kind of chakra powerful enough to contain it without letting the fox harm its host. So far, only the Uzumaki Clan fit those criteria," Hiruzen said, his eyes reflecting sadness. "Sorry, Karin, but we have no other options. You have to be the container of the other half of the Kyuubi."

Karin's legs suddenly felt very weak, threatening to make her fall, while her stomach churn.

"No...no..." she said, almost in a whisper.

"Listen Karin, I know I'm asking you a lot, but there is no other options. You're the best candidate to-" Jiraiya began.

"NO!" Karin shouted. "You...you can't make me do it! You can't! No, I won't do it!" The panic-stricken redhead said before she fled the office.

"I'll go talk to her," Sakura said, as she rushed after her teammate.

Jiraiya sighed again. "I knew this was going to be a massive headache..."

Then, an tiger masked ANBU appeared, followed by a certain brown haired teenage girl.

"Hokage-sama, here's Rin Nohara, as you requested," the ANBU stated.

…

Unlike Karin, Sakura wasn't a sensor, but after looking a bit around the tower, jumping from one roof to another, she quickly saw her red headed teammate slumped on a bench, looking miserable. Not without a good reason, Sakura was forced to admit. Rehearsing what she should say, the pinkette landed besides the Uzumaki girl.

"Karin! There you are," Sakura said.

"Leave me alone," Karin cried, not bothering to look at Sakura.

"Karin, listen-"

"No, shut up!" Karin snapped. "Don't even open your mouth! Do you have any idea of what the Hokage asked me to do!?"

Sakura bit her lip. Karin had all the right to be both angry and scared, so she had to choose her words carefully.

"Listen Karin, I can't even imagine what is it to be asked to do such a thing," Sakura decided not to pretend she could empathize with her plight. "But if Hokage-sama asked you to do this, it's because there's nobody else who can do it."

"Bullshit!" Karin angrily replied. "I know for a fact that Tsunade-sama has Uzumaki blood in her! Why didn't he asked her to be her vessel? Or one of their biological children? They're Chunin, just like I am!"

"You know it's not the same. Those children already have a target in their backs because of their blood limits. It would be unfair to make them carry an even bigger burden," Sakura replied, not needing to remind her friend of that rescue mission.

"You know, before arriving here, I spent all of my childhood running away from some unseen enemy," Karin began. She removed her glasses, and wiped the tears coming from her eyes. "Always alert if somebody looked at us funny. Never staying in the same place more than a week. Living on the road. And when we arrived at Konoha, I thought that I finally got away from that. Curse my Uzumaki blood! No matter where I go, it always ruins my life!"

Sakura bit her lip, and forced herself to remain silent. She spent the next few minutes wordlessly comforting the crying redhead by gently patting her back.

"I know you must feel scared but... look at Naruto," Sakura pointed out. "He's been a jinchuuriki all his life, and he turned out pretty good, don't you think so?"

"Y-Yes..." Karin forced herself to admit. She didn't realize that Sakura left out all the situations in which the Kyuubi made Naruto's life more difficult, either directly or indirectly, but Sakura was sure it would be for the better.

"And you have all of us to support you if such thing happens," Sakura said.

"If?" Karin repeated.

"You heard Hokage-sama. We don't know for sure if it's the other half of the Kyuubi. It may just be a farce of Kumo or Akatsuki in order to draw Naruto into hostile territory," Sakura confidently said.

"And what if you're wrong?" Karin asked.

"Like I just said, we will be there to help and support you whenever you need. And not just us, but I'm sure Neji, Naruto and the rest of your family will," Sakura stated. She then grabbed both of Karin's hands. "If you feel you can't do it, think in them, think in all the people you love, and love you. Think that you will do this to protect them to keep them safe, just like Naruto has been doing all his life."

Karin spend a few moments silent, slowly absorbing Sakura's words. After the pinkette released her hands, she put her glasses back on.

"What you said doesn't make me any less scared. Not at all," Karin began, then her face reflected an expression of determination. She closed her hand into a fist. "But you are right. It will be horribly irresponsible to leave half the Nine Tails like that. And if there's nobody else who can carry this burden...then I will."

Sakura smiled, and nodded. "That's the spirit! Come on, we need to go back to the Hokage Tower."

"No need for that," Shizune's voice said. Sakura and Karin turned around, and saw Shizune, Sasuke and much to their surprise, Rin Nohara walking towards them. "We already heard everything we need to know shortly before you left. Are you feeling better, Karin?"

"Not much," the redhead replied. "But I will do this if I have to."

"Don't worry, it's not near as bad as it may think. Look at Naruto," Shizune said, trying to ease the redhead with a smile. "And Hokage-sama plans to give you a huge compensation for this."

"I doubt any compensation can make up for me becoming a jinchuriki, but I'll make sure I enjoy it," Karin deadpanned.

"So, are you ready to go? Hokage-sama said that this mission was urgent and wanted us to leave immediately," Rin chimed in.

Sakura and Karin looked at their fellow medic-nin a bit confused.

"Hokage-sama assigned Rin as backup for this mission," Shizune explained, before Sakura or Karin had a chance to answer.

"No offense to Rin, but how is an additional medic going to help with out mission?" Sakura asked.

"I have special abilities that will be helpful in case we face the Nine Tails," Rin explained. "You'll see what I mean when the moment comes," the brown haired girl said enigmatically.

"Anyway, enough talking. As Hokage-sama said, this mission is an urgent one. I want you to meet me in the village's north gate in half an hour, understood?" Shizune asked.

"Yes ma'am!" the four other Konoha ninja obediently replied, before they went they scattered.

…

Less than an hour later, Shizune's Medical Squad was already on their way to the Land of Lightning. According to Jiraiya, they were set to meet a squad of Kumogakure that had been dispatched to investigate the incident as well. Said squad was expecting Naruto Uzumaki to be among them, so things would get tense when they saw that it wasn't be the case.

"So, what do you think? Did Obito really got control of that second half of the Nine Tails, or it's just a trick of Kumo? I'm partial to the latter," Sakura said, before the others had time to answer. "I did some research on Kumo, and the whole incident with Hinata wasn't the first time they tried to abduct one of our ninjas."

"Really? What did they try before?" Sasuke asked.

"They managed to kidnap Kushina Uzumaki, Naruto's mom," Sakura replied.

"Ah yes, Jiraiya-sama told us about that," Shizune stated. "Everybody thought that there would be no way to get her back with the head start the kidnappers had, but Minato-sama managed to both track them and single handedly defeated the kidnappers. Many believe that that was the beginning of their romance."

"Indeed," Sakura nodded. "And as Naruto told us, his mother used to be the previous jinchuuriki before him, so it wouldn't be the first time they showed interest in the Nine Tails."

"It could also be because of her Uzumaki heritage," Rin piped in.

This got Karin's attention. "Uh, elaborate please?"

"Being an Uzumaki yourself, you know that your clan has some rather nifty perks, such as longevity, powerful chakra, and knack for fuinjutsu," Rin explained. "It's possible that besides the Kyubi, they also wanted Kushina-san to start their own branch of the Uzumaki Clan in Kumo."

Karin groaned in an exaggerated manner as she rolled her eyes. "Great, so if they find out I'm an Uzumaki, they'll want to get my hands on me. Great, just great. This mission keeps getting better," the redhead deadpanned.

"Listen, nobody's going to get kidnapped on my watch, got it?" Shizune energetically assured. "Our team is pretty powerful, so if they want to hurt one of us, we'll put them through a world of pain."

"If you said so..." Karin dejectedly replied, obviously unconvinced.

"You know, you should pray it's a trick from Kumo, given that the alternative is to fight an Akatsuki-controlled Kyuubi that we will need to seal inside you," Sasuke pointed out.

"Don't remind me," Karin groaned.

The Uchiha's expression then hardened as he continued talking. "I'm personally hoping for the latter option. Of the Akatsuki, Obito's the only one who can control the Tailed Beasts, meaning that he will be there. With how much powerful I've became over the past years, I'm ready to settle the score. He will pay for the Uchiha Insurrection and making me almost kill Naruto."

Rin's face turned contrite the moment Sasuke mentioned her former teammate. No matter how many times he heard all the evil deeds Obito had done, she was unable to reconcile them with the memory of the energetic, nice and clumsy boy she used to know.

"Guys, if we end up facing Obito..." Rin began, her voice quavering a little. "Do you think there's a chance we might be able to turn him back to our side?"

A deafening silence followed her question. A knot formed into the brown haired girls' stomach, made worse by the hateful glare Sasuke shot at her, before looking forward, and grunting.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that..." Rin regretfully said.

"It's natural that you did. Obito was your teammate and friend, and you hate to see what he has become," Shizune replied, her tone being that of understanding. "However, Obito has committed multiple heinous crimes against Konoha and its inhabitants. We have proof that it was him the one responsible behind the Nine Tails' attack sixteen years ago that claimed the life of your sensei and his wife, as well as his participation on the Uchiha Insurrection and aiding Orochimaru in the invasion of Konoha.

"Even if Obito truly repented, his crimes are too grave for them to atone. Many criminals have been executed for much less than that. I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but the sooner you accept this, the sooner you'll be able to move on," Shizune explained.

"I...it's okay," Rin forced herself to admit. "Like I said, it was dumb of me to ask that. Obito might had brought me back to life, but he killed lots of other people as well."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Sakura asked. "There's a big chance that we might end up fighting him. If it's the case and you are not mentally prepared to face him again-"

"No, no! I'm fine! I can do this!" Rin insisted, as her eyes glinted with determination. "I need to do this!"

"Are you sure?" A skeptical Sasuke asked.

"Yes. When I came back, memories of my death stopped me from being a ninja. Then, I decided to face my fears and join the mission to Kirigakure, the very same village responsible of my demise. And after that...I felt I was able to leave that behind. If I'm to leave the old Obito behind, I need to face what he has become."

"That's very brave of you, Rin," Sakura praised.

"As lovable as your intentions are, you should be careful. He didn't try anything during these past years, but seeing you in the open away from the village, he might try to abduct you and lock you up out of his fear of losing you again," Shizune advised.

"Don't worry, I'm aware of that," Rin replied, nodding.

"If what you say it's true, maybe we could use that to our advantage," Sasuke suggested.

"Sasuke-kun! I don't know what are you thinking, but we aren't going to do something that puts Rin in danger!" Sakura angrily chastised her boyfriend.

"I didn't say anything about putting her in danger. But if his presence makes Obito lose focus..." the Uchiha replied. "Shouldn't we take advantage of that?"

"We'll see when the time comes," Shizune said, putting an end to the discussion. "Like Sakura said, we won't take any actions that endangers any of the members of this squad, got it?"

"Tch, whatever," Sasuke growled, as he continued his travel forward.

…

 _Moon, Toneri's Palace_

"Your tea, Pain-sama, Konan-sama," a pale black haired child with creepy white eyes and an unreadable expression said as he placed the two cups on the small table between the two of them. The two Akatsuki were convinced that that kid wasn't human, or even alive to begin with. Though that wasn't relevant for them now.

Pain and Konan did their best to ignore the extremely luxurious and finely decorated living room they were now in. Having known nothing but the pain of war and misery, it was rather irksome to see firsthand the opulent lifestyle other people were lucky enough to have. Even then, they had to kept their grievances to themselves for the time being.

"So, Toneri Otsutsuki," Pain began, ignoring the tea brought to him. "While I can see that you have a lot to offer to our organization in terms of resources, I'd like to know better why are you interested in joining us."

"Your skepticism is reasonable, Pain-sama," Toneri said with a smile, taking a sip from his own cup of tea. "But the answer is simple. We both want a better world, one that reflects the true wishes of the Sage of the Six Paths. Isn't that enough?"

"In theory, it should be. But experience taught me that the jump from theory to practice isn't as clean as we always expect," Pain replied. "I'll be frank. Prior to Obito introducing you to us, we knew nothing about you. We didn't even know there were people living in the Moon."

"And I will be eternally grateful to Obito for keeping my people's existence a secret until the time was right," Toneri said, still smiling. "Though if you're still doubtful about my commitment and loyalty to your cause, feel free to test me as many times as you wish."

"You certainly have a helpful disposition. If it's genuine, that's it," Konan observed, as she drank from her cup of tea. "And trust me, a test will come in the future."

"Now, while I could ask Obito, I want to hear it from you first," Pain continued. "How did Obito know about you?"

"An understandable question to have," Toneri said with a nod. "But before I answer it, are you by any chance aware of a man named Madara? From the same clan as Obito, I think."

"Madara Uchiha. Yes. He was Obito's mentor. Though he no longer walks among the living," Konan answered. "It was thanks to him that Obito learned everything about the Sage of the Six Paths. And that Pain, as his reincarnation, inherited his eyes, and is the only one capable of bringing true peace to the world."

"In that case, that will save me some explaining to do. You see, Madara Uchiha came to our world many decades ago. I know this because my father told me, I wasn't born yet," Toneri pointed out. "Anyway, we never knew how Madara learned about our existence and our task, but he thought that, since we had a common goal, we should join forces. My then still living grandfather rejected his offer, since he didn't trust people from the Earth, even one that was a direct descendant of Hagoromo-sama.

"Even then, our family knew that this was an opportunity, and we made a deal with the Uchiha. If he could provide us with at least a pair of Main Family Otsutsuki Byakugan, he would consider his alliance offer," Toneri explained. "Of course, my family had no intention to ally with him. We knew about the Uchiha and how prone they are to war and violence, the very things we wanted to eradicate. But it was a golden chance to acquire a Tenseigan. Not that it mattered, since that was the last time we heard of him. Our spies on Earth told us that he died fighting his former friend Hashirama Senju."

"To my knowledge, there is no Otsutsuki Clan on Earth anymore," Pain noted.

"Not by that name, no. They're called Hyuga now," Toneri pointed out.

"Yet, when Obito came here with a pair of Byakugan, you agreed with the alliance," Pain guessed. "Why did you decide to honor the promise your ascendants didn't?"

"I have to admit, Obito's arguments left me defenseless, and I had no choice but to join forces with him. He proved to be a reliable benefactor, and an alliance with him and his organization was the most logical thing to do," Toneri explained.

"Even if it was Obito who brought you to us, Pain here is the leader of Akatsuki. Your loyalty should to be to him and him alone," Konan interjected, as he glared at the white haired man.

"Of course, Konan-sama. Obito made sure to explain me in detail the hierarchy of Akatsuki," Toneri replied, and he looked at Pain in the eyes, and smiled. "I know exactly who I have to be loyal to."

"Good to hear that," Konan replied, but he didn't sound any more convinced.

"Besides, who should I follow other than the one who possess the eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths?" Toneri asked. "And I have Hamura-sama's eyes. And such as Hamura-sama was loyal to his brother, I will follow your guidance, Pain-sama. Together, with the combined power of our eyes, we will cleanse this world of evil and corruption and create a paradise of peace and justice."

"Indeed," Pain nodded. "However, even if I have his eyes, my current power is nothing but a fraction of the strength the Sage of the Six Paths possessed. That's why it's imperative to capture and gather all the Tailed Beasts as soon as possible. They're the fragments of my lost power."

"You can count on me for that, Pain-sama. While my eyes are still developing, once they mature, no jinchuriki will be able to stand before my might," Toneri assured. "But if such wait is unacceptable, I can hunt them whenever you command them. However, I should tell you that, in exchange of my power and vast resources, I have a request."

"A request," Pain repeated. "And what that would be?"

"There's a girl from Konoha, a Hyuga, who has the same eyes as I have. I want that girl," Toneri said. "I'm not asking you to capture her for me, but if by any chance you or your minions encounter her, please try not to kill her. I have no use for her dead."

"I won't promise anything. Akatsuki does not show mercy to those who oppose us. But I will keep your words in mind," Pain said.

"Still, if you worry so much about her, you should try to take her on your own," Konan interceded. "That's it, as long as we don't assign you any task to carry out."

"I would never think to do such a thing, Konan-sama," Toneri said, smiling at her.

Konan didn't smile back.

…

 _Land of Lightning, a week later_

After a week of traveling and crossing both the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost, the Medical Squad finally arrived at the Land of Lightning's southern and only border. It didn't take long to see both the ruins of what it used to be a rural village, and the remnants of a destroyed outpost.

"Alright, here we are," Shizune said, as the five of them set foot on potentially hostile territory. "Karin?"

The redhead nodded, closed her eyes and made a hand seal. "No one around save for four people in the destroyed outpost. All four of them ninjas with powerful chakra. One being specially strong even among them."

"That must be Kumo's group. Okay, let's get this over with," Shizune said, as she rushed towards the outpost, the other five Konoha ninja following behind her.

It seemed that the kumo ninjas had either seen or sensed them coming, given that they left the outpost and went to meet the Konoha ninjas in the open. They stopped once they were a few meters apart. All of them took some moments to study the four Kumo ninjas in front of them.

The one everybody guessed was the leader was a fairly tall man with dark skin and shaggy blond hair that covered one of his eyes. He was carrying a large sword on his back. Shizune recognized this man as Darui, one of Kumo's strongest ninjas.

Next to him was a white skinned blonde woman with her hair tied on a ponytail. Unlike her partners, she wasn't wearing the typical Kumogakure uniform, but a black and purple short sleeved shirt and black pants. Again, Shizune was able to identify this woman as Yugito Nii, the jinchuriki of the Two Tails.

 _"Fake or not, the situation must be dire if the Raikage dispatched two of his heavyweights,"_ Shizune thought. _"If a fight breaks out, this two might become a problem."_

Shizune didn't know who were the other two. Another white skinned woman with blond hair, a stoic and calm appearance, and a comically large bust –Shizune couldn't tell if Tsunade's was bigger or not–, and a younger man, also white and blond, sporting a confident smirk.

"Welcome, Konoha ninjas," Darui greeted them in a polite tone. "My name's Darui. This one's Yugito Nii, and those two are Samui and Atsui."

"Greetings. My name is Shizune Uchiha. These are Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Karin Uzumaki and Rin Nohara," Shizune said, introducing her team in return.

"You took your sweet time to arrive," Yugito pointed out.

"We came as fast as we could. Konoha isn't exactly close to the Land of Lightning," Sasuke snapped.

"We requested the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails to be among you, yet I don't see him," Darui pointed out in a mildly accusatory manner. "Do you care to explain why?"

"Do you really think we're going to bring our jinchuriki, who's also the Hokage's son, to a country that's not an ally of our village?" Shizune replied with a question of her own.

"Then how can we discern if Konoha was behind this attack?" Yugito said, before waving at the destroyed village with her hand. "That village used to house two thousand people. Less than a hundred survived. All of them claim it was the Nine Tails who did it. And as far as we know, the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails is a Konoha ninja."

"We can assure you that, by the time you said the attack happened, Naruto was away on a mission," Sakura interceded. "In Takigakure, to be precise. You can ask them if you don't believe us. Hundreds of both Konoha and Taki ninja can confirm his alibi."

"We will, but that might not be enough for Raikage-sama," Darui pointed out. "Sorry for being this insistent, but a Tailed Beast attack is something that can't be taken lightly."

"Can we go to the attacked town? That way we'll be able to see the extent of the attack, and determine if it was the Nine Tails or not," Shizune pointed out.

"We already inspected the village, hot stuff," Atsui interceded. "And we reached the conclusion that yes, it was a goddamn Tailed Beast the one who did it."

"A second opinion won't hurt," Sakura pointed out.

Darui sighed as he shook his head. "Okay then, whatever. It's not like we're making any progress here. So drab," the dark skinned man complained, as he extended a hand towards the village, motioning the Konoha ninjas to go.

They nodded, and the two groups headed to the ruined village. Upon entering, Shizune had a flashback of the time she and Tsunade returned to Konoha after the Nine Tails attack. And while the destruction and death caused by the beast have been horrifying, they arrived two weeks after the attack, and much of the damage was in the process of being repaired.

It wasn't the case with this village. This is how Konoha could had have ended that day if it wasn't for the Fourth Hokage. And much to her discomfort, the level of destruction was similar to that of Konoha after that fateful day.

"What are we doing here?" Samui asked, interrupting the Konoha ninja inspecting the ruined village. She crossed her arms over her rather large chest. "We do know for a fact it was the Nine Tails who did it. Can you please stop this charade already?"

"Hey, should we remind you that Kumo doesn't have the cleanest record when it comes to Konoha!" Karin snapped. "We still remember the time you kidnapped Hinata Hyuga, and Kushina Uzumaki several decades before."

Shizune, Sakura and Rin cringed upon hearing the blunt way Karin threw Kumo's dirty laundry back at them. Things were getting ugly, and fast.

Darui sighed, and took a step forward. "Listen, sorry if we're putting you in a tight spot, but this needs to be done. As you can see, somebody destroyed a village of the Land of Lightning and an outpost of Kumo. All witnesses say it was the Nine Tails. We just want justice for our victims."

"Yes, and the Nine Tails' jinchuriki is a Konoha ninja," Atsui pointed out. "Unless there's a second Nine Tails running around."

"Actually, there is," Sasuke bluntly stated.

"...say what?" Atsui asked.

"A second Nine Tails. Yeah. Do you think we were born yesterday?" Yugito asked, sounding upset. "The power of the Tailed Beasts is something that can't be replicated. Much less the most powerful of them."

"No, but their power can be split," Shizune pointed out. "The jutsu to do it is a forbidden one but-"

"Shizune-sensei!" Karin called, sounding panicky. Before Shizune or her other teammates could ask what happened, she continued. "Obito Uchiha is here!"

Sasuke's eyes grew wide open, as his hand instinctively gripped the pommel of his katana. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'd never forget a chakra like his!" Karin insisted. "And he isn't alone! He brought somebody else with him! Somebody whose chakra level is downright absurd!"

"Hey, cool off over there!" Samui interrupted. "What are you talking about?"

"Akatsuki," was Shizune's only reply, which was enough to make the four Kumo ninjas to tense up.

"And she's right," a new male voice said from above. Everybody turned around from direction of the voice, and saw Obito Uchiha, standing over the roof of a half collapsed building.

"This was a trap from the very beginning!" Darui said in realization, as his visible eye moved towards Yugito.

"Exactly. I was hoping that Naruto would be here as well, but I guess I'll have to settle for just one," Obito said, fixing his eyes on Yugito as well, before they moved towards Rin, and smiled. "Though it's very helpful of you Konoha bringing Rin back to me."

"Obito..."the distraught brunette said in a whisper.

"Rin isn't your property, you sick fuck!" Karin yelled.

"Listen, Obito is a Konoha missing-nin, so we'll take care of him," Shizune told the Kumo ninjas. "Yugito is his target. Take her somewhere safe while we keep him busy."

Darui nodded, as he motioned his comrades to move out. However, shortly after they started to run, they were cut by a massive torrent of water bursting from underground. A lone figure emerged from the water, a blue skinned man in Akatsuki regalia, holding a large sword.

"Now, now, you aren't planning to leave so soon, right?" Kisame said, giving the Kumo ninjas a menacing grin. "Not before you play a little with me, that's it."

Darui, Samui and Atsui unsheathed their swords. Yugito merely adopted a fighting stance.

 _"So, that was Akatsuki's plan. They didn't just want to lure out Naruto, but one of Kumo's jinchuriki as well,"_ Shizune thought in realization. _"Still, the odds aren't too bad. Obito and Kisame are powerful, but we do have power on our side as well, not to mention advantage in numbers and a copious amount of medic-nin._ "

"Watch out for Kisame! Don't use ninjutsu against him, his sword can absorb it!" Shizune warned the Kumo ninjas. "We'll take care of Obito! We fought against him before, and know all of his tricks!"

"Thanks for the tip, hot stuff," Atsui said, taking a step forward. "You know, I always wanted to go against one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. We will prove today that Kumo ninjas are the better sword fighters!"

Kisame chuckled, and rested Samehada on his shoulder. "Aren't you biting way more than you can chew, brat? But I accept your challenge. Come here, and see if you can prove your point."

Samui placed a firm hand on Atsui's shoulder. "Cool down, Atsui, he's right. Kisame Hoshigaki is one of the deadliest swordsmen alive. Only by working together we'll be able to take him down."

"Way to ruin my fun, sis. But whatever," the younger Kumo ninja said with a sigh.

"Don't do anything rash. Let's follow Darui-san's lead," Samui suggested.

"Alright, I'll take Kisame head on. You two stay back and protect Yugito. Feel free to assist me if I'm overwhelmed, but keeping Yugito safe is the top priority."

"Yes sir!" both siblings said at once.

"Wait a minute, I can fight you know! I'm no damsel in distress!" Yugito protested.

"Nobody says that you are, Yugito. Sorry, but Akatsuki is targeting you specifically, and it's our job to make theirs as hard as possible," Darui stated.

Meanwhile, the Konoha ninjas were doing similar plans to take down Obito.

"That bastard is mine, so don't get in the way," Sasuke said as he unsheathed his shoto. "Sakura, your combat specialty is melee, so you would be better against Kisame."

"Against Kisame?" Sakura repeated, her voice quivering a bit, as she eyed the scary looking blue swordsman. "Are you sure, Sasuke-kun?"

"I know you can do it. Plus you won't be fighting alone. While I don't trust them that much, I doubt those Kumo guys will turn on us on a situation like this," Sasuke told his girlfriend.

Sakura gathered all the courage she could muster, and nodded. "Alright then, I'll face Kisame. Stay safe!"

"Same goes for you, Sakura," Rin replied.

Obito smirked, as he drew out his own katana. "So, shall we begin?"

Sasuke replied to Obito's taunt by leaping at him at the same time he delivered an horizontal slash to the Akatsuki's throat, which unfortunately, phased through him. Just after Sasuke phased through Obito, he kicked the young Uchiha in the back.

"Poison Mist!"

While Sasuke attacked, Shizune followed him and leaped above the rogue Uchiha. Her cheeks puffed, before releasing a cloud of the familiar purple gas engulfed him. Sasuke, meanwhile, made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled a massive fireball towards the cloud of poisonous gas, igniting it, resulting in a fiery explosion that destroyed the half collapsed building completely.

"He teleported away!" Shizune warned. Even if it was just a guess, it was a probable one. "There's no way he let that combination touch him. Stay alert!"

"Karin!" Sasuke called.

"On it!" the redhead nodded, as she closed her eyes and made a hand seal. She focused on finding Obito's chakra, which was nowhere to be seen, figuratively speaking. After a few seconds, it appeared. However, Karin paled upon realizing where Obito planned to show up. "Oh shit-"

"Karin, down!" Sasuke shouted.

Karin threw herself at the ground on instinct, as she barely avoided Obito's thrust from behind. She heard the whirring noise of a few shuriken flying above her, coming from the opposite direction. However, the steel stars failed to touch the Akatsuki. She got up, and quickly rushed back to her teammates.

"Give up. You can't defeat me," Obito said, spread his arms in a taunting manner.

"Did you forget your fight against Tsunade-sama and myself during the Uchiha Insurrection?" Shizune snapped back.

"You don't have any Sannin backing you up this time. Plus I was careless and made plenty of rookie mistakes. Mistakes I'm not planning to repeat here," Obito said, as he scowled. "This operation is to important for-"

"Amaterasu!"

For a split second, Obito was engulfed by a blaze of black flames, before they were sucked by a spiraling vortex.

Sasuke shivered from reliving the time he thought he had killed Naruto. He cursed upon seeing that he made himself relive such traumatic memory for nothing.

"See? That's what I meant. You guys got me monologuing, and got wide open. Thank goodness my reflexes are much better than they used to be," Obito said, smirking. Then he looked at Sasuke, and his smirk widened. "Trouble using the Mangekyo Sharingan, Sasuke? Still having flashbacks to the moment you awakened it?"

"Still? What do you mean, 'still'?" Sasuke angrily asked. "Is there a way to overcome it?"

"You don't know?" Obito said, before rearing his head back, and let out a mocking laughter. "Your brother or cousin didn't tell you it's possible? Of course they wouldn't. They wouldn't tell you something out of fear of 'corrupting' you."

"How it is? Tell me!" Sasuke demanded.

"You expect your enemy to help you? Really?" Obito asked, arching an eyebrow. Then, he smirked. "Oh well, I'll tell you because your reaction will be priceless. The key to stop the Mangekyo Sharingan from making you relieve the moment it was activated is to stop fighting it, and accept it."

"...what?" a dumbfounded Sasuke asked.

"It's exactly like I say. I remember reliving Rin's death every time I used my power. Which was a lot of time, because as you can see it's so useful. But it took such a toll on my sanity. It was then, when I realized the truth. Painful as it was, Rin needed to die," Obito stated in an odd solemn tone.

"What?" Rin asked in disbelief. "If my death was necessary, then why you went through the trouble of reviving me?"

"I said your death was necessary, not you had to remain dead," the Akatsuki punctualized. "When I saw you jumping in the way of Kakashi's Chidori, my eyes were opened. I realized the cruelty of the world we live in. How bad things happen to good people like you and me. And how in order to change the world, drastic measures are to be taken. Only when I accepted those facts and stopped feeling regret for not being able to save her did the flashbacks cease.

"That's exactly what you have to do, Sasuke. You're afraid that next time Naruto, or somebody else, a friend, a loved one, might die for real. You need to detach yourself from those feelings, accept the power you now possess."

"And become a psychopath like you? No thank you!" Sasuke replied. "There has to be another way to stop the flashbacks. And if there isn't one...I will live with it then!"

"You say that now, but after circumstances force you to rely on the Mangekyo more and more, you'll make anything in order to make the nightmares stop," Obito said with a cruel smirk. "I knew that you weren't going to follow my advice, that's why I decided to share it with you. But ask yourself this, why do you think people said our clan ir cursed by hatred? This is why. No power comes without cost. At least, not for the Uchiha."

After that last monologue, Obito resumed the fight against the Konoha ninjas. At the same time that fight happened, Sakura rushed towards Darui, engaged in a sword fighting duel with Kisame, at the top of a mass of water the Akatsuki had generated earlier, while Samui and Atsui stood protectively at Yugito's flanks. Sakura pulled out a sealing scroll, unfurled it, and unsealed some of its contents: a pair of brass knuckles made of chakra conducting metal, with fuinjutsu seals carved into it. Sakura immediately grabbed both weapons, and channeled chakra through them. Two huge fists made of pure chakra appeared around them.

"Alright, it's punching time!" Sakura said, as she leaped at Kisame from the side.

However, even if he wasn't a sensor, thanks to his vast experience, Kisame's battle sense was sharp enough to notice when an enemy was about to ambush him. He quickly disengaged Darui and jumped backwards a second before Sakura's fist could touch him.

"SHANNARO!"

Even if she hit thin air, her punch carried so much force, it projected a shockwave that completely blasted a half destroyed house into tiny pebbles.

"Damn, failed by this much," Sakura complained, before she looked at the surprised Darui. "Sorry for coming uninvited, but I thought you might appreciate the help."

"I certainly do, but I thought that you'd prefer to help your comrades," the dark skinned man assumed.

"My fighting style focuses mostly on punches, which makes me better suited to deal with an opponent that can absorb ninjutsu," Sakura pointed out.

"Hard to argue with that logic. Shall we continue?" Darui said, smiling a little.

"It will be a pleasure," Sakura said, as she directed her eyes towards Kisame, and smirked. Two fists of chakra appeared around her real ones, and dashed again.

"You think that just because you're a melee specialist you're suited to fight against me? Your overconfidence is insulting!" Kisame said, as he dashed forward to meet Sakura, with Samehada ready to strike.

As the Akatsuki and Konoha kunoichi met in the middle, Kisame delivered a diagonal blow. However, much to his surprise, Sakura aborted her attack, and fell on her knees, sliding through the watery surface past Kisame, and avoiding Samehada swing.

"What!?" the Akatsuki shouted.

"You're wide open! Sorry pal, but this is your end!" Darui said, as he was leaping towards the indeed wide open Kisame, his cleaver crackling with electricity.

However, rom the water, a clone of Kisame formed just in time to stop the Kumo ninja's blow. The clone was sturdy enough to resist the attack.

"As long as I have water, I'm never wide open," Kisame boasted, before making a hand seal. Three more clones emerged from the water. "Make sure the jinchuriki doesn't use the fray of the battle as a cover to escape!"

The three clones nodded, jumped from the water, and landed at different points surrounding the three other Kumo ninjas.

"Goddammit, why didn't we think about escaping before?" Atsui said in frustration.

"And leave Darui here on his own?" Yugito pointed out. "Come on, what are we doing? If we fight all of us together, we can defeat these guys!"

"Cool down, Yugito. Darui ordered us not to interfere until he was in trouble. And so far, he and the Konoha kunoichi are doing pretty good," Samui pointed out.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Konoha ninjas continued batling Obito, The rogue Akatsuki's hands flew through hand seals as a spiraling vortex formed around his right eye.

"Fire Release: Blast Wave Wild Dance!"

Obito released a stream of fire that the vortex shaped in the form of a spiral, expanding outwards wide enough to engulf all the Konoha ninja. Rin, however, took a step forward and formed several hand seals of her own in order to counter that attack.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

Rin's cheeks puffed, before expelling a large amount of water, forming a torrent that put out the incoming flames, generating some clouds of smoke when the two elemental attacks clashed.

"You truly grew strong Rin. Your water jutsu never had such a scale," Obito said in amazement.

Sasuke appeared behind Obito, no doubt after using the body flicker, and delivered an horizontal slash to his back. Much to his frustration, the blade once again failed to hit him.

"You never learn, don't you-AARH!" Obito hissed, as he instinctively clutched his midsection.

"Wait, did I hurt him?" Sasuke wondered, before something his Sharingan had noticed sunk in. "I swear I saw a flicker of black flames there..."

Obito turned around, counter attacking with his own katana as well. The two Uchihas engaged in a short duel of sword fighting, until another vortex formed around Obito's right Sharingan.

"Take this! Burn and disappear!"

Much to his shock, the vortex expelled in a stream the very same Amaterasu flames that he had absorbed before. Sasuke jumped around, dodging the deadly stream of fire, until Obito had no more. After that, Sasuke rejoined his teammates.

"I was right, it was Amaterasu," Sasuke deduced. "When he used his intangibility, the Amaterasu he had absorbed hurt him. Which means that his ability to turn intangible and store and release objects through vortex might be linked...hell, they might be one and the same. His teleportation as well. But in order to so, I need to do one last test..."

As Sasuke mused about his new findings, Obito prepared to counterattack.

"Wood Release: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

The ground below them started to rumble, as multiple green wooden vines emerged around Obito, and launched themselves at the Konoha ninjas. Rin and Karin prepared to repel the attack, the two of them weaving the same sequence of hand seals.

"Earth Release: Crushing Avalanche!"

Multiple rocks of varying sizes –albeit the ones summoned by Rin were bigger– appeared above the incoming vines, before falling down and crushing most of them, as the name of the jutsu implied. Even if they didn't stop the attack, they were able to slow it down considerably. And Shizune was going to take advantage of such opportunity.

"Corrosive Cloud!"

The leader of the Medical Squad released another cloud of poisonous purple gas from her mouth, this one having a darker shade than the attack she used before. The moment the gas entered in contact with the vines, the latter started to wither and crumble in a matter of seconds, much to Obito's surprise and anger.

"Do you like my new poison? I prepared it specifically for you. No amount of regeneration will save you from it," Shizune taunted.

"I see you didn't spend these past years lazing around. But for your poison to work you still have to hit me with it. And tricking me with a clone won't work this time, I can assure you that," Obito replied, unable to hide his anger.

The cloud of corrosive gas ate through the vines as it advanced. Seeing no other option, Obito teleported away.

"His chakra signature disappeared!" Karin warned the others.

"Okay. Stay alert and warn us when he shows up again," Shizune told Karin.

"I think I know how his power work, and how we can bypass his intangibility," Sasuke said, taking advantage of Obito's temporary absence so he couldn't hear his plans.

"Really? That's great!" Karin beamed.

"We used to think that his intangibility, store and release objects from a pocket dimension and teleporting were different abilities, but they might be just one. We can take that to our advantage. However, in order to do so, I need Rin to do something," Sasuke said, looking at the brown haired medic-nin. "I need you to let Obito capture you with his ability."

"WHAT!?" Rin replied in shock.

"That's NOT great!" Karin protested.

"Sasuke-kun! What did we say about putting Rin in danger!?" Shizune scolded him.

"I know, but no one here can do it. I know I'm asking a lot, but I need you to trust me on this. If this works, we will deprive Obito of one of his biggest advantages," Sasuke argued.

"And if it doesn't work?" Rin asked.

"I don't know. But it's possible that we won't be able to get you back," Sasuke bluntly stated. "I'm not going to force you. The decision is yours."

"Obito is back! There!" Karin pointed to the opposite direction Obito was standing, and indeed, a vortex was starting to form.

"Time's up. Like I said, your choice," Sasuke said, as he adopted a fighting stance.

It seems that Rin made up her mind, as she drew out two kunai, and charged at Obito, letting out a high pitched yell.

"Come on Obito, leave them alone! This is between you and me!" Rin shouted, as she prepared to attack.

Rin leaped at him, ready to slash the rogue Uchiha. Obito didn't made any attempt to defend himself, and used his intangibility to make Rin phase through him. Fast as lightning, he turned around and grabbed Rin by one of her wrists.

"Don't worry, I'll send you somewhere safe," Obito said, as a vortex appeared around his right eye, absorbing Rin.

"NOOOOOoooooo...!" Rin yelled as she was sucked into another dimension.

Obito turned at the rest of the Konoha ninjas, and smirked. "Like I said before, thank you so much for bringing Rin back to me. Now I can finally fight without distraction."

"Attack from range, or we might end up like Rin!" Sasuke said, as he pulled out a rather large Fuma Shuriken and tossed it at Obito. "Karin!"

The redhead nodded, and made several hand seals. "Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

Multiple Fuma Shuriken appeared along the original, flying towards Obito, who once again made no effort to dodge, and let the giant steel stars phase through him. He was about to taunt them once again, but suddenly, he felt the pain of sharp metal stabbing into his flesh. A trickle of blood came from his mouth, as he instinctively clutched his stomach.

"WHAT?" a bewildered Obito screamed, before he felt another stab. "AAARGH!"

"It worked, we hurt him!" Karin cheered, pumping her fists.

"We didn't hurt him," Sasuke said, smirking at Obito. "Rin did."

"Rin? No it can..." Obito replied, as he vanished into his own spiraling vortex.

…

 _Obito's Pocket Dimension_

Turns out, Sasuke was right. Obito didn't so much turn intangible, but somehow could phase parts of his body to another dimension. And as Sasuke expected, said parts were vulnerable in the other side. The moment Rin saw most of Obito's body appear before her, she drew out a kunai and stabbed it into his chest, then a second one for good measure, before he returned his body back to the real world.

A vortex appeared before her, meaning that Obito, the whole Obito was coming. She drew another kunai, and breathed out, trying to calm down. She only had one chance to carry out what she wanted to do, and no room for mistake.

"Rin! Are you-"

The moment her former teammate appeared, Rin tossed the kunai at him, aiming for his face. Obito managed to catch it thanks to his reflexes befitting an Uchiha. Just like Rin expected.

"I see that you have no-"

Once again, the Akatsuki was interrupted, this time by the kunai transforming into another Rin, with another kunai in her left hand. As fast as she could, Rin stabbed the kunai into the edge of Obito's right eye, while using her right hand to pluck said eye from its socket. Obito let out a deafening scream as both he and Rin were sucked back into reality.

…

Shizune, Sasuke and Karin saw Obito and Rin appearing once again, falling into ground, with Obito screaming as he held his bloodied empty eye socket, and Rin carefully held something in her hand.

"Rin!" Shizune said, as she rushed towards her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. A bit shaken, but okay," Rin replied. Shen then smiled at Shizune. "Tell your husband I got his missing eye back."

Shizune's eyes widened as Rin opened her hand, and saw a bloodiened Sharingan on it. Wasting no time, Tsunade's first apprentice took the eye and quickly sealed it inside a scroll, which she hid under the folds of her kimono. She smiled back at Rin.

"Thank you, Rin. I'm sure Shisui will be very happy," a smiling Shizune told her.

"I could have gotten the other eye, but I think that depriving him of his ability to mind control people was better than the intangibility and teleportation," Rin replied, justifying the unsaid question.

"It's okay Rin. You did the right choice. Besides, had you gouged the other eye, you would had no means to return," Sasuke reassured her. He then turned back at Obito, who was fuming. "But I think you made him quite mad."

And indeed, Obito was starting at the Konoha ninja, more specifically Rin, with a hateful frown and his teeth clenched in an angry snarl.

"I can't believe your betrayal, Rin. I brought you back to life! Is this your way of thanking me!?" Obito angrily asked.

"You were the one who betrayed me first, by turning on our village and murdering sensei!" Rin shouted back.

"Very well then, no more holding back," Obito took a drop of blood from his empty eye socket, and made several five seals. "If this is how things are going to be, then you and your new friends can die the same way sensei did! Summoning Jutsu!"

Obito slammed his hand into the ground, producing an explosion of smoke. However, the burst of smoke was much more powerful than with most summons, creating a cloud big enough to cover most of the village, with gale force winds blowing in every direction.

The smoke quickly dispelled, revealing the creature Obito had summoned: a giant fox with dark red fur, and nine tails. All the Konoha ninja could do was stare in awe and terror at the other half of the beast that once almost destroyed Konoha a decade and a half ago.

* * *

 **Author's Note: After so many chapters since his introduction, the other half of the Nine Tails finally makes his proper debut! Yeah, our heroes are pretty much screwed. Or not, given that they have Yugito on their side, but will the Two Tails be enough to tip the balance in their favor?**

 **Also, sorry if some of you are a bit disappointed that Naruto and his team are absent and the focus is on Sasuke and his team instead, but I think that Naruto and Hinata needed a rest, and some other characters could get some spotlight for a change. Besides, this arc has more emotional impact with Sasuke rather than Naruto.**

 **Also, even if she appeared here and there, Rin finally gets some action after the Kirigakure Invasion! Again, did I mention how much I like writing her? Because man, she was a character with so much potential, it was so sad that she only existed to die in order to make Obito a villain and give Kakashi even more things to angst about.**

 **Even if it isn't part of the current plot, I also enjoyed a lot writing the scene between Pain, Konan and Toneri. Mostly because I love writing for Pain and I can't wait to write him in action scenes. Keep that conversation in mind, because what they discussed there (especially what Toneri said) will be very important for future arcs. Oh, and before you ask, no, Pain isn't aware that Toneri is mind controlled, if that wasn't obvious enough.**

 **Thanks to grimlock987 for betareading this chapter. Speaking of which, he won't be able to betaread anymore, so once again I have to ask for somebody else to become my betareader.**

 **So, that's all. See you in 2019, and I hope you have a Happy New Year! Remember: there's no better New Year's gift you can make me than a leaving a review on this story! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	67. Cats and Foxes, Part II

**Author's Note: So here we are, folks, first chapter of 2019. With this chapter, we also break the 600K words milestone, wohoo! Hope you guys enjoy it:**

* * *

 **Chapter 67:**

Cats and Foxes, Part II

 _or_

 _And Sharks and Panthers too_

"Fire Release: Mouse Hairball!"

Yugito expelled several blue fireballs from her mouth, which quickly took the shape of fiery mice, as they flew towards one of the Kisame clones surrounding her and her partners. The Kisame clone merely smirked, and swung his Samehada in order to block all the incoming projectiles, resulting in a series of explosions. But when the smoke receded, the Kisame clone was any worse for the wear.

"The hell? You're a clone, your sword isn't supposed to work just as good as the original!" Yugito snarled.

"I wouldn't be a very good clone if that was the case, don't you think so?" the Kisame clone replied with a taunting smirk, before he dashed to strike the jinchuriki.

 _"Okay then, if I can't use ninjutsu directly against this guy, I'll use it in a more indirect manner!"_ Yugito thought, dashing forward as well, making several hand seals.

Jinchuriki and Akatsuki met in the middle, with Kisame pretending to deliver a swing, before placing the sword between himself and Yugito as if it was a shield, just when the jinchuriki was ready to attack.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"

"Do you think you can catch me off guard with such an amateurish trick? Disappointing," Kisame said, fixing a stare of contempt on the Kumo kunoichi.

Howerver, much to his surprise, the stream of fire coming from Yugito's mouth wasn't aimed at him, but at the ground, propelling herself into the air. Spinning her body, she placed herself just above Kisame, before letting gravity pull her down. She extended her arms downwards as her fingernails enlogated into claws.

However, Kisame was quick to react to the strategy, and managed to parry the blow coming from above. He smirked at the jinchuriki, her claws now stuck inside Samehada.

"This is way to eas-"

But the clone was silenced by another Yugito, who impaled him from the front with her enlongated claws. The effect of the blow was instant, and the clone dissolved into a puddle of water.

"Fire Clones. They never expect them," Yugito said, shaking her head, before she noticed Samui and Atsui still struggling against the other two clones.

"I think we should help those two," the clone pointed out.

"You took the words from my mouth," the original replied as she and the clone dashed towards Samui and Atsui.

The Kisame clones didn't realize that Yugito and her clone were going towards them, and saw too late the cross slash aiming at them. The eviscerated Akatsuki clones dissolved in yet another two puddles of water.

"Thank you, Yugito," Samui told her teammate. "These were way more powerful than the average clone."

"Yeah, I don't know how Darui-sama and that Konoha girl are holding so well against the original," Atsui added.

"Because they aren't his target, and isn't fighting at full power. But when he does, they will be in trouble. Come on, we need to help them," Yugito insisted.

"But Darui-sama said-" Atsui tried to protest.

"I KNOW what Darui said, dammit!" Yugito snapped. "But we need to help him before-"

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Yugito froze, as a sense of overwhelming dread washed over her body. She could feel the Tailed Beast inside her shaking with a swirl of emotions. Turning around, she saw a massive cloud of smoke forming where the Konoha ninja were fighting that other Akatsuki, followed by a powerful wind that threatened to blow her away.

And then, the smoke cleared, and he appeared.

Time seemed to stand still as every Konoha and Kumo ninja stared at the giant nine tailed fox that had appeared in the ruined village. Their looks were either of terror, bewilderment, or shock. Or all three, in Atsui's case.

"The Nine Tails..." Samui said in awe.

"Guess that solves one mystery," Yugito dryly remarked, as she started to walk towards the beast. "Turn out those Konoha brats weren't lying when they said that there was a second Nine Tails running around."

"H-Hey! Where are you going?" Atsui told his partner.

"Where do you think, dumbass? I'm the only one who can deal with that monster," as Yugito said this, orange chakra started to burst around her body, forming an aura around it. "Now I want you to stay away from us. I can't fight and take care of you two, and I'd never forgive myself if you two got killed because of me."

"You can count on us, Yugito," Samui replied.

The Two Tails jinchuriki nodded in return, as she rushed towards the other Tailed Beast.

Speaking of said Tailed Beast, Obito was standing on its head, smirking down at the Konoha ninjas below him. The girls looked terrified, while Sasuke was shooting him an angry glare, as he gripped the pommel of his katana.

"Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how this is possible, since last time I checked, the blond brat still has the Nine Tails inside of him," Obito admitted, shrugging a little. "But hey, I'm not going to complain about something that benefits me. Now, Nine Tails, CRUSH THEM!"

The Demon Fox let out a deafening roar before raising his right paw. The Konoha ninjas snapped out of their terror and shock in time to avoid the paw coming down at them, creating a large crater and destroying several already ruined houses in a large area.

"Sasuke, it all depends on you! Use your Mangekyo Sharingan to tame the beast!" Shizune urged.

Sasuke nodded, doing his best to push back the memory of Naruto being impaled that was being forced into his brain, Sasuke's Sharingan changed into their advanced form, and locked eyes with the giant fox. However, when he tried to force his will upon the creature, another force repelled it back.

"Argh!" Sasuke grunted, as he winced, grabbing his head. "I can't!"

"Of course you can't!" Obito laughed. "As long as the Nine Tails is under my control, he's shielded from outside influences!"

"In that case, we'll need to take care of Obito first," Sasuke stated.

"Easier said than done. That will be hard to do with that monster trying to kill us!" a panicked Karin pointed out.

"I think this is my cue to play my ace in the hole," Rin interjected, making several hand seals, as she took a couple of steps forward. "Wood Release: Great Forest Emergence!"

Suddenly, the earth started to shake, and green thick wooden vines emerged all around the Nine Tails, wrapping themselves around his legs, tails and neck, immobilizing it. The effort of restraining such a large beast soon made itself evident in Rin, who winced and started to sweat heavily. Sasuke and Karin stared at Rin in awe.

"Wait, what?" the redhead asked. "You can use Wood Release? How? Why?"

"We can talk about that later! Come on, now is your chance!" Rin urged the others.

Shizune nodded, and she launched herself at Obito. The Akatsuki, howerver, jumped off the Fox's head before Shizune could catch him. He then pulled out a Fuma Shuriken. The steel star burst into flames before he tossed it against the Nine Tails, and made a hand seal.

"Fire Release: Shadow Clone Shuriken Jutsu!"

Multiple flaming shuriken appeared near the first one, all of them flying towards the Tailed Beast. Many of them embedded themselves into the vines restraining him, while others stabbed into the fox's flesh, not that Obito cared.

"Now's my chance!" Sasuke said, as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Sasuke exhaled a fireball which flew towards Obito with flawless accuracy. The Akatsuki, however, turned intangible, and the fireball phased through him. More fireballs were shot, the effect was the same, and they disappeared into the sky.

"You might caught me off guard back then. But as long as I don't send anybody to my pocket dimension, my abilities should be safe to use," Obito confidently stated.

Rin gathered her chakra as she tried to repair the damage Obito had done to her vines, but it was too late, and after several snapping sounds, the tailed beast managed to break free. His eyes, morphed into Sharingans, shot a hateful glare at Rin, and moved to attack. But before he could do anything, he was rammed by another being of the same size. The clash of giants produced a shockwave that knocked all those nearby back

"What the...?" a confused Rin asked as she fell on her butt.

Both she and her Konoha companions saw a giant cat, made of what appeared to be blue and black flames. Her eyes were of different color, one green and another yellow. Two tails lashed at the end of her body.

"Yugito," Shizune said aloud, albeit mostly to herself. "Hokage-sama said she had full control of her Tailed Beast, but seeing it with my own eyes..."

"Stay away from us!" Yugito's voice boomed from the giant two tailed cat, as she wrestled the Nine Tails. "Even if you want to help me, don't! I don't want to put you in danger!"

"Ah, there it is, the longed prey. I knew that I did good in bringing my Nine Tails here, Yugito," Obito said, as he started to teleport away. "Your Tailed Beast will be mine!"

Meanwhile, not far away from there, Darui and Sakura continued fighting Kisame. Even if the fight was going well, the two of them had the impression that the former Kiri ninja wasn't giving his all and was just merely toying with them, if his careless attitude was any indication.

"Hey, sorry for not believing you at first when you guys told us about a second Nine Tails," Darui said, as his cleaver clashed against Samehada. "For all that it's worth."

"Save the apologies for when we have won!" Sakura replied, trying to capitalize on Kisame being focused on Darui to land a punch, but the blue skinned swordsman skillfully avoided it.

"You're adorable, thinking you have a chance to win. When it was the boy and I, maybe you had a tiny little chance, but with that monster on our side..." Kisame laughed.

"We have our own jinchuriki to stop it!" Darui countered, as he delivered a swing the shark ninja avoided.

Kisame chuckled once again. "Tell me, brat, don't you think that's exactly what we wanted? Kumo is fiercely protective of their jinchuriki, but we knew you'd deploy at least one of them if an attack by another Tailed Beast was involved. We were planning for this. And you fell right into our trap."

"Soon you're going to see that plans don't always go as intended, specially one so dull as yours," Darui replied, as he reared his cleaver sword backwards. The wide blade started to crackle with electricity, as the Kumo ninja dashed forward.

Kisame received the onslaught with a smirk, as he expertly parried all of Darui's blows. With each blow of his cleaver, lightning bolts were released in every direction, but sadly those aimed at Kisame were absorbed by his bandaged sword, much to his chagrin.

 _"Not only that sword can absorb ninjutsu, but even when it's used in an indirect way, like being channeled through a sword,"_ Darui noted, deciding it would be for the better a change of strategy.

"My turn then," Kisame's toothy grin expanded, as he raised his sword above his head. Thousands of droplets of water started to gather around Samehada from the air's moisture, forming a liquid mass around the weapon. "Water Release: Tsunami Sword!"

Slamming his sword into the ground, the water gathered by Samehada was released in the form of a brutal and massive torrent, that in no time flooded the entire village, including the zone were the two Tailed Beasts were fighting. Darui and Sakura used the rubble and half destroyed buildings as footing to jump above the incoming wave, before they landed on the water's surface with a splash.

As they did, they noticed that Kisame was leaping at them, Samehada raised above his head. Darui was about to hold his own in a defensive position to parry the blow, but Sakura beat him to the punch by jumping and, well, throwing a punch at the incoming Samehada. The resulting impact caused a powerful shockwave that pushed both ninjas back several meters.

"The power behind his water jutsu is unreal. My skills look pretty dull in comparison," Darui thought, as his brain tried to come up with a proper strategy, before he noticed Samehada. "I wonder how much power comes from him and how much from that sword. Regardless of the answer, taking that sword of the picture will imrpove our chances."

"You look thoughtful. Desperate to look for a way to beat my unstoppable power?" Kisame taunted. "Don't bother. Even the most cunning strategies are useless in the face of the overwhelming strength of a tsunami."

"Don't be so coky. I haven't show you yet my best moves," Darui said, as he sheathed his cleaver while starting making hand seals. He leaned towards Sakura. "I'm going to attack now. Try to land a punch the moment you see an opening."

Sakura nodded. "Got it."

"More ninjutsu? I thought that you'd know it's useless by now," Kisame mocked. "But hey, I'm not going to interrupt an enemy when he's making a mistake."

"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"

Darui brought his hands forward, both indexes and middle fingers aiming at Kisame. A blue light orb formed around them, before it exploded in a multitude of beams of the same color that flew at the shark ninja. Kisame merely smirked, and placed Samehada between himself and the incoming attack for protection.

"So, you have a Bloodline Limit. Not that it's going to help-"

Suddenly, much to Kisame's shock, the beams changed their trajectory just before they were going to crash against Samehada, arching around it and Kisame, before blasting the Akatsuki's back.

"AAAARRGH!"

"I think that's my cue!" Sakura said, as she launched herself towards Kisame. She reared a fist back, which started to swirl with chakra, taking the form of an even larger fist surrounding it. "SHANNARO!"

However, Kisame wasn't as defenseless as she thought. The shark ninja managed to jump backwards as he made several hand seals.

"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu!"

A gigantic shark made of water formed between Sakura and Kisame, opening its jaws to crunch the charging pinkette. However, Sakura's incoming punch packed so much power it shattered the elemental animal into tiny droplets, and still had enough momentum to keep forward. But the jutsu made it job, and softened Sakura's blow enough for Kisame to safely parry it with Samehada, even if it pushed him backwards a few meters.

"Not bad, definitely not bad," Kisame complimented, once he came to a stop. "But sadly not good enough to beat somebody of my level!"

With a swift motion of his sword, Samehada split Sakura in two...

...before she dissolved into water.

"The hell? Where did she-"

Kisame barely had time to react as Sakura burst underwater below him, her chakra-enhanced fist aimed for his chin. If Kisame didn't move, that punch alone would have separated his head from the rest of his body. But even if it didn't connect, the shockwave it produced was strong enough to hurl him even further backwards, making him drop Samehada.

"Yes! Well done, Sakura-san!" Darui praised as he rushed forward. His hand expertly caught Samehada before the falling blade could even touch the water. "This sword belongs to Kumo now. Let's see how well you do without-AAAGH!"

Much to the Kumo ninja's surprise, spikes sprouted from Samheada's handle, forcing him to drop the blade. Blood was pouring from the holes his now usless right hand had.

"Darui-san!" Sakura cried, as he jumped back towards him. "Quickly, give me your hand!"

"Are you a medic?" Darui asked. Sakura's answer came in the form of the Mystical Palm Jutsu. In a few seconds, the bleeding stopped and the holes were healed, making his hand look like it was never damaged. "Thank you. Wow, you're really good."

Sakura smiled at the compliment. "Thanks. Kumo might have the best swordsmen, but no village tops Konoha when it comes to medics."

"Good thing that you're on our side then," Darui said, still taking a look at his hand, before his eyes focused on Samehada, floating besides him. "Though apparently I'm not a good enough swordsman for that sword. If that thing is a sword to begin with."

Suddenly, as if Kisame was pulling an invisible string, Samehada flew towards him, and the blue skinned ninja casually caught his sword back.

"You're right, Samehada is more than just a special sword," Kisame said, grinning again. "It was created by the first jinchuriki of the Three Tails, using the chakra absorbing coral the Three Tails produces to build it. The result was a sword that could absorb ninjutsu and transfer it to its wielder. Eventually, due being made of living matter and all the chakra it consumed, Samehada became sentient and grew a mind of its own, though it still remained a weapon. It only obeys one ninja at once, and has its ways to punish little thieves that want to get their hands on it. Samehada will never belong to another ninja as long as I'm alive."

"Don't worry, that has an easy solution," Sakura replied, frowning at Kisame.

"Did I tell you that you're way over your heads trying to fight me? You have seen only an iota of my true power," Kisame taunted.

As Kisame, Sakura and Darui continued to fight, Yugito fought as the Nine Tails, transformed into the beast she was carrying inside. The scale of such battle made it all but impossible for the rest of the ninjas to intervene in much capacity. The Konoha and Kumo ninjas watching the battle discussed what they could do.

"Come on, there has to be something we can do to help Yugito," Atsui insisted.

"She told us not to interfere. The scale of this battle is way above us, so please cool down," Samui told her brother.

"I'm with Atsui here. Our power might be insignificant compared to them, but that does not make us useless. We can turn the tide of the battle," Sasuke interjected.

"Rin, do you think you can immobilize the Nine Tails with your Wood Release?" Karin asked, before she realized what she just said, and chuckled. "Wood Release...not happy to come back from the dead, she also has Wood Release of all Bloodlines..."

"I could try, but it's moving way too fast," Rin pointed out.

"For the time being, let's be cautious and watch. Sooner or later, an opportunity to intervene will present to us," Shizune stated.

"Or maybe we could try and create those opportunities ourselves," Sasuke said, as he bit his thumb before he started to walk forward while making hand seals.

"Sasuke-kun, wait! Don't do anything reckless!" Shizune asked.

"Doing something reckless is still a better alternative than doing nothing at all," Sasuke snapped, finishing the seal sequnces, slamming his hand into the water surface. "Summoning Jutsu!"

From a cloud of smoke, a giant hawk emerged, flapping his wings as he took off, with Sasuke riding on his back. Sasuke commanded the bird to fly towards the two fighting tailed beasts. Shziune sighed, and shook his head.

"That boy's going to get himself killed," the older medic-nin said. "Okay, Sasuke took the choice from our hands. We'll approach with caution and move when there's a chance to act, or if our side is losing."

"Whatever, just let go with the action already," an impatient Atsui stated, before Samui smacked him the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Thank goodness they aren't using Tailed Beast Balls, or else we could easily end up as collateral damage," Shizune pointed out.

"Tailed Beast Ball?" Karin repeated.

"It's a Tailed Beast's most powerful attack," it was Rin who answered. "The Tailed Beast gathers a lot of chakra in their mouth forming a ball, which is then released in the form of said ball that can explode upon contact, or in the form of an energy beam or wave for a more focused area of destruction."

"You know an awful lot about Tailed Beasts," Karin commented.

"It was because of Minato-sensei. He used to study them in a very thorough fashion," Rin explained. "Though the fact that Kushina-san was a jinchuriki does explain where that interest came from."

"If that's the case, then I guess it's because they're fighting too close to each other for an attack of such magnitude," Samui guessed. "If they do, there's a big chance they might hurt themselves."

"Not to mention all the unwanted attention that such attack would bring to this place," Shizune added.

"Wouldn't be that a good thing?" Karin asked. "If more Kumo ninja came to help Yugito..."

Samui shook her head. "We need quality, not more quantity. If Killer B-sama or Raikage-sama came, they could easily turn the tide of the battle. But other Kumo ninja would barely make a difference. If somebody sees this fight, it would be better if they warn Kumo about what's going on, rather than join the fight themselves."

"But by the time reinforcements arrive, it might be too late," Rin pointed out.

Meanwhile, above the two fighting giant beasts, Sasuke's hawk was flying in circles, as the Uchiha on top of it carefully analized the clash, Sharingan activated in order not to miss any detail, as small or insignificant as it might be.

"Cat Flame Roaring Fire!"

The Two Tails opened her jaws, and fired several large fireballs at the Nine Tails. The Fox, however, deflected said fireballs with a flick of his many tails, some of them being redirected into the sky, while others fell on both the ground and water around them. After that the Nine Tails charged at the Two Tails.

Yugito decided to return in kind and charge at him as well. However, just beforer the two could met in the middle, the Nine Tails abruptly stopped and spun over himself, delivered a nine-tailed tail blow at the surprised jinchuriki, who was hurled backwards.

"Well done, Kyubi," Obito said, reappearing besides his subdued Tailed Beast. He quickly made several hand seals. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Multiple wooden vines emerged around the still dazed jinchuriki, wrapping around her neck and limbs, immobiziling her and binding her chakra.

"That should take care of it. Now, let's deal the finish blow!" Obito said.

The Nine Tails opened his maws, and started to gather chakra into an ever expanding sphere. The Konoha and Kumo ninjas still in the ground knew the Kyubi was charging a Tailed Beast Ball, and if the attack hit, it would mean the end for Yugito. Sasuke had left before hearing the explaination on what that attack was.

Not that he needed it to know that it was bad news and, if it wasn't stopped immediately, the Akatsuki would win. Almost on instinct, the youngest Uchiha jumped from his flying summon, and aimed his fall towards the fox's face. He made a hand seal.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Sasuke wasn't stupid enough to use his real self as a human missile towards a Tailed Beast, not when a clone would do just fine. He then transferred all his momentum to the clone by pushing it downward the moment he appeared. In the couple seconds before the clone would hit his destination, he made several hand seals.

"Fire Release: Burning Man!"

The clone was surrounded by an aura of fire just before it crashed against the Nine Tails' left eye. The beast howled in pain, losing control of the forming Tailed Beast Ball, which exploded in his mouth, hurling him backwards.

"No!" Obito yelled.

"Atsui, let's release Yugito while the Nine Tails is incapacitated!" Samui suggested, as she unsheathed her tanto while rushing towards the immobilized giant cat.

"Alright!" her brother said, following Samui and unsheathing his katana as well.

"Now's our chance!" Shizune said, as she rushed towards the beast, with Karin and Rin following her. "Rin, try to subdue it now!"

Rin nodded, and her hands flew through hand seals once again.

"Wood Release. Deep Forest Emergence!"

More wooden vines emerged around the Nine Tails and wrapped around him, just like they also bound his two tailed sister. Though the damage caused by the failed Tailed Beast Ball wasn't as severe as it appeared, as the Kyubi had enough strength to trash against the restraining wooden vines.

"Karin, help her subdue him!" Shizune said.

Karin took a step forward, and made a hand seal. "Adamantine Sealing Chains!"

Multiple chains of chakra emerged from her back, and they wrap themselves around the Nine Tails' limbs, just like the wooden vines did, and combined their supressing effects to subude the angry monster.

The Kyubi trashed again, but his movements were much slower and sloppy, as he progressively became less and less active. The combined power of both jutsu was too much for him to handle.

"Very good! Keep going like that, girls!" Shizune cheered.

"Fire Release: Phoniex Sage Fire Jutsu!"

A volley of fireballs rained upon Karin and Rin, seemingly out of nowhere, blowing the two girls away, and in Karin's case, forcing her to release her chains from the incapacitated Fox.

"I won't let you interfere any further!" Obito said, as he landed in front of them. He then turned around, and started to throw more fire jutsu at the vines still pinning the giant Fox down.

…

Meanwhile, at the other side of the flooded village, Darui and Sakura continued their two on one fight against Kisame.

"Things are looking grim over there," Darui said, who had just glanced back to the two Tailed Beasts duking it out, before his visible eye rested on Kisame. "Sorry man, but I'm afraid we'll have to end this pretty quick. We're needed over there."

"I was having a lot of fun, but if you want me to end this quickly, I can do that as well," Kisame grinned, as he suddenly disappeared.

Darui tensed, as he gripped the handle of his cleaver. "Where did he-"

"From underwater! Watch out!" Sakura warned.

Both the blond haired man and pink haired girl jumped in time before a shark jumped out of the water, its jaws full of teeth wide open. Another one jumped immediately afterwards against Sakura, but the kunoichi managed to punch it in time, sending it skidding across the water surface, before it disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Another one met the same fate when Darui sunk his electrified cleaver into its flesh.

However, more and more sharks started to come out of the water, in greater numbers and higher frequency. It was becoming increasingly harder for the two ninja to keep up the pace. In no time they would be overwhelmed.

"I can see the bastard below us," Darui told Sakura, as he slashed an incoming shark. "Summoning more shakrs. Hell, I bet these sharks aren't even real. He just plans to tire us out before delivering the finishing blow."

"In that case, we should ignore these fishes and go after him directly," Sakura suggested.

"I had the same idea," Darui asked. As he sheathed his cleaver. "Protect me for a few seconds, will you?"

Sakura nodded, and pushed her body as much as she could in order to fend off the sharks coming from every direction. Fortunately, a few seconds is all what Darui needed to weave the necessary hand seals.

"Lightning Release: Black Panther!"

Darui's hands crackled with black electricity, which condensed into a mass of dark lightning that took the shape of a panther. The panther dived underwater headed for Kisame, but it was intercepted by several of the sharks he was consantly summoning.

"Damn, such a failure," Darui complained. "Reaching him underwater is going to be a challenge."

"Not that much. I have a way that will open a direct path to the Akatsuki, but it will only last for a few seconds," Sakura told the Kumo Jonin.

"Sorry for being skeptical, but what do you plan to do? Punch the water really hard so the shockwave creates a vacuum zone?"

Sakura smirked in return. "You just read my mind."

Dauri's visible eye widened. "Are you...are you serious?"

"You might want to take a step back," Sakura said as she leaped into the air, her fist wound back.

Darui did as Sakura was told. However, as he was the only one touching the water surface, now all the sharks were aiming for him. Unsheathing his cleaver once more, the Kumo Jonin went into the defensive.

"SHANNARO!" Sakura hollered, as she came down, her fist impacting against the water surface.

The effect was immediate. The force released by the impact created a shockwave that pushed all the water aside in every direction, creating a rather large "hole" in the water, with a genuinely surprised Kisame at the bottom.

"Damn. That girl looked pretty dull, but she packs quite the mean punch. If Konoha has more ninja like her, we might be screwed," Darui said, mostly to himself.

"Come on, attack, he's wide open!" Sakura shouted.

Darui nodded, and jumped into the hole the pinkette had literally punched in the water. Unfortunately for him, Kisame was able to shake off the shock and expertly parry Darui's blow with his much bigger sword. Before the Kumo ninja could force the blue skinned Akatsuki into the defensive, Kisame wasted no time and counterattacked with a series of rapid swings of his massive blade.

The dark skinned ninja replied by jumping backwards, while making several hand seals.

"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"

Joining his hands together, Darui fired another salvo of light blue beams at Kisame. The Akatsuki smirked and prepared to defend.

"You're not going to catch me off guard with your little light show again," Kisame confidently said, and when the beams were close to him, he delivered a very wide swing, Samehada absorbing them. "As I said-"

"You're wide open!"

Another Darui appeared before Kisame, his cleaver ready to slash the Akatsuki to bites. However, Kisame was fast enough to parry the clone's blow as well, and deliver another swing that knocked the sword out of his hands.

"You expected to catch me off guard with a clone? I'm starting to feel insulted," Kisame chuckled, as he delivered another blow to the clone.

But much to his surprise, the clone caught Samehada, wrapping his arms around it. Samehada grew several spikes in order to eviscerate the clone, but much to Kisame's shock, not only the clone did not dispel, but the spikes even failed to pierce him, as his skin was extremely hard.

"Now I got you," The Darui clone burst in smoke, revealing that it had been Sakura all along. Her skin was now a metallic brown while her hair was silver. "Did you forget about me already? Come on Darui-san, before the sword absorbs my Iron Skin Jutsu!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," Darui replied, as his hands flew through hand seals. "Lightning Release: Double Black Panther!"

Darui's hands generated a mass of the aforementioned black lightning, which took the shape of two panthers, ready to pounce on Kisame.

Seeing that there was no point in struggling, Kisame dropped Samehada and jumped away, just as the water started to fill the hole while it formed a whirlpool. The shark ninja decided to counter Darui's ninjutsu with one of his own.

"I don't need Samehada to beat opponents of your level!" he shouted, as his hands quickly formed hand seals, before thursting them forward. "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Jutsu!"

Kisame created a gigantic shark made of water before sending it towards Darui and Sakura.

"This jutsu can absorb the chakra of other ninjutsu and add it to its own power as if it was Samehada. I don't know what those black panthers do, but they won't touch me!" Kisame boasted, as his face formed a grin of confidence.

However, much to his surprise, the black panthers maneuvered around the shark-shaped missile, gracefully avoiding it.

"What!?" Kisame asked in shock.

"I'll take care of that!" Sakura said, placing herself in front of the shark bullet. She spread her arms wide, as two giant fists made of chakra appeared around her fists. "Cherry Blossom Thunderclap!"

Sakura slammed her fists together, creating a powerful shockwave forwards, which easily shattered the water shark bullet when crashed against it.

 _"Just as I thought. I can use my chakra enhanced strength to create shockwaves, but since they lack chakra, they can't be absorbed,"_ Sakura thought, pleased with her deduction.

That moment, a lightning bolt fell from the storm clouds above, landing somewhere near the spot the rest of her teammates were fighting Obito and his Tailed Beast. Sakura saw that the Nine Tails was down, and smiled. She turned her sight back to the enemy at hand.

"Lightning Release jutsu packs a lot of power, but they're usually hard to control and direct. Black Lightning has no such problems. And as you're going to experience, it's also more powerful than regular lightning as well," Darui explained, enjoying Kisame's predicament.

Unable to defend or even dodge the attack, the two lightning panthers crashed against Kisame, engulfing him in an explosion of black electricity. When the electricity faded, Kisame was still there, his clothes and skin badly burn, but still in condition to fight. The Akatsuki extended his right hand, and Samehada flew to it.

"Hehehe...I'm going to admit, that hurt a lot," Kisame chuckled, sounding oddly nonchalant. "But these wounds will stay here very little. I can use Samehada for-"

Kisame was interrupted by a massive explosion coming from behind. Both him and his opponents forgot about each other for a moment, as their eyes were focused on the massive blast. The Akatsuki grinned.

"Oh look at that. It seems that Obito is finally done playing," Kisame laughed.

Sakura and Darui looked horrified at the other battlefield.

"Just... what happened over there?" Sakura cried.

…

As Darui and Sakura's fight against Kisame was winding down, the fight of the giants had been halted by both Rin and Obito incapacitating the other side's Tailed Beast with their wood release. Not that they were going to just leave things that way.

"Let's release Yugito!" Atsui said, as made a couple of one handed hand seals, as his other hand held his katana. "Fire Release: Burning Edge!"

Atsui's katana was coated in fire, as he dashed towards the giant incapacitated cat. He quickly started to slash the vines with his flaming blade, but they proved to be more resistant than their appearance suggested.

"Don't go all by yourself, let's work together!" Samui replied, as she made several hand seals, before unsheathing her tanto. "Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Samui's tanto started to crackle with electricity, and the blond rushed towards the vines, cutting them in one swing each. Her brother, who was having more trouble, noticed this, and frowned.

"Hey, how the hell did you took so little to cut so many vines?" the indignant blond complained.

"Wood Release is a combination of water and earth, both elements weak to lightning," Samui replied matter-o-factly.

"Aw man, that's not so hot..." he complained.

Suddenly, more vines started to emerge, replacing the ones the Kumo silbings had cut.

"What the hell?" Atsui protested. "Aw come on! This is NOT so hot!"

"Quit complaining! If the vines regrow, we will cut them faster than they can regenerate!" Samui insisted, as she pressed on.

As the Kumo siblings liberated their jinchuriki, or at least tried to, Obito was doing the same with the Nine Tails. Unlike the Kumo siblings, Obito had to contend with the Konoha ninjas attempting to keep the Kyubi incapacitated.

"I never thought that you'd use the gift I gave you against me, Rin. Your disloyalty knows no limit," Obito said with an angry snarl.

"You never thought?" Rin replied, just as angry. "In what world would I approve of everything you're doing? All these meaningless deaths! All the suffering you're spreading!"

"Sometimes you need to cut a limb in order to stop a disease from infecting the rest of the body. Given that you're a medic, I thought you'd understand that," Obito fired back.

"Not before I did everything to save that limb first!" Rin shouted, as she dashed towards Obito.

The two former teammates engaged in a hand to hand duel. Due to his experience and height advantage, Obito thought Rin wouldn't be much of a challenge, but he was surprised by the brown haired medic-nin's skill and physical strength.

 _"All I need is to knock her out, and she won't be able to keep the Nine Tails incapacitated,"_ Obito thought, as he ducked a roundhouse kick from his former crush. _"I knew about her physical enhancements, but when did she become such a good fighter?"_

As he was fighting Rin, he failed to see Shizune coming at him, who delivered a painful kick to his temple, sending him flying several meters to the side, skidding on the watery surface.

"Just as the other time. If he wants to hit us, he needs to be corporeal. There's our chance to hit," Shizune said. "We can take advantage of our numerical superiority."

"You think you're so clever, do you?" Obito said as he stood up, rubbing the spot Shizune had kicked in. "Let's see what do you think about your numbers after this! Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu!"

Several clones made of wood started to grow from Obito's body. Once fully formed, they split from his body, placing themselves in a circle around the Konoha ninjas, and adopting fighting stances. They counted nine clones in total.

"You're not the only one who can do that!" Rin replied, as she echoed Obito's actions. However, the brown haired girl was only able to produce three clones of herself.

Obito couldn't help but chuckle. "Even if you have the same power as me, my skill is far superior to yours. Take care of them while I release the Nine Tails!" Obito commanded.

"Oh no, you won't get away!" Sasuke yelled, as he leaped at the original. One of the clones jumped to intercept Sasuke, but the youngest Uchiha easily sliced him in two with a swing of his katana. "Fire Release: Burning Edge! Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"

Holding his katana in one hand and his shoto in the other, the former's blade was coated in flames while the later's started to crackle with electricity. Obito started to weave hand seals, a chain that he had used before a couple times, and that Sasuke had memorized thanks to his Sharingan. He knew what attack would come next.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"

Sasuke was ready to destroy whatever wooden vines Obito threw against him, his senses looking for the first sign of the attack to come. Except, much to his surprise, the attack didn't come. Or better said, it did come, just not from the direction the youngest Uchiha was expecting.

Even more vines emerged around the Nine Tails. Though rather than wrap themselves against him, they started to pull the first vines Rin had summoned. And while the brown haired medic was busy fighting the clones, she was unable to direct chakra to keep her vines in place. In no time, the Nine Tails was free again.

"Didn't see that coming, Sasuke?" Obito mockingly asked, as he jumped onto the fox's head. "Ninjas nowadays seem to focus too much on power and forget about the subtle art of misdirection."

"Damn you..." was all what Sasuke could said, gritting his teeth. Looking up, he saw that his hawk summon was still flying above the Nine Tails in circles. He let out a whistle to call it down.

"No! The Nine Tails is free!" Shizune cried, as she was fighting the remaining clones.

"I'll subdue it again!" Rin said, as her hands started to form the same hand seals she used before. "Wood Release-"

"You think I will let you!?" Obito spat.

The Nine Tails delivered a wide swipe with one of his tails. The Konoha ninjas jumped in time to avoid it, but the sheer force of the swipe was so great, the shockwave it created as enough to hurl them backwards. Sasuke managed to jump onto his hawk's back, and even if it was caught in the burst of wind, the giant bird was able to maneuver around it much better.

"Alright, this ends here," Sasuke said, as he sheathed both his bladed weapons, as his left hand started to crackle with electricity. "The next jutsu will finish this fight."

Obito couldn't repress a laugh. "You're delirious, Sasuke. No jutsu, no matter how powerful, can subdue a Tailed Beast, other than Wood Release."

"You might be right, but it's worth a try," Sasuke said, raising his electrified hand towards the sky. "Do you think that if I gathered several dozen lightning bolts and threw them all at your pet, would he survive?"

"While I admit you have grown powerful over the years, no jutsu of your own can have the strength you claim. No human being could gather that much power," Obito countered.

"Oh, I'm aware of that. But if instead of lightning generated by my chakra, I merely used my chakra to redirect natural lightning towards you?" Sasuke asked.

Suddenly, a bad feeling washed over Obito. Looking up, he realized that the sky had turned really dark, with several lightning bolts jumping from one cloud to another.

"Where...where did those storm clouds come from?" Obito asked, a bit surprised.

"I admit this jutsu requires a bit of a setup. You know, all the fireballs I threw at you from below, that when you dodged, kept flying upwards into the sky? Yeah, they true purpose was to stir the clouds into storm clouds. The Two Tails' fireballs that you deflected into the sky were of real help as well," Sasuke explained. Suddenly, all the lightning in the clouds merged in the form of a serpetine dragon. "The name of the jutsu is Kirin. Now begone."

Sasuke brought his hand down, and in a split second, the Kirin fell down, blasting into the Kyubi. The fox let out a loud and long howl of pain, before he succumbed to the power of several lightning bolts condensed into one, falling to the water with a loud splash. Obito was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke deduced that he had teleported away.

 _"My most powerful jutsu, the Kirin. Stronger than the Annihilation Nova, with only consuming a tiny fraction of its chakra cost,"_ Sasuke reflected, as he examined the results of his attack. He then turned at the rest of his teammates, looking at the downed Tailed Beast with a flabbergasted look. "Quickly, seal the beast within Karin, before it wakes up!"

This seemed to snap the three women out of their stupor, who nodded and rushed towards Sasuke.

"Okay...how do we do it?" a nervous Karin asked.

"Like this," Shizune said, taking a step forward, while making a hand seal. "Eight Trigram Divination Seal!"

In a poof of smoke, Shizune summoned an octogonal paltform with an altar in the middle, and eight lit candles on each of its corners.

"Now, Karin, lie down on the altar," Shizune instructed. The redhead looked at the altar, her lips quivering, but she didn't move. Noticing it, Shizune added: "Karin, everything's going to be okay. It's normal to feel afraid, but I promise you your life won't change that much. We're all here to support you."

"Karin, come on, we have no time!" Sasuke urged.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, she conceded and walked towards the altar. "I wish mom or Neji-kun were here. Alright, let's get this over with."

"Rin, immobilize the Nine Tails again. I'm not as skilled in sealing as Hokage-sama or Naruto-kun, and I'm going to need some time to do the ritual. We don't want it to wake up in the middle of the sealing," the oldest kunoichi told her.

Rin nodded, and walked towards the uncosncious beast, ready to perform the same jutsu she had used several times before, and started making the hand seals.

"Wood Release: Deep Forest-"

Suddenly, the Nine Tails' eyes snapped open, and with a loud growl, quickly stood on its legs. It raised one of its paws ready to crush the shocked medic nin. Fortunately, Sasuke appeared before Rin and the fox.

"Everybody, behind me!" Sasuke yelled, as a giant, ghostly purple ribcage formed around the group as the same time the paw came down.

Even if Sasuke's Susanoo absorbed most of the impact, it was unable to withstand such a powerful blow, and Shizune's Medical Squad plus Rin were swiped away as if they were flies.

"Did you really think that jutsu of yours would be enough to subdue a Tailed Beast?" Obito mockingly asked, as he reappeared on top of the fox's head. "Pitiful. If you weren't so afraid of using your real power, the outcome of this fight might have been different. But there won't be any more chances for you. While I'm sure Rin will survive this attack, I can't say the same for the rest of you lot."

The Nine Tails opened his jaws, and started to gather chakra into an ever growing sphere. Everybody panicked. They were still recovering from the brutal blow the Nine Tails had delivered them. There was no time for counterattacks, and dodging an attack of such magnitude would be useless.

The Tailed Beast Ball charged, the Kyubi fired it forward. Sasuke tried to shake off the feeling of anguish washing over his body in order to summon another Susanoo for protection, but found himself unable to.

"This can't be my end... not like this..." Sasuke said, gritting his teeth in impotence.

But the end didn't come. Suddenly, a black and blue blur dashed between the Tailed Beast Ball and them. He didn't need his Sharingan to realize it was the Two Tails, or better said Yugito, who for some reason had decided to become a human shield and take the blast herself, being engulfed by the ensuing explosion, which was thankfully cushioned enough that the Konoha ninjas were merely hurled backwards a few meters by the shockwave.

When the explosion was over, the Yugito was no longer in her Two Tails form, but had reverted back to human. Her body was floating in the water, being rocked by the small waves created by the exploding Tailed Beast Ball.

"Just as expected," Obito smirked, as he landed besides the unconscious Yugito with a splash, and carried her over her shoulder.

Two voices cried as Obito did this.

"Yugito!"

"NO!"

The now one eyes Uchiha saw Samui and Atsui desperatedly rushing at him, their weapons drawn, ready to rescue their comrade. But in their haste, they didn't take into account the Nine Tails' presence, who, with a flicker of one of his tails, hurled the two Kumo nin backwards.

"I think we can assume the fight is pretty much over," Obito said, before making a hand seal, causing the Nine Tails to disappear in a cloud of smoke. "Farewell." A spiraling vortex appeared around Obito's eye, and the Akatsuki and his captured jinchuriki were gone in an instant.

A few seconds later, Obito reappared behind Kisame, and spirited the other Akatsuki away.

…

For about ten minutes, nothing happened. Both Kumo and Konoha ninjas remained silent, at most exchanging questions like "are you okay?" and offering to heal wounds, mostly those from Samui and Atsui, who got several broken bones from the Nine Tails' tail swipe. They felt so lost and dazed, especially the Kumo ninjas. It was Rin who broke the silence.

"Why," she asked, her voice almost a whisper.

"Why what?" Samui asked back.

"Why did she save us," Rin replied. "Why did she take that attack aimed for us? She could have used the chance to escape. Now she's going to die, just because she wanted to save a bunch of ninjas from a non-allied foreign village that didn't know that much."

"Yugito didn't do it just to save you. She saved all of us," Atsui replied.

"What?" a confused Rin asked.

"A Tailed Beast Ball is no dull attack. If she didn't use her own body to shield us, the resulting explosion not only would have killed you, but all of us as well," Darui explained. "Sorry for rushing you, but how long until you finish healing them? We need to go back to Kumo and plan a rescue party."

 _"If Akatsuki plays their cards well, Obito is on his way to take Yugito out of Lightning Country,"_ Shizune sourly thought, but decided to keep those thoughts to herself. Nobody would gain anything by demotivating the Kumo ninjas.

"Almost there," it was Sakura who replied, as she finished healing Samui's arm. "Broken bones can't be properly healed with medical ninjutsu alone. We patched you up as well as we could, but you should go to a hospital as soon as you return to your village and get proper treatment there."

"I see. Thanks for your help then," Samui replied. "And thanks for helping us against Akatsuki, even if in the end it was for naught. We'll make sure to tell Raikage-sama about how you fought alongside us."

"If it can help to ease the relationship between our villages, please do so," Shizune interjected, sounding almost pleading. "The threat of Akatsuki is too big for a single ninja village to handle."

"We will," Darui assured, before turning to his two remaining squadmates. "Alright, Samui, Atsui, let's go!"

And thus the three Kumo ninjas leaped away, rushing north towards their village.

"I think we should head back to Konoha as well," Shizune somberly said. The rest agreed.

…

 _Konoha, a few days later_

On the way back, the mood didn't improve. They still felt the weight of the defeat at the hands of the Akatsuki. Even if they didn't have any personal ties with the jinchuriki, who wasn't even from an allied village, the outcome of the mission weighted heavily on them. They barely talked, and only traded words when necessary.

For some reason, Karin looked the gloomiest of them all, even more than Rin if it was possible.

"Konoha is up there," Shizune pointed out.

And yes, just like the medic Jonin said, the walls of Konoha could be seen in the distance. This seemed to lift the mood, even if it was just a little.

"Finally, home," Sakura said, letting out a sigh.

"Okay, I know you guys are exhausted, both physically as well as emotionally, so you can go home. I'll go to the Hokage Tower and give Hokage-sama the mission report," Shizune offered, something her subordinates greatly appreciated.

However, there was still one last obstacle they had to face before they could rest and put this disastrous mission behind. The moment they crossed the gates, they saw a certain blond ninja rushing towards them.

"Shizune-neechan! Karin-neechan!" Naruto cried before landing in front of them. "I arrived as soon as I got the message from dad regarding the mission! How did it go?"

The somber look on the Medical Squad and Rin's faces was all the jinchuriki needed to know their answer. Unfortunately, he barely knew half of the story, and once again, it was Shizune who took up as her duty to deliver the bad news.

"Naruto-kun...I was going to the Hokage Tower. Come with me and I'll tell you what happened. We have some bad news... news that you need to know," Shizune said, as she and an apprehensive Naruto headed towards the Tower.

…

A few minutes later, Sasuke returned to his apartment. As expected, Itachi wasn't there. It would be at least a wekk until he returned from that mission. Hopefully, his brother would be more succesful than he had been so far.

At first, the youngest Uchiha merely dropped himself onto a couch, hoping to get some rest and put this mission behind him. But he found himself unable to.

"I don't get it," he said to no one in particular. "This wasn't the first mission I failed. I had no ties with the jinchuriki. I don't care what happens to Kumo or its ninjas," Sasuke said out loud. His hand clenched into a fist. "Then why does it hurt so much?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Sorry to all Yugito fans who were expecting her to have a bigger role in the story, but alas, I just can't save every jinchuriki. At the very least, I hope you guys enjoyed her in these two chapters, were she gets to show a little of her personality and badassery. I was originally planning to have her being captured offscreen, but I a fellow Naruto writer convinced me not to make the same mistake as Kishimoto. Now I kind of regret not giving Han his own mini-arc as well, even if it would have made the story even longer.**

 **Have to say, I was quite surprised how most readers reacted negatively at the prospect of Karin becoming the jinchuriki of Kurama's second half, which in hindsight makes me glad I changed my mind while I was writing this arc. The reason, thought, is that it would make Obito way too incompetent. Not only did he fail three times to capture a jinchuriki, but the one time he suceeded it would be at the cost of another Tailed Beast. And even then, he didn't come out of the battle unscathed, since he lost Shisui's eye (though gotta say, a lot of people enjoyed Rin gouging his eye out).**

 **So yeah, not only Akatsuki scores another victory, increasing the number of Tailed Beasts they have to four (the other three are the One, Three and Five Tailed beasts, if somebody needs a reminder), but Sasuke came out of that mission a complete mess. The next chapter will deal with the fallout of this mission (meaning it also be pretty Sasuke-centric), and will close this arc for good, before we move back to Naruto's team once more.**

 **Thanks a lot to Ookami88, my new betareader, for proofreading this chapter.**

 **Anyway, while you guys wait for the next chapter, don't forget to leave your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	68. Aftermath of a Failed Mission

**Author's Note: With the Yugito Arc finally concluded, we can move forward with other issues. I'm glad how well received said arc was, even if in hindsight I should have put more focus on Yugito, given that she was going to die. Oh well, at least I have another chance to showcase her in the future when she returns as an Edo Tensei zombie.  
**

 **Anyway, enough ramblings. Enjoy the new chapter:**

* * *

 **Chapter 68:**

Aftermath of a Failed Mission

 _or_

 _Not All Cats Have Nine Lives_

 _Amegakure_

Despite the fact that he hadn't finished his shift yet, the Ame Genin known as Yudachi was in a bar having some drinks. He had an average appearance, with spiky brown hair, black eyes, and a scar crossing his face being his only distinctive feature.

His unprofessional attitude contributed in a big way to his status as Genin despite pushing thirty. Not that he would even admit it. Besides, today it was a rather slow day. Nothing would happen if he drank a little. Little did he know, that was going to change soon.

"Hey there, handsome. Are you alone?" a soft female voice said.

Yudachi was almost startled by the voice, he swore there was no other patron in the bar except him, yet that woman had sneaked upon him without him none the wiser. But those distressing thoughts were replaced the moment he laid his eyes on the new patron.

The woman was tall, with pale white skin and long, wavy black hair, full lips and onyx eyes. She was wearing a red spaghetti dress that came down her knees. Her red high heels accentuated her height.

"Cat got your tongue?" the woman asked, giggling a little.

"N-No," Yudachi replied, snapping himself from his stupor. "And yes, I'm alone. Well, not anymore, now that you're here, hehe."

"So, you're a ninja, right?" the woman asked, looking at her forehead protector.

"Indeed I am!" Yudachi proudly replied.

"I love ninjas," the woman replied in a sultry voice, licking her lips. "I love strong men in general, but ninjas are the strongest, don't you think?"

"Indeed!" the Ame Genin enthusiastically agreed.

"So, why don't we show me how strong you are?" the woman replied, caressing his facial scar with the tip of her finger.

…

He didn't know how it happened, but Yudachi didn't care in the slightest. Rushing to one of the rooms for rent in the upper floor –thankfully all of them were vacant–, the Ame Genin and his conquest started to passionately kiss and make out, while they removed each other clothes.

He didn't want to think about how lucky he was. He was never very popular with the fairer sex, so having a woman so out of his league throwing herself at his feet was like a dream come true. That woman had everything to make her perfect.

Her smooth skin...

Her wavy, elegant hair...

A body most women would kill for...

Those thick, wet lips...

Her deep crimson Sharingan eyes, staring into his very soul...

...wait what?

But by the time he realized of what had happened, it was too late. Yudachi felt his whole body succumbing to paralysis. He could still feel his limbs, but they refused to obey his brain's commands.

The woman merely poked his forehead with a finger, and he fell backwards like a tree whose trunk had just been chopped, the bed behind him thankfully cushioning his fall.

"You're under my genjutsu now. Resistance is futile," the woman said, and in a poof of smoke, she turned into a man. A Konoha Ninja. He didn't need a bingo book to know that this ninja was Itachi Uchiha, one of Konoha's deadliest assets. "Judging by your expression, you know who I am," Itachi said, as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "So now that we know each other, let's get to business. Specifically, you're going to tell me who's the one in charge of this village. I know it's an Akatsuki, but I need to know which one. And no, there's no way you can't convince me that Hanzo the Salamander still holds the position. If I were you, I wouldn't do anything to push my patience."

Yudachi cursed internally for letting himself fall for such an old trick. He knew that woman was dangerous the moment he displayed a level of stealth way above any civilian, but his hormones had silenced his instinct.

That was one of the reasons Yudaichi was still a Genin.

…

 _Konoha_

Above the village of Konoha, three young girls soared the sky. While the first time they appeared surprised the shocked villagers from below, in time they got used to them.

"Boy, I can't believe that I lived most of my life without knowing the wonders of flying," Hanabi gushed, before spinning a few times. "WHEEEEEEE!"

"I know, right? Once you know the skies, the land suddenly stops being enough," Fu agreed, smiling at the youngest Hyuga.

"And the view from here is spectacular," Hinata added. "And with the Tenseigan, even more."

"So, do you see somebody? Somebody we know?" Hanabi asked.

Hinata nodded and smiled. "Yes. Quite a few people. Some of our clansmen doing their daily tasks at the village. Some of my friends training..." her eyes drifted towards the Senju Park. "Oh, there's Naruto-kun!"

Fu chuckled. "Took you long enough to find him."

"It's not that hard. Naruto-kun has a very powerful chakra, and through my eyes finding him it's as easy as finding a bright star in the middle of the night," Hinata replied. She then noticed something odd about her boyfriend. He was just sitting alone in one of the park's benches. Naruto was somebody who tried to keep himself occupied at all times. If he wasn't with his friends or family, he was usually training. "I think something's wrong with him. He looks kind of gloom. Fu-sensei, do you mind if I take a moment to talk to him?"

"I'm not going to get in the way of love," the green haired girl replied with a sincere smile, as she flew away followed by Hanabi.

Hinata made her descend, before finally landing just a few steps in front of Naruto. The blond naturally immediately took notice of his girlfriend.

"Hey," Naruto greeted her, in a rather subdued manner.

"Hello," Hinata greeted back. "I was flying with Fu-sensei and Hanabi-chan, and I saw you from above."

"While I appreciate it, you don't have to interrupt your flight lessons just to tell me hi whenever you see me," Naruto replied, chuckling a little.

"I know, but greeting you is not the only reason I wanted to talk with you," Hinata replied, placing her hands on her hips. "What are you doing here, Naruto-kun?"

"I'm just enjoying the calm of the park. Is something wrong with it?" Naruto innocently asked.

Hinata let out a sigh, before crossing her arms over her chest. "Naruto-kun, both you and I know that you don't do calm. You usually have too much pent-up energy for that. Unless there's something that's draining your energy. Something emotionally exhausting."

Naruto chukcled again, except this time it sounded a bit sadder. "I just can't hide anything from you, can I?" Naruto asked, before moving aside and patting the space besides him.

Hinata took the hint and sat beside him. "Now, tell me what's wrong. Whatever happened, I'm sure it can be fixed. If not, you'll feel better after talking about it with someone."

"Okay. You see, yesterday afternoon, Shizune-neechan's squad returned from a mission. Rin was with them," Naruto began.

"Something happened to either of them?" Hinata guessed, worry seeping into her voice.

Naruto shook his head. "All five were fine, thank goodness. Sadly, that's the only good part of their mission. You see, while we were in Taki, they were dispatched to Kumo because the Nine Tails had been seen there attacking a village near a river..."

Before Hinata could ask about such impossibility Naruto explained about how the Fourth Hokage sealed only half of the Tailed Beast into Naruto, and the other half into himself, which was released after Orochimaru reanimated him with the Impure World Resurrection.

"And turns out Obito took control of the other half," Naruto explained.

Hinata's normally pale face turned even whiter. "But that's...that's horrible! If Obito decides to do the same with Konoha, or even other villages...!"

"And you know what? That's not even the worst part," Naruto added, much to Hinata's shock. "The whole thing was just a ruse to make Kumo deploy one of their jinchuriki, and capture them when they were in the open. They succeeded."

Hinata took her hands to her mouth. No wonder Naruto looked so gloom.

"I promised myself that I wouldn't let any other jinchuriki fall prey of the Akatsuki, yet another one went down, with me not even aware," Naruto said, curling his hand into a fist.

Hinata placed a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Naruto-kun, while what had happened is indeed terrible, it's not your fault. You can't save everybody. You're not almighty."

"I know but... but I can't still feel guilty. Feel that I could have done more. If I wasn't busy helping rebuild Taki, maybe we could-"

"Naruto-kun, no," Hinata firmly said, interrupting him. "Don't think what could have been, or what could have you done. Focus on the future, and how to make things better. Don't torture yourself like that, it won't help anybody."

"There's also the fact... I didn't even get to know her," Naruto replied, as a single tear fell down his cheek. "Her name was Yugito Nii. She was a Jonin. Same age as Kurenai-sensei. And the Akatsuki will be slowly killing her by removing her Tailed Beast from within her as we speak."

"Naruto-kun," Hinata said. "I'm not going to say not to grieve, because grieving it's human. But try not to feel guilty over her death. You know, I used to feel like that regarding my father's death. Had I been stronger, maybe I could have helped defend the clan from the Uchihas and make a difference..."

"You were like eight at the time. No offense, but I doubt you'd make a difference," Naruto told her.

"I know. But the emotional, irrational part of my mind insisted otherwise," Hinata replied. "Just like it's happening with you."

A shadow passed above them. Looking above, they saw it was Fu and Hanabi, doing another lap above Konoha.

"Thanks for talking with me, Hime. Even if it's not much, I do feel a little better now. Though you'd better return to your flight lesson. I'd feel horrible if I distratced you from your training."

Hinata smiled. "Don't worry. You can talk to me whenever you want," the Hyuga Clan Head said, before saying her boyfriend goodbye with a kiss to the cheeks, and returning to the sky with her instructor and younger sister.

…

 _A few days later, Shizune and Shisui's apartment._

While Itachi was out doing his mission, Shizune and Shisui had asked Sasuke to spend some days with them until his older brother returned. While they knew that Sasuke was more than capable of taking care of his own, his Jonin-sensei had seen that the outcome of the mission had affected Sasuke far more than she had expected, and upon talking with her husband, they decided that it was better not to leave Sasuke to his own devices.

The younger Uchiha had turned down the offer at first, but after much insisting, he reluctantly agreed.

If there was something good that came out of that disastrous mission in the Land of Lightning was that Rin was able to recover Shisui's lost eye, and bring it back to Konoha. After that, Shizune wasted no time in placing her husband's lost eye in his empty eye socket. Naturally, Shisui's mood improved dramatically the next few days, the opposite of his younger cousin.

"Man, it feels so good not to rely on the Sharingan for depth perception anymore!" the formerly one eyed man happily claimed.

But much to Sasuke's chagrin, it seemed like Shisui's good mood was contagious. Or, more specifically, he wanted to infect Sasuke with his newfound cheerfulness and optimism –not that his cousin did not have obnoxious amounts of such traits before. And naturally, his wife was on his side, pressuring Sasuke to open up about his feelings.

"Sasuke, I know what you're feeling. I have failed my own share of missions in my life, and the guilt is unavoidable," Shisui insisted. "And these cases, the best you can do is open up and talk to other people about it. I know that you're not to most extroverted person out there, but please make an effort."

"Yes, Sasuke. I was there. You gave your all in the mission, like you usually do. You have nothing to be ashamed of," Shizune continued.

"You're wrong, sensei," Sasuke replied. "I didn't give my all. I could have done better, but I was unable to. Shisui," Sasuke called his cousin, before locking eyes with him. "You knew there's a way to overcome the traumatic flashbacks every time you use the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?"

Shisui's good mood immediately evaporated, replaced by a similar gloom that plagued Sasuke.

"Obito told you, didn't he?" Shisui dejectedly asked.

"Yes, but that's irrelevant. The actual question is why neither Itachi nor you told me if you knew about it," Sasuke asked.

"First of all, tell me exactly what Obito told you," Shisui requested.

Sasuke complied, and told the oldest Uchiha about how learning to detach yourself from the guilt of the moment that awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan ends up pushing the flashbacks away.

"And can you blame me for not wanting you to know that?" Shisui asked.

"I can blame you for keeping information hidden from me," Sasuke stated. "I know it's a big price to pay, but had I complete control over the Mangekyo Sharingan, maybe this mission would have been a success."

"No mission is worth you losing away your humanity, Sasuke-kun," Shizune intervened. "Never forget that."

"Sasuke, trust me, you don't want to be like Obito. You might start with good intentions, but in the end you'll end up following the same dark road as him," Shisui seriously stated.

"That doesn't change that this is not the first time you and Itachi withold information from me regarding the Sharingan," Sasuke spat back at him. "Do you trust me that little?"

Both Shisui and Shizune flinched upon hearing such an accusatory question. And deep down, Shisui had to admit there was a degree of truth there. He and Itachi had the best intentions. They didn't want Sasuke to be corrupted by the darkness that plagued the Uchiha clan. The Coup d'etat had been a real eye opener. But by not trusting Sasuke and giving keeping him in the dark they were risking losing him.

"I admit you're right, Sasuke," Shisui told him. "That's why I'm going to share you something Obito didn't tell you: there is a way to overcome the flashbacks that does not involve total detachment from your feelings."

"And you tell me that now?" Sasuke asked, still indignant.

"I didn't tell you because I thought that you knowing it wouldn't do you no good. I was afraid you'd misunderstood what I wanted to say and do something stupid," Shisui explained. "But you know what? It wasn't my place to decide that. You deserve to know it, and whatever you do afterwards with such knowledge, it will be on you."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Alright then. I'm all ears."

Shisui opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. He opened it again, but he didn't speak. He muttered something about this being far more complicated to put into words than he thought, before his eyes suddenly lit up, as if an idea dawned upon him.

"Shizune, this week I didn't pay Shunichi-san a visit, did I?" Shisui asked his wife.

"Unless you did it when I was out, then no, you didn't," Shizune replied.

"Alright then, I just had an idea. Sasuke, you're coming with me to visit an old acquaintance of mine," Shisui enthusiastically said, standing up. "Before you ask, yes, it has to do with the topic at hand. Knowing about Shuinichi-san will help you with your problems."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. His doubtfulness was evident in his face, but decided to comply.

"Alright then, cousin. I'm seriously hoping this isn't some menaingless distraction or ruse to keep the truth from me," Sasuke warned in a rather icy tone.

"I'll swear on my life if it makes you feels better. Now come on."

…

 _Training Ground Seven_

As usual, Kakashi's Animal Squad was training in their regular training ground whenever they didn't have any missions. What wasn't usual, however, was the intensity of the training that they were doing. Seeing the sheer power of Naruto and Fu, as well as their fight against the Akatsuki made them realize that while they were stronger than the average Chunin, they weren't strong enough to deal with the threat that was Akatsuki. And thus, they asked Kakashi to give them a more intense training.

"If that's what you want, I have no problem with it. Actually, I praise your desire to get better," the silver haired Jonin had said. "However, I don't want to hear you complain if I'm too hard on you. Killing or permanently crippling you are the only lines I won't cross for obvious reasons."

And boy, did the Copy Ninja stay true to his word. At first sight there was nothing that made you think Kakashi was anything out of the ordinary. His usually bored expression, relaxed pose and nonchalant attitude didn't raise any danger flags. But upon seeing him fighting, one could appreciate the saying "appearances are deceiving". And while his students had seen him fighting at full power against enemies, it wasn't the same as having to fight him themselves.

"Aburame Secret Art: Insect Tornado!"

A swarm of beetles emerged from under Shino's sleeves, and flew towards Kakashi with an angry buzz. Kakashi made several hand seals while quickly jumped backwards.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Before Kakashi could exhale the fireball, Shino was already commanding his hive to move aside, in order to dodge the incoming fiery missile. However, the fireball still managed to kill many of his insects with residual heat. Jumping aside, the Aburame dodged the fire projectile.

 _"Now's my chance!"_ Tamaki thought, rushing towards Kakashi, before leaping at him with her claws facing forward. "Cross Slash!"

Despite appearing wide open, Kakashi easily dodged the cat kunoichi's assault. Undeterred, Tamaki continued her assault, delivering vicious swipes, that the Copy Ninja easily dodged.

"Damn Sharingan!" Tamaki cursed.

Kakashi then closed his left eye, and continued dodging her attacks just as easily.

"As you can see, no, it's not the Sharigan. You're too slow, and your technique lacks finesse," Kakashi calmly but sternly said, before grabbing Tamaki by her wrists, and hurled her against a tree. Wiping his hands, he started to look around. "And where the other could be...?"

The ground briefly shook for second. Most people woulnd't have sensed it, but Kakashi wasn't "most people". His hand was coated in electricity the moment Kiba burst from underground.

"Got y-"

"And there he is," Kakashi happily said, as he impaled the Inuzuka runt through the heart with his signature ability. "Lightning Blade!"

After piercing his chest "Kiba" crumbled into many smaller rocks, as the real Kiba and Akamaru were leaping at Kakashi from behind. Though as this was happening, Kakashi's hands were flying through seals at an inhuman speed.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Turning around, Kakashi blew a powerful wind blast at the attacking ninja and dog, pushing them backwards. They immediately got back on their feet, but rather than attacking, Kiba shot his sensei an indignant look. "What the hell, man, a Lightning Blade? What if that was the real me? You would have killed me!"

"Oh, you worry too much, Kiba," Kakashi replied in an infuriating cheerful tone, giving him his trademark eye-smile. "I was one hundred percent sure that wasn't the real you. I know your fighting style too well to let you make me think you would attack from underground, and without Akamaru."

"So you're saying I'm too predictable," an unamused Kiba replied, frowned.

"No, of course not!" Kakashi cheerfully reassured. "...actually yes, that's what I'm saying. The only way you could be more predictable was if you told me beforehand what you were going to do. Something your movements already tell me."

"Kakashi-sensei has flat out told you an area of your fighting style that needs improvement," Shino interjected. "You should take his advice as it is rather than an insult."

"Actually, that goes for all of you," Kakashi pointed out. "All of you seem to be pigeonholed into a very tight fighting style, and your enemies will catch wind of that. You need to find a way to improve your styles and change them to adapt to multiple situations. Though I admit that this is in part my fault for not training you as good as I could. But make sure such thing is about to change."

"Uh, hello," a new voice said.

The members of the animal squad turned around, and saw Rin Nohara, looking a little bashful, walking towards them. Tamaki welcomed her with a bright smile.

"Rin, hello!" the cat kunoichi happily greeted her. "Did you come here to train with us?"

"That would be awesome!" Kiba agreed, with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"I'm afraid I didn't came here for training," Rin said, rubbing her arm a little. "If I'm interrupting your training, I can come in another moment."

"It's okay, we were going to take a break," Kakashi stated. "So, what can we do for you?"

Rin sighed a little, and swalloed. This was going to be a bit hard to tell.

"Kakashi... during my latest mission, I fought against Obito," Rin revealed.

Even within his mask, everybody appreciated how Kakashi's mood changed, despite his best efforts to maintain a stoic expression.

"Go on," he said.

"During the fight, Sasuke-san discovered how his intangibility power works," Rin began. "His Mangekyo Sharingan is linked to a pocket dimension. He can send and release objects, up to people, inside. He can also send parts of his body to that dimension in order to avoid damage, that's how he turns intangible."

"That's a very valuable information to have," Tamaki praised. ·"Sasuke-kun did a good job, as usual."

"I think I'm starting to see what you're going to say next," Kakashi guessed.

Rin nodded. "I know you have a Mangekyo Sharingan. Obito told me he awakened his when he saw you killing me with your Chidori. Meaning that you must have awakened it as well."

Kakashi remained silent, before he let out a sight. "Yes, you're right. I have a Mangekyo Sharingan. But if Obito told you about it, then you probably know why I don't use it much. Besides the fact that it leaves me pretty drained due my lack of Six Paths chakra."

"Yes, but you have Obito's other eye. Logic says that your Mangekyo Sharingan should be linked to that pocket dimension as well. If we use it to our advantage, we might be able to counter his biggest trump card," Rin insisted.

"I'm trying to find holes in that reasoning," Kakashi said, as he rubbed the back of his head. "But I don't see any."

"You don't want to use that power, don't you?" Rin asked. "You don't want to relive my death like that."

"I try to tell myself that you're alive and well, and that your death is the equivalent of a bad dream but...it's not enough. The pain, the anguish, it still feels so real..." Kakashi started. "But if there's a chance I can help bring Obito down, I'll do it."

"I'm glad to hear it," Rin smiled. "Though, I want you to know that I know this is painful, and I wouldn't ask you to do it if there were other options."

"It's okay, I'm old enough to know the kind of stuff this job entails," Kakashi replied. "And given that you literally died for the sake of the village, how could I refuse?"

…

 _Downtown Konoha_

Sasuke followed Shisui through the crowded streets of Konoha. Hands buried inside his pockets, the younger Uchiha had a sullen expression, trying to figure out how this mysterious friend of Shisui was going to be of any help with their matter at hand, if he wasn't an Uchiha.

"You know Sasuke, since you know me, you probably think I'm a pretty cool guy," Shisui began, his cheerful attitude being the complete opposite to Sasuke's. "Someone charismatic, kind, friendly, skilled..."

"Not to mention humble," Sasuke deadpanned, as he rolled his eyes.

"Yes, that too," Shisui happily agreed, oblivious to Sasuke's sarcasm. Or pretending to be oblivious, with Shisui it was hard to tell.

"The thing is, I wasn't always like that," Shisui admitted. Sasuke noticed his voice suddenly losing its usual warmth. "When I was younger, I was arrogant and full of myself. Bascially, a standard Uchiha. Even more, given that people praised me for my skills, calling me a genius among a clan of geniuses."

"What does that have to do with anything?" an annoyed Sasuke asked.

"You'll see, be patient," Shisui replied. "Anyway, back when I was a brat, Minato Namikaze was a rising star among the Jonin. The fact that he came from a civilian family inspired many kids of similar backgrounds to become a ninja and join the Academy. Among them was a boy called Shuinichi. And just like the Yellow Flash, he was incredibly gifted for a civilian kid.

"Naturally, the two of us butted heads many times and became heated rivals. We competed for the spot of Rookie of the Year, which eventually went to him. Neither him nor the other Uchihas let me live that down."

As Shisui talked, Sasuke realized that they were leaving thew urban area of Konoha, and heading somewhere else.

"Uh, Shisui, are you sure this is the right way?" Sasuke asked.

Shisui ignored Sasuke's question and continued talking about his childhood.

"Even after graduating and being assigned to different teams, we still tried to outdo the other. Sometimes, even at the cost of the mission. Must say, I'm not especially proud of my attitude back then," Shisui admitted, chuckling alittle while rubbing the back of his head. "Anyway, after the Third Ninja War ended, being two of the strongest Chunin Konoha had, the two of us were dispatched to deal with some Kumo ninjas that were still giving us some trouble in the border. Naturally, we were going to use this mission as another opportunity to outdo the other.

"We located the enemy ninjas and engaged them. However, things didn't go as planned: thanks to faulty information, there was an ANBU captain among the Kumo ninjas. Even if going back and return with reinforcements would be the most sensible course of action, we continued the fight. Shuinichi called dibs on the captain while I dealt with the underlings.

"However, despite his talent and skill, an ANBU captain was too much for Suinichi. He was quickly overwhelmed, and called for my help. I decided to drag my fight on in order to make him suffer a little and teach him some humility –as if I was any better–. I could have ended my fight much quicker and provide him with help. Between the two of us, we could have defeated that captain."

Sasuke then saw that they were heading towards the Konoha Cemetery.

"Shunichi was killed before I could lend him my help," Shisui finished, his voice now completely devoid of all his usual warmth and joviality. "I could have helped him, and I didn't. It wasn't that Kumo ANBU who killed him, but me, even if indirectly. That revelation, and the subsequent guilt and despair, made me awake the Mangekyo Sharingan."

Sasuke was left speechless. He was completely unaware such side of his obnoxiously cheerful cousin even existed. He was really good at masking his emotions. Guess it was a proof that not everything is what it seems and that a ninja must learn to see through deception.

The cemetery was mostly empty. Sasuke followed Shisui until he stopped in front of a grave he guessed was that of Shuinichi. The name on the tombstone confirmed it.

"I try to pay Shuinichi a visit every week, at the very least. To never let myself forget what my haughtiness caused. Heh, it's a good thing his family doesn't come here often. As you can imagine, they aren't exactly fond of me, and the Uchiha Insurrection didn't made things any better," Shisui sadly chuckled. "The Uchiha Insurrection. Even my failure to stop that it's only second to this one."

"How can you say that? Not to disrespect Shuinichi's memory, but he was just one person. Lots of people died in the insurrection, and its effects are still felt today," Sasuke stated.

"Because, even if I fail, I did try my all in stopping it," Shisui replied. His fist clenched. "Sasuke, life is paved with failures, and nothing will change that. But as long as we give our all, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

"Now you're sounding like Naruto," Sasuke pointed out, sounding mildly annoyed.

Shisui shrugged. "Eh, I'm married to his older sister," he nonchalantly said, before his mood turned somber again. "But with Shuinichi, I didn't. I let my arrogance and jealousy get the better of me, and somebody else paid the price. That's why, from that moment onwards, I vowed to be not only the best ninja I could be, but also the best person. It wasn't easy, but I was able to change myself for the better. And to this day, I use the power his death awakened in order to save as many lives as possible.

"And by honoring him, and being the best I can be as both as a ninja and as an individual, over time, the flashbacks I suffered from using the Mangekyo Sharingan stopped ."

Naturally, this did draw Sasuke's attention. "So that's it? That's what I have to do? Be a better person?"

Shisui shook his head. "You're not getting it, Sasuke. Not the part about being a better person –please always strive for that–. In order to overcome the flashbacks, you need to learn to forgive yourself."

"But how I can do that?" Sasuke asked. "I asked Naruto and his family for forgiveness. They said there was nothing to forgive and that they understood why I did that. But it's not enough. The guilt persists. The pain persists."

"I'm afraid I can't help you with that, Sasuke. At least not more than what I already did. While we had help and support from others, both Itachi and I had to walk this road on our own. And so you will have to find yourself what you have to do until you can forgive yourself," Shisui finished. "I'm sorry if this wasn't the answer you were looking for. Though I can still tell you this: do you know what they say about a broken vase?"

"Yes. That even if you glue the pieces together, the cracks will always be there, to remind us that there was a time it was broken," Sasuke replied.

Shisui nodded. "True. But what most people don't realize is that, if properly glued, the vase can still be used as before, cracks and all. You might have some cracks, Sasuke. But that doesn't make you any worse person or ninja. Never forget that."

"I...thank you, Shisui," Sasuke replied, sounding genuinely touched. "Thank you for telling me this."

Shisui smiled. "Don't sweat it."

…

 _Unknown Location_

In a dark place full of light blue blocks of varying sizes, a spiraling portal opened. From it, Kakashi Hatake came out. He briefly inspected his surroundings –there wasn't much of interest to see– and nodded.

"So, this is where I send all that stuff with the Kamui," Kakashi said, before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Another spiraling portal opened, this time, it was Kakashi again, accompanied by Rin Nohara.

"And you never thought in sending a clone until now?" an incredulous Rin asked, as her feet touched a large concrete platform. Or what she thought was concrete.

"Truth be told, I was too afraid to know what this place could be," Kakashi admitted. "So, is this the place you were when Obito abducted you with his Kamui?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Rin confirmed. She then looked around, just to be extra sure. "Well, maybe the blocks were arranged in a different way, but it was pretty much the same."

"I see. So if I send somebody here –or just myself–, we'd be able to hit Obito whenever he tries to use his intangibility," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, that's the idea," Rin replied.

"Well thought," Kakashi praised. "The problem is, though, that we don't know when Obito is going to appear. Especially if he realizes that I'm the key to counter his ability."

"Yes. Last time he personally took part in the jinchuriki's capture, but from what it appears it's never the same. Next time they may send other Akatsuki to do the job," Rin stated.

"In that case, we'll have to guess when Obito will show up again," Kakashi said.

"I have a good idea about that. From what you told me, he's been trying to abduct the other half of the Nine Tails three times in the past. After so many failures, it had to be something personal for him. Not to mention that with the other half under his control, he might feel emboldened," Rin explained.

"So Obito will come for Naruto," Kakashi replied, with a sigh. "Guess we'll have to keep our eyes open when that happens."

"Indeed," Rin agreed, then she looked around, before rubbing her arms. "This place gives me the creeps. I think we tested it enough. Can you get us out of here?"

"Eh...you see..." Kakashi began, as he sheepishly smiled from under his mask, while rubbing the back of his head. "I know how to send things into this dimension, but I haven't tried taking them out."

"Kakashi!" Rin yelled.

"Kidding, kidding! I know what to do!" Kakashi replied, holding his hands in defense. "...I think."

…

 _Training Ground Nine_

In the Medical Squad's usual training ground, a sparring was taking place between two members of the Uzumaki clan.

"Earth Release: Mud Trap!"

The grass around Karin started to change into mud. The bespectacled kunoichi made several backflips in order to avoid the spreading mud, as well as putting some distance between herself and her opponent.

"You know, you won't do anything by dodging alone," Naruto taunted with a smirk of superiority.

Karin replied to Naruto's smirk with one of her own. "Good thing these element is so good for ranged attacks," Karin said, as she pulled out several shuriken. "Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"

Karin tossed the shuriken forward, which were covered in an aura of wind that made them both spin and fly much faster, while increasing their range.

The Uzumaki cousins have been teaching each other the basics of Wind and Earth release, elements each one was expert and the other wanted to learn. In Naruto's case, Earth Release was the only element he had to master, while Karin wanted to learn Wind in order to have a counter against Earth's natural weakness, Lightning, as well as helping herself into obtaining a promotion.

After that, they had the idea of hosting sparring matches in which Naruto and Karin were limited to Earth and Wind respectively, in what ninjutsu entailed, so they could ease themselves into the new elements. So far, it worked really well and helped them master what they had learned from each other.

"Not bad, nee-chan, not bad," Naruto praised, as his hands formed hand seals in return, before slamming them into the ground. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"

A wall of earth started to rise in front of Naruto. But much to his horror, it stopped midway.

"The hell!?" the blond asked indignantly, before seeing the wind-enhanced shuriken flying at him. "Oh shit!"

The steel stars hit their mark, and if Naruto didn't have a Body Replacement prepared in advance, he could have suffered serious injuries.

"I think I take this round," Karin cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "I think I'm better at Wind that you're a Earth."

"Of course," the real Naruto said, as he emerged from behind a group of trees. "The more elements you master, the harder it becomes. Anyway, I feel like taking a break. How about you?"

"Sure," Karin replied.

Both Uzumaki decided to rest under the shade of a large tree, setting into a comfortable silence. However, as they rested, thoughts started to invade Karin's head. Thoughts she has been trying to silence or push away, but were now coming back. Specially since she was now in her cousin's presence.

She couldn't take it anymore, and decided it was time to talk about it. Plus Naruto was the ideal person to discuss such topic.

"Nii-san?" Karin asked.

"Yes?" Naruto replied.

"You know my latest mission, right?" Karin asked, stammering a little.

Through her chakra sense, Karin could feel how Naruto's mood dampened. She didn't want to poke such fresh wounds, but it was inevitable.

"Yeah. What about it?" Naruto asked, trying to keep a neutral tone.

"You see, since you were in Taki and we couldn't afford waiting for you to get back, Hokage-sama and Shizune-sensei planned to use me as the vessel of the other half of the Nine Tails," Karin stated.

"I didn't know that," Naruto admitted.

"And as you can guess, we failed," Karin told him.

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry. Nobody expected you to win against somebody that commands a Tailed Beast."

"That's not the problem," Karin said, her lips quivering a little. She could sense Naruto's confusion. "Despite our defeat and everything that it entailed... I was glad we failed."

"What?" Naruto shouted. She feared this reaction. "Explain."

"I was afraid of becoming a jinchuriki. So, so afraid," Karin confessed, trying to hold back her tears. Albeit they weren't tears of fear anymore, but of shame. "And not just because of the thought of having a demonic beast living inside my body. When I saw Obito taking Yugito away, I thought, 'that could have been me'. All jinchuriki have massive targets painted in their backs, and the idea of being the prey of a dangerous criminal organization...my blood freeze of just thinking about it."

Naruto didn't say anything, and let Karin's words carefully sink in. He had to admit the redhead was rather brave for showing such a vulnerable side of her, though on the other side he couldn't help but feel little sympathy for her apparent cowardice.

"You must think I'm a coward," Karin continued, as if reading his mind. "But... I just don't want to go to that life again. I can't."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I think I already told you about my childhood. Until I was eight, I never knew a permanent home. It was always going from one place to another, hiding our identities, not being able to trust any strangers, because so many people wanted both me and my mom for our genetic abilities... when we settled in Konoha, I thought that we finally left that life behind. But then, when we discussed the possibility of becoming a jinchuriki, I realized the implications besides the obvious one," Karin explained, as tears streamed down her face. She removed her glasses in order to rub her eyes. "Sorry, given what you are, you probably don't think too high of me right now."

"No, it's okay. I don't have the same perspective since I've been a jinchuriki literally from the day I was born," Naruto replied. "This life is all what I know, so I can't tell what a normal person must feel when he or she is forced to become like me. And I don't blame you nor anybody else for being afraid."

"Still...I can't help but feel awful for letting myself be so cowardly. I'm a ninja, for Kami's sake! I should be able to make a sacrifice for the village that make so much for both me and my mom!" Karin protested, as her fist hit the grass.

"But you were willing to become the other half's container, right?" Naruto asked. "Shizune told me what happened. She was going to seal him inside you, when he suddenly woke up and everything went to hell."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Naruto firmly interrupted. "Being afraid in your situation was natural. Yet you managed to keep that fear under wraps and do what was necessary. Don't blame yourself for the failure of that mission.

"But if you feel that's not enough, then listen to me: you might be one of the few people on earth who can contain the Nine Tails, but you're under no obligation to do so. Hell, you don't even need to be a ninja to begin with. Given your background, it's very selfless of you to take such path," Naruto praised.

"My mom said it's important we show appreciation for the village that took us in. Plus being a ninja sounded kind of cool," the redhead admitted.

"See? There you have. You're not selfish nor coward. It's natural to feel overwhelmed under certain circumstances," Naruto said.

"If you say so," she replied, before smiling a little. "Thank you for telling me this."

"Anytime," Naruto said, smiling back.

…

 _Undisclosed Location, That Night_

Kabuto was sitting on a large tree branch, his back resting against the trunk. Unable to stifle it, a yawn escaped his mouth. He hated to do these kind of errands. At first he always felt a bit uneasy due the other part's potential treachery –there were many Sound Ninjas hidden around in case of foul play– . But after some time, he always ended up boring.

"I don't know why we even bother with scheduling an hour if these guys are always late," the silver haired medic-nin complained, and he looked up at the night sky.

Until he heard it. The sound of leaves rustling. His reflexes kicked in, jumping to his feet as his hand pulled a kunai from one of his weapon holsters, just when an individual landed in front of him. A figure wearing a black hooded cloak that hid his whole body, while his face was obscured by a mask similar to those wore by Konoha's ANBU.

"Sorry for being late," the masked figure said, revealing her feminine voice. "Kabuto Yakushi, I presume."

"You guess right," the bespectacled ninja replied. "You're not the usual contact."

"I'm new," the woman replied, as if that explained everything.

"If that's the case, then you'll know the password," Kabuto told her in a challenging tone.

"White orchids. Three birds flying above an icy mountain. Red sunset in the sea," the woman stated.

Kabuto couldn't help but smile. "Password correct."

"You're too trusting. I could have killed the actual messenger and force them to give me the password," the masked woman replied.

Kabuto couldn't help but chuckle. "Trust me, I find that very unlikely. Anyway, what news do you have pertaining the jinchuriki?"

"The jinchuriki of the Seven Tails, Fu, remains in Konoha. While she's allowed plenty of freedom, and the village does little to hide her presence, neither her nor those close to her suspect a team of Konoha ANBU watching every one of her moves," the woman began.

Kabuto nodded. "As expected. Jiraiya-sama is no fool. Capturing her will much harder this time around. But knowing her location is still valuable intel. What else?"

"You're going to like this. Apparently, Kirigakure ninja had finally located Utakata, the jinchuriki of the Six Tails," the woman stated.

Kabuto couldn't help but smile at such good news. "That's a very valuable information, indeed."

"That's not all. We know they send a letter for Konoha asking for help. Apparently, they want to borrow the jinchuriki of the Nine Tails to get close to Utakata and convince him to return to the safety of Kiri."

"So Akatsuki has the chance of capturing two jinchuriki at once. Excellent. Any other news on the other jinchuriki?" Kabuto asked.

The masked woman shook her head. "We found the jinchuriki of the Eight Tails has vanished. We suspect that after Yugito's abduction, the Raikage sent him to a hidden refuge in order to keep him safe," the woman continued. "We still don't know where the jinchuriki of the Four Tails is."

"Oh well, guess it was too much to ask. Still, information on Utakata was vital to obtain, so thank you for that," Kabuto said, making a slight head bow. "If there's nothing else to discuss, I think our meeting should come to an end,"

The woman nodded, silently agreeing, and both she and the Oto ninja left in opposite directions.

* * *

 **OMAKE: Itachi's Torture Methods**

After the effect of the paralytic genjutsu disappeared, Itachi tied Yudachi to a chair. The Ame Genin, however, didn't show any hints of being intimidated by the Konoha Jonin.

"I don't know what you plan to do with me," Yudachi defiantly said. "But it won't work! You won't get any information from me!"

"That's what everybody says, until they find out what I plan to do," Itachi's Sharingan changed shape to a curved, triple bladed shuriken against a red background. "Tsukuyomi."

The two ninja were transported to a nightmarish, red and black landscape, which would fit into the popular description of Hell. Suddenly, a large, flat screen TV appeared in front of the Ame Genin. The TV turned itself on and started to play something.

"Let your torture begin. Do you recognize this series?" Itachi asked his prisoner.

"Yeah, it's Haruto! The shonen about a young ninja who wants to prove everybody his worth. What, you plan to use this series to torture me?" Yudachi asked, laughing a little. "Yeah, I know this series has some bad rep, but I think it's pretty good. So tough luck, hater."

"Watch closely," Itachi added. "Don't you recognize this opening?"

Yudachi had a bad feeling, as he tried to recall what season this opening belonged to. All trace of color left his face when he remembered the answer.

"No... no! It's can't be! It's-"

"The almost one hundred episode long filler season set between Parts I and II," Itachi finished Yudachi's sentence All the bravado the Genin had displayed was all but gone, replaced by sheer, primal terror. "Enjoy seventy two hours of mediocre writing, forgettable characters, cheap animation and nonsensical yet predictable plots."

"No! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

 **Author's Note: It's been a while since my last Omake, isn't it? I hope you guys enjoyed it. Though, to be fair, I acknowledge that the filler hell had some hidden jewels among the garbage, such as the Bikouchu arc (which left quite a lasting impression on the Naruhina side of the fandom) or the Yakumo Kurama arc.**

 **That scene with Shisui and Sasuke had been in my head for literally months, and you have no idea how glad I was when I was able to put it on proverbial paper. I always love how when a somewhat cheerful comedic character reveal more about themselves and you can see that there's more to them that meets the eye. Though in many cases it's revealed that the cheerful attitude is a façade to hide their inner turmoil, which is something I don't really like. Shisui's funny and easygoing personality is genuine here.**

 **Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.**

 **As hinted by the last scene, the next arc will be about the Six Tails Jinchuriki. While you wait, leave your thoughts on this episode in a review. Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


	69. Trail of the Six Tails

**Author's Note: Here we are with another chapter of Son of the Sannin, beginning a new mini-arc, starring Utakata! You know, I watched the filler arc about him in order to write this arc, and have to say, while it wasn't bad, despite being titled "Six Tails Unleashed" it was more about Hotaru than Utakata, with the latter playing more of a supporting role to Hotaru, rather than the other way around. Still, I liked Hotaru enough as to include her in the story. Now, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 69:**

Trail of the Six Tails

 _or_

 _Being stubborn isn't something unique to Naruto_

 _Hokage's Tower_

As usual, Jiraiya was in his office, accompained by a couple clones, doing the work his position demanded. Somebody then knocked the door. Without waiting for the Hokage to answer, a lizard-masked ANBU entered the office, carrying several scrolls.

"Hokage-sama, these are today's letters addressed to you specifically," the ANBU said, placing the stack of scrolls on the table, and then he picked one. "But you should read this one first. It's labeled as 'urgent', and carries the personal seal of the Mizukage."

Jiraiya nodded, and after breaking the seal, he unfurled and read the scroll. His eyes started to widen as he read its contents.

"Quickly, find my son and his teammates! Tell him I have an urgent mission to them!" Jiraiya asked.

The ANBU nodded. "Yes, Hokage-sama!" he said, before vanishing.

…

 _Sarutobi State_

The residence of the Sarutobi Clan wasn't something the Assault Squad was used to visit. Still, in just a few months, they dropped by so often, everybody felt as if they've been the their whole lives. The reason for this, naturally, was that their sensei was now a member of the clan.

"I thought that nobody had bigger place than the Hyugas, but this one is pretty big as well," Naruto pointed out, as he took some moments to admire the state while they walked across the front patio.

"The Sarutobi Clan is one of the largest clans of Konoha. Naturally, they'll need a big place to house all of their members," Haku replied.

"Even then, I like this place. It feels far more livelier than the Hyuga State," Hinata pointed out.

"Yeah, People here greet you with a smile. It's like they don't have a stick up their butts," Naruto pointed out, before shooting a quick glance to her girlfriend. "No offense."

"None taken," Hinata replied with a hand wave. "Though, you know, sometimes I wonder if I would have been able to make you fall for me if I was as stiff and overly formal as the rest of my clansmen."

"If that was the case, I doubt you would have been interested in me to begin with," Naruto pointed out. "But I'm sure you would have. You still have plenty of other admirable qualities."

For a second, Hinata could swear she saw Naruto's eyes locked onto her chest.

"Oh, look. Kurenai-sensei's there," Haku noticed.

And indeed, their Jonin sensei was leaving the main building just as they were about to head in. The Genjutsu Mistress was now wearing a sleeveless red cotton dress over a green short-sleeved t-shirt. Her stomach had now a notieable bump.

The former leader of the Assault Squad smiled upon seeing her students. It wasn't hard to tell why they were here.

"Naruto, Hinata, Haku! What a nice surprise," the red eyed woman warmly greeted them. "Did you come here to see me?"

The three of them nodded in unison.

"Indeed. But I see that you're about to leave. Do you have any chores or tasks to do? Because if this is a bad moment, we can come another moment," Hinata said, in an apologetic tone.

"Yes, I was going to leave, but we can spend some time together," Kurenai suggested. "If you want, you can come with me to the place I'm heading."

"Sounds nice," Haku agreed. "Where are you going?"

"First, I'm going to stop at the Yamanaka Flower Shop to buy some flowers. Then I'm heading to the cemetery."

Her three students blinked in surprise.

"Uh, are you sure you want us to go with you? I mean, cemeteries aren't the kind of places you go with friends," Naruto uneasily said, as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"On the contrary. I think they're places when one needs the support of your friends and family the most," Kurenai countered. "Since in those places, we're at our most vulnerable."

Her three students looked pensive upon those words sunk in. They always thought that when one was with their deceased loved ones, it was a moment of personal privacy, not to be shared with other people.

"Besides, that way I can talk you about a certain somebody I would have loved for you to meet," Kurenai said.

"Alright then," Naruto said with a shrug. "Let's go then."

"Since we're at it, I might visit Father's grave as well," Hinata said, before she rubbed her arm. "I admit that I don't pay him as many visits as I should."

Their first stop was the Yamanaka Flower Shop to buy some flowers. At the counter was Ino's mother, who, after some light talking, told the members of the Assault Squad about Ino's recent streak of doing solo missions, much to her sensei and teammate's concerns.

"I'll tell her about it the next time I see her," Hinata had promised Mrs. Yamanaka.

Naruto's reaction, or lack of thereof, didn't go unnoticed by his perceptive girlfriend, as if somehow Ino's behavior didn't surprise him. She made a note to ask Naruto if he knew something about Ino. After pushing those thoughs to the back of her mind, Hinata bought some carnations to leave at her father's grave. Carnations meant admiration for a loved one and acknowledging their great deeds, something befitting for her proud father. She saw Kurenai ordering some white roses, which symbolized innocence, and made her wonder who was this person she was going to visit.

"Hey, Hinata, I was going to buy some flowers to leave at my biological parents' grave. Do you have any suggestions?" Naruto asked. "Though something different from yours. I don't want to copy you."

"Try gladiolus. They symbolize strength, honor and loving memories," Hinata replied. "I'm sure that's how both you and everybody else remember the Fourth Hokage and his wife."

Naruto smiled at her suggestion. "Thank you, I'll do that."

In the end, Haku was the only one who didn't buy any flowers. He explained them that after his father killed his mother, and he killed his father in self defense, he left their hometown fearing for his life, and thus he doesn't know what has been of their bodies.

"Have you thought about them?" Kurenai asked. "Maybe return to the Land of Water, and see if at least they were given proper burial?"

"Sometimes," Haku said, sounding oddly neutral. "But I was so little when they went away... I have no lost love for my father, but I don't even remember what my mother used to look like."

"That's so sad," Hinata emphatically said.

"I guess it is. But it's not so bad anymore. I do have a new home and a new family. Yugao-san and Hayate-san took care of me when I came to live here, and there's Zabuza-sama. They're as much family to me as my mother was, even if we aren't related by blood."

A few minutes later, they arrived at the cemetery. While Kurenai, accompained by Haku, went to visit her father's grave, Hinata and Naruto went to visit the grave of Hiashi Hyuga.

"Do you think in your father?" Naruto asked.

"Sometimes," Hinata replied. "I'm twice as old as I was back when he was taken away from us. And Hanabi-chan hardly remembers him. Can't blame her for that, since he was not even four."

"I do have some vague memories of him," Naruto told her. "He looked quite stern and imposing. He made quite the first impression when I first met him."

"Yes, father was strict. Though he could be loving and understanding as well," Hinata replied. "I guess he had to appear strong in order to maintain order in the clan."

"Wonder what he would have thought had he seen your speech when you were appointed the new clan head," Naruto said, chuckling a little upon recalling the memory.

"I like to think he'd be proud of me," Hinata said, a bit unsure. "He was a man of high expectations. But I'm sure that he would have loved to see the clan united."

"He would be more than just proud," Naruto added.

After spending a few more minutes, the couple moved to the graves of Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Naruto placed half of the flowers on each grave, and stood there without saying anything.

"I admit that I should have visit them more as well. But hey, I didn't even get to know them, so it's kind of hard," Naruto said, trying to sound justified, before his face softened. "Still, they were my birth parents and died to protect me. Plus I'm their only living relative. They deserve as much."

"Jiraiya-sama used to be the Fourth's sensei. Did he tell you about him?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, plenty of stuff. He was a pretty cool guy and a badass ninja. The ideal all ninjas should strive for," Naruto said, chuckling a little. "Or at least, that's what dad used to say."

"There's also Kakashi-sensei and Rin, who studied under him," Hinata reminded her boyfriend.

"Yeah, I asked Rin a few thing about him. Makes me wish I was able to meet him," Naruto sotly replied, his voice laced with some melancholy. "I can't believe it was one of his students who caused his death. I could never picture neither myself or any of you guys doing something like that to Kurenai-sensei."

"From what Rin told us, Obito's case was far more complex than what we think," Hinata replied, and realizing that she sounded like she was defending Obito, she quickly added: "Not to say that's an excuse for all the atrocities he did. It's just that... we like to think we know both ourselves and those close to us, but everybody can change or do something out of character in a dire situation."

"Still, how one does go from wanting to be Hokage to setting a Tailed Beast loose in the village and not caring how many people die?" Naruto questioned.

Hinata placed a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I don't know. But I think it would be best if never found out."

"Guess you're right," Naruto admitted, before something caught his attention. "Oh look, there are Haku and Kurenai-sensei!"

"Let's go meet with them then," Hinata said, removing her hand from Naruto's shoulder.

The group of four gathered together, and the raven haired woman lead them to a certain grave in the most recent part of the graveyard. Apparently, it was from the heir of a certain clan, whose symbol was a wing segmented in three parts as if there were feathers. Kurenai's three students read the name in the tombstone.

HERE LIES YAKUMO KURAMA

LAST MEMBER OF THE KURAMA CLAN

"So, a clan died with this girl," Haku noted, grimly realizing that he could have been in a very similar predicament.

"How did you know this girl, Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata asked.

"The Kurama was a clan specialized in genjutsu, thanks to their Bloodline Limit, which made their illusions so lifelike, the body would react as if it was the real thing. For example, a genjutsu of fire would cause actual burns in the skin," Kurenai explained.

"Amazing," Naruto gushed upon knowing such a bloodline exists. Or existed.

"However, not all members manifest this bloodline. In fact, this bloodline hasn't been manifested since the times of Hashirama. This caused the clan to dwindle in both size and importance over the decades. Until Yakumo was born, and much to their parents joy, she had the bloodline. However, there were complications. She had some health problems, and had a lot of trouble keeping her powers under control.

"That's why Hokage-sama tasked me to personally train this girl –it was a year or so before I became your sensei–. I made a lot of progress with her, and her health improved thanks to a treatment developed by Tsunade-sama, and had hopes that she could become a Genin. However, before she could be examined, tragedy struck; her house was caught in a massive fire, killing both her and her parents." Kurenai finished her explaination.

Kurenai's words were followed by a long moment of silence as her students absorbed them.

"While the charred corpses of her parents were found, there was no trace of her body," Kurenai stated. "At first I had hopes that maybe she escaped and was alive somewhere out there, but in the end I was forced to admit the truth. Yakumo and her clan were gone forever."

"How is that you never told us about this other student of yours, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto asked. Though he sounded more curious rather than indignant.

"Yakumo was my tragedy, not yours. I didn't see the need to get you involved in this," Kurenai replied.

"Even then, I'm glad you told us about her," Hinata chimed in. "That way, more people will remember her. Even if we didn't get to meet her when she was alive."

Kurenai smiled a little. "Yes, that's a way of seeing it, I guess."

At that moment, a lizard-masked ANBU appeared before them.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, Haku Yuki. Hokage-sama requires your presence for an urgent mission of utmost importance," the ANBU told them, his tone being stoic but at the same time conveying urgency.

Kurenai's three studnets exchanged knowing glances, realizing what such mission was going to be.

"Guess we'll have to continue our talk another time, Kurenai-sensei," Naruto apologized.

"Don't worry. I know that when duty calls, you must heed said call. Come on, go," the Genjutsu Mistress said.

Her three students quickly waved her goodbye before leaving for the Hokage Tower.

…

 _Hokate's Tower_

The three younger members of thr Assault Squad were in the Hokage's office, standing in front of Jiraiya, sitting in his desk. His face sported a serious look, and was holding a scroll in his hand. The crest of Kirigakure was visible on the scroll.

"A few moments ago, this message arrived from the Mizukage," Jiraiya began, showing them the furled scroll. "She said that her forces had located the jinchuriki of the Six Tails, Utakata."

Naruto instantly beamed the moment the news reached his ears.

"That's great!" Naruto beamed. However, his expression turned serious the moment a certain thought sunk in. "But she didn't write that message just to tell us that Utakata is safe, right?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "She send a team of ANBU lead by two of her swordsmen in order to retrieve and escort him back to the village, but he refused. A fight ensued, and eventually the ANBU were forced to retire, since they couldn't risk harming him in any way. Upon seeing the outcome of the mission, Mei realized that maybe the word of another jinchuriki might be make Utakata see reason and return to the safety of Kirigakure."

"And that's where I enter the picture, right?" the blond guessed.

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes. According to this message, Utakata and some girl that travels with him are currently in a place called Nagi Island. The Kirigakure team will be waiting for you," the Hokage pulled out another small scroll and tossed it to Naruto, who easily caught it. "This scroll contain additional information on the mission. Now that you know the essentials, you should hurry and head towards Nagi Island as soon as possible. You will take several days to arrive there, and it's possible that by that time Utakata might have left. If that happens, the Kiri ninja will follow him as to not lose his track. Not to mention the constant threat of the Akatsuki."

The three of them nodded, but it was Naruto who replied. "Leave it in our hands, dad. Akatsuki will go home empty handed this time around!"

After bidding Naruto farewell and hoping he had luck on his mission, Jiraiya returned to work. Given that there were no scheduled meetings for that day, Jiraiya decided to try to finish the paperwork for the day as soon as possible with the help of Shadow Clones, and then spend some time writing the next Icha Icha novel –he was way behind schedule, but he was sure his fans would understand– and after that, do something with Tsunade and the kids.

The twins' kidnapping attempt made Jiraiya realize how easily somebody could take your loved ones away from you, and he wasn't going to let anything to enjoy every moment he could with his wife and kids.

At that moment, somebody knocked the door. Jiraiya suppressed a groan, he wasn't in the mood for a surprise meeting or any bad news. It'd better be important.

"Come in!" Jiraiya said.

The door opened, revealing Itachi Uchiha. Yep, it was important.

"Hokage-sama, I finished my investigation in Amegakure," Itachi began. "I managed to abduct one of its ninjas, and bring him here. I left him at Torture & Interrogation, but I took the liberty of interrogating him myself to see what he knew."

"Please take a seat," Jiraiya said, waving at one of the chairs in front of him. "And tell me everything. Leave no details out."

Itachi nodded, sat down, and gave Jiraiya a detailed recollection of his infiltration in Amegakure, up to the interrogation part.

"Your suspicions turned out to be correct, Hokage-sama. As Torture & Interrogation will more than likely confirm, Hanzo the Salamander is no longer the leader of Amegakure, and hasn't been for at least the past five years," Itachi stated. "Akatsuki controls the village."

Jiraiya let out a long sigh, as he leaned back on his chair. Those weren't good news in the slightest. Hanzo might have been a loose canon and a warmonger, but at the very least he was easy to both predict and appease.

"And since the ninja you interrogated was a mere Genin, I'm going to assume that such knowledge is both public and supported by the population," Jiraiya guessed. This definitely wasn't going to be the same situation as with Taki.

But much to his surprise, Itachi shook his head. "No, the man has no idea what Akatsuki is, even if he already met one already. Apparently, the village leaders are someone they call 'God' and his 'Angel'. He did met the latter."

"Do you have a description?" Jiraiya asked, fearing the answer.

"A woman in her thirties. Shoulder length blue hair in a bob haircut with a small bun, decorated with an origami flower. Light brown eyes. A piercing under her lower lip. The woman seems to have some sort of power over paper. If it's a Bloodline Limit or a secret jutsu, I can't tell," Itachi explained.

Another long sigh. Yes, he feared that answer for a very good reason. Naturally, such obvious reaction didn't go unnoticed by somebody so observant as Itachi.

"Hokage-sama? Is everything okay?" The Uchiha asked. "Is the woman familiar to you?"

"Sadly yes, she is," Jiraiya replied. The possible suspects of who this 'God' might be was pretty small, and Jiraiya knew he could reduce it to just one name.

"Do you...want me to do something about it?" Itachi offered.

"No, you already did enough. I need to check a few things and talk with some people before further action can be taken on this issue," Jiraiya replied. "Take a few days to rest. I heard that your brother was particularly upset after his latest mission, so maybe spending time with you might do him some good."

Itachi stood up, and make a bow. "Thank you, Hokage-sama. Do not hesitate to call me if you have another mission only I can complete."

…

 _Nagi Island_

As Jiraiya had said, it took them almost a week to reach Nagi Island, since they had to travel all the way to the coast of the Land of Fire, and find and board a ship that could get them to the place in question. Luckily, Mei had already foreseen this and took the liberty to rent a ship that was already waiting for the Konoha team. Still, even if the ship was fast and the wind and waters were favorable, the trip by sea took four days.

As they got off from the ship and walked into the small port town, the three Konoha ninja took a moment to examine it. So far, the port town, while unremarkable at first sight, it was busy and teeming with activity. Being a neutral country, people from other nations saw Nagi Island as a nexus to do deals with other countries in a safe way.

"Alright, here we are," Naruto said. "Dad said that somebody from Kiri should be here. Hinata, use your Tenseigan to-"

"HEY, YOU GUYS! OVER HERE!" a female voice yelled among the crowd of people.

Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw Miyako and Suigetsu, wearing the Kirigakure Jonin uniform, as well as carrying their respecitve swords, the Helmet Splitter on Miyako's back and the Sewing Needle attached to Suigetsu's belt.

"Well, that was easier than we expected," Naruto pointed out.

"The mission demands for us not to waste any time. I appreciate that they took the effort to look for us," Haku said. The others couldn't help but nod.

As they walked towards the two young Swordsmen of the Mist, Suigetsu and Miyako greeted them with a polite bow.

"Naruto-san, Hinata-san, it's nice to see you again," the blue haired woman said, before turning to Haku. "It's good to see you too, Ambassador."

"The feeling is mutual," Haku replied, returning the bow.

"Sorry for my bluntness, but shall we skip the pleasantries and go directly to the matter at hand?" Naruto interjected, growing a little antsy at the exchange.

"Sure," Suigetsu said. "Come on, let's go."

…

After leaving the port town, they advanced into the island, which was composed mostly of very thick forests, that would remind the Konoha trio of the Land of Fire, if there wasn't for the many rivers and lakes that crossed the mass of land. One certainly could feel peace and harmony while being in such natural paradise.

"Even if you guys took some time to arrive, Utakata is still in the island," Suigetsu spoke. "Fortunately, despite our initial confrontation, we made him believe that we're not going to try anything."

"But that may change soon," Miyaki continued. "Utakata never stays in the same place for long, so it's a good thing that you arrived in time. As far as our last report goes, he's stil here."

"And where is he, might I ask?" Hinata said.

"He and the girl he travels with –we believe she's an apprentice of some sort– set a camp at the edge of a small waterfall lake. Our Hunter-nin watch his every step," Suigetsu said.

"Man, you send _Hunter-nin_ after him? No wonder the guy reacted so bad then!" Naruto indignantly pointed out.

"Hey, what were we supposed to do?" Suigetsu said with a defensive shrug. "Hunter-nin are usually dispatched in these kind of situations. Anyway, that's why we requested your presence here. Maybe another jinchuriki might make him change his mind and see reason."

"Before Naruto-kun can attempt anything, we'll need to know more about this person," Hinata interjected. "What can you tell us about him?"

"Utakata was a very skilled ninja. He graduated the Academy at ten, got a promotion to Chunin the next year, and Jonin when he was just sixteen. While we don't know the exact date, we believe he was made into a jinchuriki when he was a small child. Though such thing was never a problem for Utakata," Miyaki explained, as if she was recalling the text of a Bingo Book. "Until one day, when he was twenty one, he lost control of his Tailed Beast, killing his sensei and many other ninjas in the procsess. After that, he fled Kirigakure and became a vagrant ever since."

"Do you know what caused to lose control of his Tailed Beast?" Haku asked, being the question in the minds of Naruto and Hinata as well.

Both Miyaki and Suigetsu shook their heads. "Whatever happened, he refuses to tell."

"Also, it's worth noting that at some point about a year ago, he started to travel with a girl. Younger than him, I'd say about eighteen to twenty years of age," Suigetsu added, before the white haired swordsman's lips formed a toothy grin. "Guess a man can't be alone that much time, hehe."

"We aren't sure what their relationship is," Miyaki punctualized, shooting Suigetsu a dispproving look. "Anyway, when we arrive at his location, I think it would be for the best if you got close to him alone. Our approach has to be as nonthreatening as possible."

"What if Utakata attacks Naruto-kun?" Hinata suggested, worry creeping through her spine. "How strong is he, by the way?"

"Like Miyako said, very strong," Suigetsu stated. "And that's not even counting his jinchuriki powers. We do know he has some degree of mastery over them."

"It's okay. There won't be a fight. I know I'll be able to convince him of the threat that hangs over his head. Over all of our heads," Naruto corrected himself.

"Several Kiri ANBU are heading towards our position," Hinata stated.

"They must be our Hunter-Nin," Suigetsu stated.

The two groups meet on the middle, and the Konoha ninja could see five ANBU, all of them wearing masks minus one, who appeared to be the leader of the small squad, a middle aged man with long dark brown hair, and a small beard and a moustache.

"Suigestsu-sama, Miyaki-sama. I see that you brought the Konoha ninjas at last," the man said, smiling a little. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tsurugi, ANBU Captain."

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and these are Hinata Hyuga and Haku Yuki," Naruto stated. "I'm the jinchuriki, by the way."

"I see. It's good to have you here," Tsurugi said, before his eyes rested on Haku. "You must be the ambassador appointed by Mizukage-sama at the end of the civil war, right? It's an honor to meet you."

"The feeling is likewise. But unfortunately, pleasantries will have to wait. Do you know where the jinchuriki is?" Haku asked.

"Yes. He and his apprentice set their camp at the edge of a river. They've been there for the past few days, but for the look of it, it seems like they're ready to move out. You guys arrived just in time," Tsurugi explained.

"Good. Tell me where they are, and I'll go. But please, have your men stand back. I need to be alone for this work," Naruto said.

"That's not a good idea, Naruto-san," Tsurugi countered. "Jinchuriki or not, you are still a stranger to Utakata. You won't be able to win him with words alone. I know that man. I think I should go with you."

"If you do that, he'll smell a trap," Naruto pointed out.

"And what do you think he's going to think when he sees a Konoha jinchuriki so far away from his home nation?" Tsurugi asked. Naruto blinked, not taking into account such possbility.

"Still, I think it's for the best if I'm alone. Even if he guesses my intentions or that we're in cahoots with you guys, if I go alone he won't feel as threatened," Naruto replied.

Tsusugi crossed his arms over his chest, and appeared to ponder Naruto's reasoning. He had to admit that, even if his intentions could be obvious, Naruto was right. His appeal would sound much more sincere and nonthreatening if he was alone.

"Okay then. But we'll be near you in case something happens," Tsurugi stated.

"Is Utakata-san a sensor?" Hinata chimed in. "He might sense our presence if it's the case."

"As far as I can tell, no," it was Miyaki who answered. "But that man has been running away from people like us for years, so the guy does know when somebody is following or spying on him. Meaning that we should be extra careful while masking our presence."

"Understood. Then, I'll watch from the skies. I doubt he'll be able to realize somebody's up there," Hinata said, before she took off into the sky, much to the Kiri ninja's amazement, and Naruto and Haku's nonchalance. Which didn't go unnoticed by the fromer group.

"Did that... did that girl just... flew into the sky?" a flabbergasted Suigetsu asked.

"Yeah, she did," Naruto happily said, placing his arms behind his back. "Man, I never get tired of seeing people's reactions when they see her fly for the first time."

"She didn't fly when I first me you guys," Miyaki pointed out, still looking upwards.

"No. That's something she learned to do recently," Naruto replied.

Miyaki pouted a little. "The Civil War would had ended much sooner if we had a ninja that could fly..."

…

Naruto tried to lower his guard as he walked towards the campsite. It was a foolish thing for a ninja to do, but being nonthreatening was key, and the last thing he needed was the other jinchuriki attacking him out of the blue. As he walked, not even bothering with stealth, even making sure that the two people in the capsite heard him coming, the blond took a look at the two people in it.

A man and a woman. The woman was a little older than him, with long dark blond hair and blue eyes, wearing a pink, sleeveless kimono that reached down her hips. She was setting up a small fire. This woman had to be his apprentice/partner/lover/whatever.

The man, whom Naruto guessed was Utakata, was pretty tall. He had short brown hair, with a ling bang covering his left side of the face, leaving a light brown eye visible. His lithe and svelte body was covered by a long light blue kimono –loose enough to reveal his bare chest– tied by an orange sash.

"Hotaru, stay here. I'll deal with him," Naruto heard him said as he handed her a handful of recently caught fishes.

"Hey there!" Naruto said, happily waving at him. He hoped his cheerfulness didn't come off as too fake.

"I don't know who you are," Utakata cut him off, as he walked towards the incoming blond. "And I don't know what do you want either. But if you appreciate your life, you'll turn around and go back to when you came from."

"Whoa, there!" Naruto said, bringing his hands up in defense. "You didn't even let me talk!"

"Because I have no interest in what you have to say," Utakata repeated. "Now leave. This is my last warning."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Listen, I know you're a jinchuriki," Naruto stated. The woman gasped a little upon hearing this, though less from the fact itself and more for Naruto knowing it. Utakata, however, remained impassible. "So I am."

Utakata was taken a back a little, but his frown soon returned. "Liar."

"I don't lie. Tailed Beasts share a special link. When two jinchuriki are together, they can feel that link. I'm sure that you can feel it as well," Naruto insisted.

Utakata was ready to deny such thing, but he was unable to. He did feel a weird connection to the blond, something he only felt with another person in his whole life. Still, that didn't change much. The blond was still suspicious to him.

"I admit that you're right. I feel a connection with you. But that leaves the question of what a Konoha ninja," he started, taking a look at Naruto's headband. "Is interested in a vagrant like myself. It can't be just because we're jinchuriki."

"Actually, that's exactly the reason," Naruto replied. "Some Kiri ninja contacted you in the past days, right?"

"Yes, they wanted me to return to Kiri," Utakata replied, before a realization dawned upon him. His frown turned into a scowl "Wait a minute... you're with them, right? They called you to convince me to return to Kiri? In know that, after the Civil War ended, Konoha and Kiri became allies."

" _Damn, this guy is good. Better try to be honest so he has no reason to suspect me of anything funny,"_ Naruto thought, as a trickle of sweat ran through his neck. "Yes, they called me. And it's very important that you listen to them. You're in grave danger. All of our kind are."

"Danger? What kind of danger?" the woman asked, as he walked towards the duo.

"Don't listen to him, Hotaru. They're lies to make me go back to my old village," Utakata told her, before turning his gaze back to Naruto. "Like I said before, leave. Or I'll make you leave by force."

"No!" Naruto shouted, his previous goodwill evaporating. "I'm not going to let anther one of us pointlessly die! You have to go back to the safety of your village! You're in danger here! And if you refuse, I'll make you return by force!"

Hotaru immediately placed herself between the two men, hoping to avert a needless fight. "Please, no! There's no need to fight!"

"You heard him, Hotaru. He threatened to bring me back to Kiri by force if I don't do as he says. I think a fight is inevitable at this point," Utakata seethed.

"No, it's not! Let's listen to what he has to say, okay? He doesn't look like an untrustworthy person." Hotaru insisted. Utakata didn't say anything, but judging by his body language, he appeared to agree with the girl. Hotaru then turned to Naruto. "What kind of danger are you talking about?"

"You see-"

"But first," Utakata cut him again. "Tell all the people with you to come out. If they're doing this for my own good and don't have any kind of ulterior motives, there's no need to stay hidden."

"I came here alone. The other Kiri ninjas are not here," Naruto stated.

"Come out, I know you're there! Tsurugi! Miyaki! Suigetsu!" Utakata shouted.

And much to Naruto's surprise –and chagrin– the Kiri ninja and Haku emerged from behind the trees. Naruto let out a defetaed sigh.

"Guys, I told you not to come with me. Now you ruined it," the blond pouted.

"Sorry, but this was too important. In case you failed, we need to be prepared in order to take Utakata by force to Kirigakure," Miyaki stated, ignoring the glare the jinchuriki of the Six Tails was shooting her.

"But such thing won't be neccesary, because Utakata will come to us of his own volition once he hears what's at stake," Naruto insisted, glaring at the blue haired swordswoman as well.

"If all of us are here, then there's no point in Hinata watching the sky," Haku said, waving upwards.

Much to Utakata and Hotaru's surprise, they saw a blue haired girl with glowing teal eyes slowly descending from above.

…

 _Sometime later_

Night fell upon Nagi Island.

While Utakata was on edge at first, after some time he got used to the presence of the Hunter Nin. The masked ninjas did nothing other than stay silent and watch the campsite's surroundings, on the possibility that an enemy might appear before they could evacuate the jinchuriki. The rest were sitting around a fire while they enjoyed some dinner.

"And this Akatsuki people, you said that they already captured four jinchuriki?" Utakata asked.

Naruto nodded energically. "We managed to save one of them after his Tailed Beast was extracted, but it was mostly luck. I doubt we'll be able to do that again."

"Akatsuki seems to learn from experience. After we rescued Gaara-san, it appears that they got better at hiding their lairs and bases," Hinata added.

"That's why it's so important we find all the remaining jinchuriki and put them in a safe place. And so far, the Great Villages are our best bet. Being in the open alone it's an invitation to the Akatsuki," Naruto urged.

"Are they that dangerous?" Hotaru asked. "Because Utakata-sensei is very strong. If those Akatsuki came for him, I'm sure he'd be able to kick their butts."

"Akatsuki is comprised entirely of S-Rank criminals," it was Miyaki who spoke. "They know their prey are dangerous ones, that's why they made sure their members are able to face jinchuriki and win."

"Remember that they have defeated four other jinchuriki already," Haku added.

"So, why are they after us to begin with? Because of the Tailed Beasts?" Utakata asked. Naruto nodded once again. "And how do they expect to control them? Few are the jinchuriki capable of such feat. I'm able to control some degree of the Six Tails' power, but too much and I lose control of it."

"Actually, they don't plan to become jinchuriki themselves. You see..."

Naruto told Utakata everything he knew about the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and how if all nine Tailed Beasts were sealed inside it, the Ten Tails would be revived, which would spell the end of the world. How Akatsuki planned to take control of the best, Naruto didn't know, but in either case that monster couldn't be allowed to be reborn.

Both Utakata and Hotaru took a few moments to let the blond's tale sink in. While they looked surprised at first, they where now pensive. The jinchuriki more than his apprentice, though.

"What you say is indeed troubling. But I still can't help but think that this is part of an elaborate ruse to get me back to the village," Utakata stated.

"Come on man, we left you alone for years! We didn't even try to recruit you when we were fighting against Yagura –and your help would had speed things up a lot–, so please tell me why did we change our mind now?" Suigestsu hotly protested.

"Yes. And I doubt the jinchuriki of Konoha could have bothered to come all the way to this place just to sell you a lie," Miyaki added. "This is serious, Utakata-san. Words alone can't convey the threat Akatsuki is. Besides their power, they also have influence. It was them who controlled Yagura and turned our village into the so called Blood Mist."

"Hell, we don't even want you to come to Kirigakure in particular. If you want to stay in Konoha or Suna, then fine," Suigetsu suggested. "Our orders were to make you go to any of those three villages. But why would you prefer Konoha or Suna over your own home, well, I couldn't really tell."

Hotaru tugged Utakata's sleeve. "I think they're telling the truth, sensei. Besides, what would the Mizukage win by having you go to another village?"

The stubborn jinchuriki had to admit they had a point. Still, all the mistrusts and misantrophy built over his years of isolation after his sensei's apparent betrayal weren't easy to ignore. Even then, there was still a part of him that was constantly warn him of an impending danger.

"What do you say then? Will you let us protect you?" Naruto hopefully asked.

Utakata took a few moments to think his answer before he opened his mouth. "For the time being, let's wait until tomorrow morning. I need some time to think about what you guys told me."

While all of them were cautious and didn't get their hopes up, the fact that the jinchuriki had at least listened to them and was going to take their words into consideration was indeed a small victory. All what was left was to hope that Utakata would agree to take shelter in one of the three Great Villages.

After the tense discussion, people on both sides started to calm down. In order to maximize their chances, Naruto approached Utakata in order to make some small talk and bond with him, while also being careful not to mention anything that made it obvious he was trying to sway his decision. Empathy was the best course of action.

As they talked, Hotaru decided to do the same and sat closer to Naruto's two teammates. She put on her friendliest smile when greeting them.

"Hello there. I don't think we've been introduced to each other. My name is Hotaru, and I'm Utakata-sensei's apprentice," Hotaru began.

"Hello, Hotaru-san. My name is Hinata Hyuga, and this is Haku Yuki. We're Naruto-kun's teammates, though you probably guessed that already," Hinata replied. "Besides his teammate, I'm also Naruto-kun's girlfriend."

"Really? Cool. You make a cute couple," the dark blonde complimented, before switching topics. "So, you think Naruto will convince Utakata-sensei to return to his home?"

"We hope so. Naruto-kun has the ability to reach people's heart with his earnestness. I have faith he can do it," Haku replied. "Though I wouldn't be surprised if he failed this time. While things are better now, the Land of Water used to be a pretty dangerous place, in no small part thanks to the Blood Mist."

"Are you from the Land of Water?" Hotaru asked. "You wear both a Konoha and Kiri forehead protector. I didn't know a ninja could be loyal to two villages, even if they are allied. I mean, if war broke between Konoha and Kiri, who would you side with?"

"To answer your first question, yes, I was born in the Land of Water, but I grew up in Konoha, that's why I wear Konoha's crest around my forehead. However, I was made ambassador of Kiri in Konoha after the Civil War ended, hence the Kiri forehead protector in my neck," Haku expalined. "And to answer your second question, it's my job to make sure such thing doesn't happen. But if war eventually broke out, I wouldn't take sides; I'd try my best to make sure both sides stopped fighting and reached an agreement."

"I see. Let's hope that such thing doesn't come to pass then," Hotaru replied, smiling at him.

"What about you, Hotaru-san? How did you become Utakata-san's apprentice?" Hinata asked. "I might be judging him too hastily, but he doesn't look to be a man patient enough to have an apprentice."

"Your judgement isn't that far off, Hinata. I met Utakata-sensei when he protected me from a group of ninja, though they were actually after him. I took him home and treated his injuries, and after seeing how strong he was, I asked him to be my sensei. At first he gave me overly difficult exercises in order to make me give up, but I was determined to complete them," Hotaru began.

"Such as?" Hinata asked.

"He first asked me to walk on water, when I hadn't have any kind of chakra control," she explained, while Haku and Hinata winced. "Though with perseverance, I managed to do it!"

"But that wasn't the end of it, was it?" Haku guessed.

"Not by a long shot!" Hotaru replied, laughing a little. "He then had me do a water jutsu, despite the fact that I didn't even know if my affinity was water to begin with, or even doing the basic exercises first. But once again, I proved my worth!"

"He really did want to get rid of you," Hinata stated, sounding a bit dazzed.

"He did. But in the end, I proved I had the resolve to be her apprentice, and in the end he accepted me," Hotaru stated. "I like to think that he grew to appreciate my company and saw me as a worthy apprentice."

"If he allowed you to stick with him for so long, I believe that's the case," Haku stated. "I know a thing or two about hard teachers. Albeit in my case Zabuza-sama never wanted to get rid of me, just make me as strong as possible in the shortest amount of time."

"You mean Zabuza, as in the current leader of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?" Hotaru asked, genuinely surprised. "Wow! And here I thought that I was so lucky to have somebody as Utakata-sensei as my teacher!"

" _Lucky?"_ Hinata thought. _"But Utakata-san wanted to get rid of her..."_

"Also, sorry for asking you this. We know Utakata-san's stance, but what about you? Do you have any opinion on what Utakata-san should do?" Haku asked.

"As his apprentice, I'll follow him no matter what he decides. But honestly, I'd prefer if he decided to stay in one of the villages," Hotaru replied. "Not just for the sake of being safer, but because while traveling the world and meeting new people is fine, I'd like if we decided to stay in the same place more than a couple weeks. Both him and I could make more permanent friends."

"And you think you could convince him to do that?" Hinata asked.

Hotaru chuckled a little. "You already met Utakata-sensei, and know how stubborn he is. I can try, but don't expect much. I'm more interested in traveling with him than he is in having me following him around, and he's very aware of that," Hotaru admitted, averting her gaze. "If I told him that I want to live to one of the villages, he'll say that I'm free to do it."

"Still, it would be great if you tried," Haku insisted. "The stakes are really high."

"Don't worry, I didn't say no. I'll try to get on his case once he stops talking with Naruto-san and we can be alone," Hotaru promised. "But like I said, don't expect him to put much weigh on my wants."

"Thank you for your effort, Hotaru-san," Hinata replied. "We don't ask more than that."

…

 _Nagi Island Port Town_

Most ships usually avoided travelling during the night, since it was an incredibly dangerous thing to do. Without natural light, it was very hard to see rock formations in the coast that could sink a vessel. And sadly Nagi Island lacked a lighthouse to guide ships in the dark of the night.

Even then, a small ship managed to arrive at the island. It didn't stop at the dock, since its occupants didn't want to draw attention to their presence. Instead, they dropped the anchor when they were close to the shore, jumped into the water, and using chakra, they walked, or better said, ran, towards the island.

"So, the Six Tails Jinchuriki is somewhere in this island, according to the intel," one of the figures that came out of the ship stated.

"Indeed he is, Konan," the other one replied.

"How are you so sure?" Konan asked.

"If he left this island, we would have been warned. No, he is here, and he's unaware of the danger that hangs over his head."

"I see. What is the plan, Pain?" Konan asked.

"For the time being, let's track the jinchuriki. Find if he's alone, or if there's anybody accompanying him. Then, we'll devise an strategy, and attack," Pain replied.

"We must be swift and careful. I wouldn't put past the Great Villages to start gathering the wandering jinchuriki as well just to stop to our plans," Konan sagely adviced.

"Let them try," the Akatsuki leader replied. "Nothing but pain will await to those who stand in our way."

* * *

 **Author's Note: If there's something I like about this arc, is that I finally get to write my favorite villain. Here comes the Pain! Our heroes are indeed in a bad situation, given what's coming for them. Will they be able to save Utakata, or will he follow Yugito and die at the hands of the Akatsuki?**

 **It was also nice to bring back a couple of the characters from the Kiri arc. Too bad I couldn't bring as many as I could. Still, there will be more chances in the future for them to shine as well.**

 **Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.**

 **So, will our heroes survive against Pain, given that they have to face him much earlier than they did in canon? Share your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!**


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